The modeling world can be a cruel industry to work in. Models are subjected to society’s expectations of what is considered beautiful. They carry those judgments into their beauty routines, which include maintaining a slim figure, teeth whitening, Botox, hair removal, and more. One model has made a name for herself because of her iconic eyebrows. Sophia Hadjipanteli refuses to pluck her eyebrows because she loves her unibrow more.
The 23-year-old model known as Sophia Hadjipanteli was born in Cyprus. There she grew up until she went to the United States to get a degree in marketing. After that, she relocated to London, where she and her signature unibrow have been making waves in the modeling and social scenes. From a young age, she loved to express herself through a unique fashion style. Being a bit more on the conservative side, her classmates would tease her for her choice of clothes.
One day, Sophia decided she did not want to pluck her unibrow anymore. She tossed out her tweezers and said goodbye to waxing. Since then, she has become the founder of the social media-based UnibrowMovement. Out of her 50,000 followers on her Instagram page, there are many contrasting opinions about her eyebrows. “I choose to wear my eyebrows this way for the same reasons I styled myself in school – because the only preference that matters is my own,” said Sophie. “If my childhood taught me anything, it is that I love being different.”
She also explained that the unibrow movement is not an attempt to start a trend, but it’s just her being herself. “I am not really doing this to show people that they have to like [my unibrow], I am more so doing it to show people that they can get on with their lives by having a preference,” said Sophie. I personally think my face looks better this way. Others disagree, and that’s cool,” says Hadjipanteli. “I am not trying to get anyone on the unibrow bandwagon. If I like this, just let me like this.”
Contrary to popular belief, Sophia Hadjipanteli’s unibrow is natural in shape, but not in color. She is a natural blond, and so is her unibrow. She was tired of having to pluck her brows to maintain their shape, not to mention coloring them in so, she took to YouTube to find a solution. There, she found a tutorial of someone tinting their eyebrows. Sophia tried, but it didn’t work out as expected. “I saw a video on Youtube where someone tinted their eyebrows,” explained Sophia. “I tried it, and I must have messed up and made them black. My brother was like, ‘It kind of suits you.’”
From then onward, she started tinting her eyebrows. Although, she is not entirely concerned if her blond hair comes through. All she wishes is for everyone to realize that we all have our individual preferences, and we should not judge one another for them. “it’s important to show that preferences and differences are not polarizing, but rather unifying and ultimately meant to inspire. To be honest, I’m just out here like everyone else manifesting my lane and riding my wave.”
Some of her fans have pointed out that she wears makeup, but embraces the natural beauty of her unibrow. they say she is being hypocritical, but Sophie disagrees. She posted a picture on her Instagram page with the caption: “I wear makeup because it is fun,” wrote Sophia. “I have a unibrow because it is a preference. I wear makeup and have a unibrow because it is what I like. Don’t put me in a bubble. Just because I embrace one natural part of me doesn’t mean I’m a hypocrite for wanting to enhance other parts of who I am.”