Mikaela Shiffrin is known for carving clean, precise lines down alpine ski slopes at breathtaking speed, but it turns out that shaving a thin line into an eyebrow is a whole different kind of challenge. As the 2026 Winter Olympics get underway, sharp-eyed viewers watching the American ski star compete may notice something slightly unusual about her right eyebrow — specifically, that a chunk of it appears to be missing. Far from being a fashion statement gone wrong, the story behind it stretches back years and involves a training accident, a plastic surgeon, and a very relatable grooming mishap.
Shiffrin took to Instagram on February 9 to explain the whole thing herself, giving fans a candid and funny breakdown of what happened. She revealed that she has had a scar running through her right eyebrow for quite some time, the result of a fall during a balance training exercise. “I fell off that device — my own fault — and cut my eyebrow,” she explained. “A plastic surgeon stitched my eyebrow with 30 stitches. I didn’t even know that was possible, but apparently it is.” The scar never fully went away, and over time, the hairs around it started growing in irregularly, which she had managed through a routine of plucking and trimming.
That approach worked just fine until she found herself at the Olympic Village with a razor in hand and a fresh idea. Inspired by what she called “cool people with lines in their eyebrows,” she decided that instead of continuing to disguise the scar, she would simply lean into it. “I thought, what if, instead of trying to hide the scar, I just embrace it and shave a little line?” she said. Her internal reasoning before picking up the razor was a fairly optimistic “How bad could it turn out?” — a question she may have answered faster than expected.
The real complication, she admitted, isn’t the eyebrow itself but rather the fact that makeup won’t stay put during competition. Shiffrin explained that she tends to sweat most heavily above her upper lip and on her eyebrows, which is precisely where her ski goggles press against her face. “There is a big chance I’ll cross the finish line with half an eyebrow,” she said with characteristic self-awareness. She wrapped the video with a playful request to fans, joking that if they spotted her looking noticeably short one eyebrow over the coming weeks, they should consider themselves sworn to secrecy.
The clip quickly made the rounds among the U.S. Olympic team, and her teammates were more than happy to play along. Speed skater Erin Jackson, one of the American flag bearers at the opening ceremony, jumped into the comments with a zinger of her own: “Looking for somewhere to get my eyebrows done at the Games… Won’t be going to you.” The exchange perfectly captured the light-hearted camaraderie of the Olympic Village atmosphere, even as athletes gear up for the most competitive events of their careers.
For Shiffrin, these are her fourth Olympic Games, and she arrives carrying three Olympic medals and a legacy as one of the most decorated alpine skiers in history. Born on March 13, 1995, in Vail, Colorado, she made her Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games at just 18 years old, winning gold in slalom. She went on to capture gold and silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, cementing her status as a generational talent in the sport. On the World Cup circuit, she holds the all-time record for the most wins in alpine skiing history, surpassing the legendary Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing record. Shiffrin competes across multiple disciplines, including slalom, giant slalom, super-G, and downhill, which speaks to her remarkable versatility on the mountain. The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, where this eyebrow saga is unfolding, are being held across several venues in northern Italy, including the iconic Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort.
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