Unibrow

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A unibrow (or jacco brow; called synophrys in medicine) is a single eyebrow created when the two eyebrows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose. The hair above the bridge of the nose is usually of the same color and thickness as the eyebrows, giving the appearance that they converge to form one uninterrupted line of hair.

Video Unibrow

History

The first known use of the word 'unibrow' was in 1999.

Maps Unibrow

Culture and beauty

Ancient Greece and Rome

In both Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, unibrows were prized as beautiful, desirable features worn by the most intelligent and lusted-after women. In Ancient Greece, women used powdered minerals or soot to paint their brows black. The Greeks valued purity, so women often left their unibrows untouched or darkened slightly with black powder. Eyebrows were also part of the Romans' elaborate beauty rituals, and like the Greeks, they favored a unibrow. Both cultures' poets and writers described women donning false unibrows to enhance their looks. These were made of dyed goat's hair and attached with tree resin.

Tajikistan

In Tajikistan, a unibrow is viewed as an attractive quality in both men and women. For women, it is associated with virginity and purity and, in men, virility. If there is no unibrow present, or if it is weak, it is commonplace for women to use a kohl liner or a modern kajal pen to simulate a unibrow.

Iran

During the Qajar dynasty in Iran (1785-1925), connected brows were considered beautiful. Persian poetry lauded the abrou-ye peyvasteh or "continuous eyebrow", in men and women alike. It was compared to cupid's bow, tensed and ready to fire its dart. The classic shape - a beautiful inverted ogee - can be seen in courtly miniatures and royal portraits.

Oman

Synophrys (a unibrow) is considered as a sign of beauty in Arab culture. Its popularity causes women to draw a black line joining the brows as a part of their routine makeup to fake a unibrow. A study found the prevalence of synophrys to be at 11.87% in the Omani population.

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Medicine

Genetics

The unibrow is a recessive genetic trait.

Medical conditions

A unibrow is part of normal human variation, but can also stem from developmental disorders. A unibrow is a recognized feature of Cornelia De Lange syndrome, a genetic disorder whose main features include moderate to severe learning difficulties, limb abnormalities such as oligodactyly (fewer than normal fingers or toes) and phocomelia (malformed limbs), and facial abnormalities including a long philtrum (the slight depression/line between the nose and mouth).

Other medical conditions associated with a unibrow include:

• Waardenburg Syndrome;
• Patau Syndrome;
• Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome;
• Sanfilippo Syndrome;
• 3p Deletion Syndrome;
• Chromosome Deletion Dillan 4p Syndrome (Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome);
• Gorlin Syndrome (Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome);

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome

• Frontometaphyseal Dysplasia;
• ATRX Syndrome;
• Chromosome 9q34 Microdeletion Syndrome or Kleefstra syndrome.

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References

Source of the article : Wikipedia