Eyebrow pain is most often caused by a sinus infection or tension or cluster headaches. Less common causes of eyebrow pain include acute closed-angle glaucoma and temporal arteritis. Eyebrow twitching, while typically not painful, often has no known cause and is usually short-lived.
The most common causes of eyebrow pain are sinusitis, tension headaches, and cluster headaches. Sinusitis is caused by an infection in the sinus cavity, which lies behind the face. During the immune response against the infection, the sinuses become inflamed, producing pain and pressure that radiate outward to the areas of the eyebrows and the upper cheeks. Antibiotics to destroy the infection and pain killers are often used to treat this type of pain.
Tension headaches are a feeling of pain or discomfort in the area of the head, especially around the eyebrows. These types of headaches often feel as though the head is being compressed. The exact reason for a tension headache is rarely known, but some of the more common causes are lack of sleep, stress, or the onset of a cold or flu.
Cluster headaches are severe head pain often concentrated around the lower forehead and are another common cause of eyebrow pain. These types of headaches get their name because they often come in groups or waves and then subside for a short period of time. Both tension and cluster headaches are treated with over-the-counter or prescription pain-killing medications.
Two other less common causes of eyebrow pain are acute closed-angle glaucoma and temporal arteritis. Acute closed-angle glaucoma is a rare form of glaucoma that produces a quickly accelerating intraocular pressure and results in severe eye pain that can spread to the eyebrow region. This form of glaucoma is treated with drugs to reduce the pressure inside the eye, or with surgery. Temporal arteritis is a disease in which the main arteries which supply blood to the head swell, reducing the supply of nourishment and blood to the head. This disorder can result in intense pain in the eyebrow region and jaw.
Muscle spasms in the eyebrow or eyelid or involuntary tremors in the area of the eyebrow or eyelid are annoying but not an indication of a problem. These uncontrollable muscles spasms, also known as benign essential blepharospasms (BEB), typically appear for a few days and then subside. BEB has no known cause, but many people feel this problem occurs when normal sleep patterns are interrupted or when poor sleep has been experienced for several days. Often these spasms will stop after a good night’s sleep.
How To Pluck Eyebrows Without Pain or Discomfort
When you already experience pain in or around your eyebrows, whether due to an acute or chronic illness or a passing headache, the prospect of any more discomfort is certainly unwelcome. Plucking your eyebrows can help you to achieve a more ideal brow shape, but the pinching and stinging feelings that come with the task are highly unpleasant and can be painful enough to make your eyes water.
Fortunately, there are several things you can do to minimize the amount of pain you experience while grooming your eyebrows.
Sharp Tweezers
Some of the pain involved with plucking your eyebrows is due to dull tweezers that cause you to miss eyebrow hairs, which can snag your skin or require you to make several passes over the same area. If your tweezers have grown dull, are difficult to squeeze open and shut, or have simply gotten old, a new, sharper pair can make the task less irritating for your eyebrows.
Hot Water
Your hair follicles are a lot more open after having been exposed to heat or steam, which makes the hairs much easier to remove from your skin. A warm bath, a hot shower, or a washcloth saturated with warm water can open up your hair follicles and reduce the amount of resistance you encounter with each strand of eyebrow hair. Just make sure to leave the heat or steam applied for at least a couple of minutes for optimal results.
Proper Form
Your eyebrow grooming routine could be more painful than it has to be simply due to your technique. Eyebrow hairs should always be grabbed near to the root of the hair and pulled out in the direction of hair growth. Pulling hairs from the end or from the opposite direction can cause breakage or unnecessary irritation to your hair follicles.
As well, it’s best to grab a small section at a time. In fact, plucking one hair at a time can prevent extra pain, as you can be more careful and precise with your routine. Go into your grooming regimen with a plan for the shape and size you’d like to achieve, and make sure to only pluck the hairs that will result in your intended outcome. Overplucking not only makes your brows thinner than you’d hoped, but it adds unnecessary pain to the process.
Aftercare
Hair removal can be stressful for your skin. Get ahead of redness and inflammation as soon as you finish plucking your brows with a small amount of aloe vera gel to soothe the area. The sooner you can apply this solution, the less painful your eyebrow region will be after you’re done.
How To Relieve Sinus Pain Above Eyebrow Areas
Eyebrow pain that is caused by an underlying sinus condition can be treated in a number of ways, but the ideal relief solution largely depends on the root of the problem. Common treatments for sinus conditions include:
- Pain relievers
- Cool compresses
- Decongestants
- Nasal sprays
- Anti-inflammatories
The goal of any treatment method that aims to treat sinus pain is to reduce the pressure and discomfort of inflamed or irritated sinuses. Over-the-counter pain, anti-inflammatory, and decongestant medicines can reduce the amount of pressure within the nasal cavity and minimize or eliminate eyebrow pain entirely, and nasal sprays and cool compresses to the forehead can reduce symptoms of painful congestion or swelling. However, if pain or discomfort persists, you may need to schedule a visit with your doctor for further treatment.
How To Thread Eyebrows Without Pain and Soreness
Eyebrow threading is a popular method of brow grooming that is said to hurt less than typical wax or tweezer methods of hair removal. Though it’s known to be less painful, it can still cause pain and discomfort for some.
Before an eyebrow threading session, some people find it helpful to take anti-inflammatory pain medication and avoid any skin treatments that could leave skin more irritated or sensitive than usual. At the session, a qualified eyebrow artist always pulls the skin taut in the proper direction to minimize pain, so it’s important to keep your eyelids closed for the skin to remain as tight as possible and to avoid unnecessary pulling.
A cooling lotion, such as aloe vera gel, is typically applied as soon as the artist is done with hair removal to reduce inflammation and redness. You can continue to soothe your eyebrows after your appointment with cooling compresses, soothing aloe lotions, or non-irritating moisturizers.
Often, eyebrow pain, whether caused by grooming procedures or medical conditions, can be avoided through preventive measures. Because the pain does not generally originate in your eyebrows, treatment should approach the underlying cause of tenderness and discomfort.