Cypriot model sparks ‘unibrow’ debate

Cypriot model Sophia Hadjipanteli is causing a stir in the world of social media after opting to cultivate a thick black unibrow, ignoring the dictates of the times.

Aged 21, the first-generation American immigrant is a model and student at the University of Maryland.

She became an internet sensation after accidentally tinting her eyebrows and is now an advocate of unconventional looks.

Her close to 67,000 followers on Instagram may be divided on the issue but she doesn’t seem to mind. Hadjipanteli says her personal style is androgynous with touches of femininity.

“I wear makeup because it is fun. 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,” she said under one of her instagram photos. “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. I’m who I am because I want to be this way. When you judge others for wearing makeup, dying their hair, altering parts of their body or inner self, JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T, makes you just as toxic as a lot of societal norms and pressures we are constantly faced with.”

“Pluck that shit,” said one of the commenters, while another likened the model to a homeless person.

Not all are negative: “I really love your look. So unique, don’t change a thing.”

“Celebrate nature in all its forms fight the unrealistic beauty standards of today,” added another.

In an interview with Harpers Bazaar, Hadjipanteli said she was not out to show people they had to like her unibrow and get them on a bandwagon. She just wanted them to see they can get on with their lives by having a preference.

The 21-year-old said she got her eyebrows from her mum who frequently emphasised the importance of taking care of them since she was little.

She said she tried tinting her blonde eyebrows after seeing a Youtube video but she messed up and made the black.

Her brother said it suited her and now she maintains them that way in addition to a coat of castor oil every night before bed.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.