After the ‘hot assassin’ Luigi Mangione debuted a new look behind bars, including what appeared to be freshly groomed eyebrows, people flocked to social media to try to figure out how he was able to get his brows done in jail.
On Thursday, the 26-year-old was photographed wearing an orange prison jumpsuit when he left a Pennsylvania court with a clean-shaven look, debuting a fresh haircut and an apparent eyebrow trim.
Luigi later appeared in a New York City courtroom to face murder charges for the December 4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50.
The CEO was shot dead as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where the United States’ biggest medical insurer was holding an investor conference.
The pictures quickly made their way to social media, where people wondered where Luigi got his new look.
In a viral X (formerly Twitter) thread, one user tweeted, ‘A fade and threaded eyebrows in jail??? They are trying to start a revolution,’ in response to before and after pictures of the University of Pennsylvania graduate.
The X user went on to explain, ‘It’s a prison fade and floss thread, they only got so much behind bars y’all.’
FEMAIL reached out to experts to find out if it is possible to thread eyebrows with dental floss – and what might really be behind Luigi’s prison glow up.
On X, the praise for Luigi’s new look continued as one user tweeted, ‘They did an amazing job with what they had. He’s also rocking that orange suit like he’s a fashion model.’
‘His eyebrows look better than mine now,’ another complimented.
Others thought that the former fraternity brother got his eyebrows done after seeing the brouhaha online about them, as an X user chimed in, ‘They saw us say the eyebrows didn’t match so they got him cleaned up.’
However, not everyone thought he groomed his unruly monobrow with dental floss.
‘Pretty sure they get a barber visit before the trial, especially for something this public, right?’ one person asked.
‘From my experience, we could see an actual barber with clippers every other Tuesday if you made an appt in time, but if an inmate had the means to line you up in their cell, then you could get right whenever,’ a former prisoner responded.
Kopelman Hair Restoration hair transplant surgeon Dr. Ross Kopelman, who specializes in eyebrow restoration, told DailyMail.com, ‘If the brows were shaved by a barber, we would typically expect to see a flat, even stubble surface left behind, especially when viewed up close.’
Dr. Kopelman explained that when brows or trimmed with clippers or a razor, ‘the result might look clean from a distance but would lack the precise definition.’
‘Threading, on the other hand, involves removing hairs at the follicle level, which creates a sharper, cleaner appearance around the edges of the brows,’ Dr. Kopelman, who’s based in New York, told FEMAIL. ‘This method is particularly effective for sculpting intricate brow shapes because it removes even the fine, vellus hairs that shaving often leaves behind.’
‘Threading could explain the polished look of his brows, though it requires skill and a tool – traditionally, a cotton or polyester thread twisted to pull hairs out by the root,’ Dr. Kopelman theorized.
‘The claim circulating online about threading with dental floss is technically plausible but less conventional,’ Dr. Kopelman said.
‘Threading relies on the friction and twisting action of the thread to pluck hairs, and dental floss, being strong and pliable, could potentially work in a similar manner.’
‘However, achieving professional-grade threading results with floss would require significant skill and precision. It’s not something an average person could easily replicate, particularly without prior threading experience.’
Dr. Kopelman believes that Luigi would have had to improvise in prison with ‘makeshift tools,’ like ‘small, sharpened objects to trim or shave the brows, or even fire-singed methods to burn away hairs in a controlled manner.’
‘These methods could potentially result in a clean look, but achieving Mangione’s level of refinement under such conditions would require creativity and expertise.’
‘The strikingly clean and deliberate appearance of his brows does suggest they were shaped with care and skill, whether by a barber, a skilled hand using threading techniques, or some other method, Dr. Kopelman revealed.
Celebrity eyebrow specialist Joey Healy, based in New York City, also weighed in about his brow transformation.
‘I think this heavy, unibrowed look seemed stormy and almost menacing because it placed such heaviness around the eye area,’ Joey said. ‘Now, maybe this is part of his cleaned-up look to make him a more likable vigilante.’
Joey agreed that he didn’t appear to use a razor because there’s no stubble – instead, he thinks it’s thread, although unlikely it’s dental floss, because of its waxy coating.
‘The interesting thing is thread can come from anything: a piece of clothing, a mattress,’ Joey said.
