Your face has a small system of protections for your eyes: they are sheltered deep in sockets in the face, they are shielded by fast reacting eyelids, they are secure against dust and dirt by your eyelashes, and they are protected by eyebrows.
HOW DO EYEBROWS PROTECT YOUR EYES?
They aren’t called eyebrows because they are simply located right above the eye. They are called eyebrows because their primary purpose is to serve the eye. When you exert yourself or if it’s scorching outside, then you begin to sweat. Sweat often comes pouring down from the forehead and the hairline and trickles down toward the sensitive eyes below.
Think about the shape of your eyebrows. They are slightly curved and stick out a little bit over your eyes. As sweat runs down your forehead it catches these lines of hair, and their curved shape directs the moisture down and around your eyes.
Sure, sometimes you still get sweat in your eyes, but without your eyebrows they would be soaked and it would be difficult to see while you are physically active.
WHAT ELSE DO EYEBROWS DO?
More than protecting your eyes, your eyebrows have two additional functions:
- First, they are commonly used for nonverbal communication. Raising your eyebrows, furrowing your eyebrows, raising one eyebrow, angling them down and outward, and other actions indicate your various thoughts and feelings to other individuals. The ability to read human emotion from eyebrows transcends language and cultural barriers, and can help you learn what someone else needs by looking at their eyebrows.
- Second, eyebrows are useful for quick facial recognition since they hardly change as we age. An MIT study used pictures of recognizable public figures without eyebrows, such as Richard Nixon, to see if participants could recognize the individual. Only 46 percent of people were able to correctly identify the former President without his eyebrows.
Your eyebrows help protect your eyes, but they can only do so much. If you believe you are experiencing any vision problems, or if you need to have your eyes checked, please contact Silverstein Eye Care Centers. Call us today to make an appointment for an eye exam. We can serve you at our convenient location in Independence/Kansas City at (816) 358-3600.