Robert Van Winkle—better known to your parents as Vanilla Ice—didn't just give the world "Ice Ice Baby." He gave us a look. It was a specific, sharp, and deeply polarizing aesthetic that defined a very narrow window of the early 1990s. At the center of that look? The vanilla ice eyebrow. Those two or three clean, vertical shaves through the right eyebrow became a visual shorthand for "cool" for about eighteen months.
It's funny how things cycle back.
If you walk through a high school hallway today, or scroll through a certain side of TikTok, you'll see them again. Except now, people call them "eyebrow slits" or "brow cuts." But let’s be real. It started with Rob.
Where did those eyebrow slits actually come from?
Most people think Vanilla Ice just woke up one day and decided to shave his face weirdly. That's not really how it happened. To understand the vanilla ice eyebrow, you have to look at the intersection of early 90s hip-hop and the burgeoning "street" style that was being commodified for suburban MTV audiences.
Vanilla Ice was famously a student of the Dallas and South Florida breakdancing scenes. He wasn't inventing these styles in a vacuum. He was lifting them from Black culture, specifically from figures like Big Daddy Kane. Kane was already rocking the multiple shaves in his eyebrows by the late 80s. It was a mark of precision. It looked like a scar from a fight, but cleaner. It suggested a level of "edge" that matched the high-top fades and the oversized jackets of the era.
When Ice hit the mainstream in 1990, he took that specific detail and turned the volume up to ten. He didn't just have a slit; he had deep, deliberate gaps that looked almost architectural. It worked. For a minute, he was the biggest star on the planet. And every kid with a disposable razor and a shaky hand tried to mimic it in their bathroom mirror. Usually, they ended up cutting their skin or making the gap way too wide.
The technical side of the 90s brow
How did he get them so crisp? Honestly, it wasn't just a quick swipe with a Bic. Professional barbers at the time used straight razors or specialized t-outliners to get that skin-tight finish. If you look at high-definition footage from his 1991 film Cool as Ice, the precision is actually pretty impressive. The hair wasn't just trimmed; it was gone.
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There’s a common misconception that these were actual scars. They weren't. It was purely grooming.
The vanilla ice eyebrow served a specific branding purpose. It broke up the symmetry of his face. In marketing terms, it made him instantly recognizable in a low-resolution music video. You could see those slits from the back of an arena. It was high-contrast styling.
Why the look eventually died (and then didn't)
By 1994, the "Ice" brand had cooled off significantly. The eyebrows went with it. As the grunge movement took over, the "manicured" look of 80s and early 90s hip-hop fell out of favor. People wanted to look messy. They wanted flannel shirts and long, greasy hair. A precision-shaved eyebrow felt too "try-hard."
But the look never truly vanished from the underground. It stayed alive in the Latin music scene and among certain factions of the UK's grime and garage scenes.
Fast forward to the 2020s. We’ve seen a massive resurgence of 90s "mall goth" and "cyber-pop" aesthetics. Gen Z rediscovered the vanilla ice eyebrow, though most of them have no idea who Robert Van Winkle is. They see it on K-pop idols like Jay Park or Jungkook, who have used eyebrow piercings or slits to add a bit of rebellious flair to their highly polished images.
It's a weird game of cultural telephone. A look taken from 80s hip-hop, popularized by a white rapper in the 90s, then adopted by global pop stars thirty years later.
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The psychology of the "shaved" brow
Why do we keep coming back to this?
Psychologically, an intentional "break" in a natural feature—like an eyebrow—triggers a specific reaction in the viewer. It signals a "voluntary scar." Historically, scars are associated with survival, toughness, and experience. By mimicking a scar through grooming, a person adopts that "tough" persona without actually having to go through the trauma of getting hit in the face.
It's also about symmetry. Or rather, the lack of it. Humans are naturally drawn to symmetrical faces, but we are fascinated by intentional asymmetry. It draws the eye directly to the gaze. When you look at someone with a vanilla ice eyebrow, you aren't looking at their forehead or their chin. You are looking directly into their eyes.
Dealing with the "growing out" phase
One thing the 90s kids will tell you—and the TikTok kids are currently learning—is that the maintenance is a nightmare. Eyebrow hair grows back differently than the hair on your head.
If you shave a slit into your brow, the "stubble" phase looks like a dark, dirty smudge for about two weeks. It doesn't look sharp. It looks like you have a piece of lint stuck to your face. Because the skin underneath is often lighter than the rest of your tanned face, you also get a weird "ghosting" effect where the slit was.
Plus, if you do it too often, you risk damaging the follicle. I’ve talked to people who rocked the vanilla ice eyebrow back in the day and now have permanent bald spots in their brows. The hair just gave up.
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Is it cultural appropriation or just a trend?
This is the conversation that didn't happen in 1991 but is happening now. Vanilla Ice was often criticized for "borrowing" heavily from Black culture without giving much credit. The eyebrow slits were part of that package.
Today, the "eyebrow slit" is largely seen as a gender-neutral fashion statement. It's moved beyond its original context. But it’s worth noting that for many, the look carries a history. In some communities, these marks were associated with gang affiliations or specific neighborhood identities long before they reached the main stage of the MTV Video Music Awards.
How to get the look without the regret
If you’re actually thinking about trying the vanilla ice eyebrow look today, don't use a standard razor. That’s how you end up in the emergency room with a nicked eyelid.
Most modern stylists suggest using an electric eyebrow trimmer with a very thin head. Better yet, many people use concealer and a fine-tooth brush to "paint" the slit on first. This lets you see if your face shape can actually pull it off before you commit to the three-week regrowth period.
The placement matters too. Ice usually had his towards the outer tail of the brow. Putting a slit too close to the bridge of the nose just makes you look like you have an angry uni-brow that's starting to split apart. Not a great look.
The "Ice" Legacy
Vanilla Ice himself has had a strange career path—from pop idol to professional jet-skier to home renovation expert on the DIY Network. But through all the iterations of his life, he’s occasionally brought the slits back. For him, it’s a signature. It’s like Gene Simmons' makeup or Slash's top hat.
The vanilla ice eyebrow remains a fascinating case study in how a tiny, almost insignificant grooming choice can become a global phenomenon. It represents a specific moment in time when pop culture was obsessed with looking "street" but in a way that was clean enough for a Pepsi commercial.
Whether you think it’s a classic style or a cringey relic of the past, you can't deny its staying power. It’s the trend that refuses to stay buried. Every time we think we’re done with it, someone new picks up a razor and decides to cut a line through their brow.
Actionable Insights for the "Slit" Look
- Check the Growth Pattern: Before cutting, brush your eyebrow hairs upward. If your hair is sparse, a slit will just make the brow disappear entirely. You need dense hair for the "gap" to look intentional.
- Safety First: Never use a full-sized shaving razor. Use a precision facial trimmer or, if you're brave, a specialized straight edge. Keep the skin taut to avoid snags.
- Symmetry is the Enemy: Don't try to do both eyebrows. The "double brow slit" on both sides often looks too theatrical. Stick to one side—traditionally the right, if you're going for the full Van Winkle.
- The Concealer Trick: If you have a photoshoot or an event, use a high-coverage matte concealer that matches your skin tone. Apply it in a thin vertical line over the brow and set it with powder. It mimics the look perfectly without the commitment.
- Regrowth Maintenance: If you hate it, use castor oil or a brow growth serum to speed up the return of the hair. Be prepared for it to look "patchy" for at least 14 to 21 days.