Johnathan Walker:Narcissists may have this distinct facial feature, but experts say dig deeper

Does the secret to someone's personality lie in their eyebrows?Johnathan Walker

Eyebrows − particularly bold, dark eyebrows − are having a moment right now − just look at the way fans are buzzing over Emma Stone's black brow look for her critically acclaimed role in the movie "Poor Things."

As one X user put it, a trend is afoot: "... Calling it now. We’ll be (dyeing) our eyebrows by May."

Some researchers have even looked into whether you can get insight into someone's personality solely based on their eyebrows, with one study, published in 2018, finding evidence to suggest that people may accurately predict if someone's a grandiose narcissist based on the "distinctiveness" of their eyebrows. Experts say don't get carried away. There's a lot more to personality types than someone's eyebrows can exhibit.

Furthermore, they say we should withhold making snap judgements about people based on their facial features.

"If we put enough stuff into a statistical software, something's going to be correlated," says Ramani Durvasula, a psychologist and author of the book "It's Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People," coming Feb. 20. "Yes, narcissistic people care deeply about their appearance. They'd probably spend more on it − more time, more money − but not everyone who takes care of their eyebrows, obviously, by any stretch of the imagination, is narcissistic."

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Can you spot a narcissist by their eyebrows? It's complicated.

The study asked people to take the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a self-assessment that measures traits of narcissism. Then, participants were asked to identify which of these people were more narcissistic, based solely on their facial features.

What the study found was that the distinctiveness of one's eyebrows played a critical role in others being able to accurately identify them as more narcissistic.

But why eyebrows? The study had some theories.

"Because grandiose narcissists strongly desire recognition and admiration, they seek to maintain distinct eyebrows to facilitate others' ability to notice, recognize and remember them, thereby increasing their likability and reinforcing their overly positive self-views," the study reads.

Plus, given eyebrows can play a significant role in people's perceived attractiveness, the study says it "thus makes sense that narcissists might selectively alter their brows to appear more attractive."

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According to Durvasula, what the study misses, however, is that narcissists present in various ways, sometimes covertly. Therefore, bold, well-groomed eyebrows aren't going to present on every narcissist.

"One of the big problems with narcissism is a lot of people think it's arrogance or being stuck up or just being selfish, when in fact it's a much more complicated issue," she says. "If you're only looking at it from the arrogant, superficial perspective, a person who has those really well-coiffed eyebrows may sort of seem more narcissistic."

Another misconception, she says, is everyone who puts money and effort into their looks is a narcissist.

"It wouldn't even be fair to say just because somebody's carrying a $20,000 purse or wearing $1,000 shoes that they're narcissistic."

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Narcissism experts say don't jump to conclusions

Chelsey Cole, a psychotherapist and author of "If Only I'd Known: How to Outsmart Narcissists, Set Guilt-Free Boundaries, and Create Unshakeable Self-Worth," encourages people seeking to spot narcissists to take note of patterns in their behavior, not facial features.

If you do notice narcissistic traits − such as attention-seeking, validation-seeking, entitlement and grandiosity − and distinct eyebrows, well then, the brows are just "the cherry on top," she says.

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Durvasula says the study speaks more to society's deep need to identify toxic people right off the bat. This, she says, is pretty much impossible, as it takes time for people, especially narcissists, to reveal their true selves.

Bigger red flags than eyebrows, she says, are how someone treats you and if you feel safe around them.

"We're all looking for that easy, quick, soft sign of narcissism we can sort of pick out," she says. "The work is looking within in terms of, 'Am I able to detect when something doesn't feel safe in a relationship, and can I give myself permission to step away?' "

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