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Eyebrow Hair Transplant
The top of our head is certainly the most common place we experience hair loss, but it isn't the only place. Eyebrow hair also gets progressively sparser and thinner with age, or following an injury or a serious illness. Since eyebrow hair loss can be readily apparent to whomever we closely interact with, many of us attempt to fill in or cover up thin eyebrows as best we can. For women especially, having plentiful, well-defined brows is often associated with youth and therefore is a desirable feature.
Recent Q&A about this Treatment
R. S., Cary, IL
Marisa Amorasak, Community Manager, Hair Loss Specialists
Without an eyebrow pencil or the aid of brow makeup, filling in or restoring sparse eyebrows used to be an unsolvable dilemma. Fortunately, select modern hair transplant surgeons have been fine-tuning the art of eyebrow hair transplants in recent years. Now eyebrow hair loss can be treated, often permanently, for both men and women!
How Are Eyebrow Hair Transplants Performed?
The actual eyebrow hair transplant process is very similar to that of scalp hair transplants; both require donor hair from the back and/or sides of patients' heads to transplant onto balding areas. In this section, we'll outline each part of a basic eyebrow hair transplant procedure.
Prep
First, the patient's donor scalp hair is cleaned and the follicles are primed with antibiotics. Eyebrow hair transplant patients may also be sedated at this time, for greater comfort during follicle harvesting.
Harvesting
Scalp hair is delicately harvested from the back and/or sides of the head through follicular unit extraction (F.U.E.) or through donor strip techniques. For a strip technique, the donor hairs are removed along with a thin section of skin, then dissected from the skin flap using microscopic magnification.
F.U.E. harvesting involves the extraction of single follicles or mini clusters or “units” of hair follicles. These extracted follicles are then cleaned of excess tissue and carefully stored, to ensure they won't be damaged prior to transplantation. The amount of follicle units extracted during harvesting will depend on the extent of eyebrow hair loss being treated.
Transplantation
A patient's actual eyebrow transplantation may take place one or more days after the follicle harvesting appointment. For the transplantation, patients will likely receive local anesthesia to the eyebrow area prior to surgery.
Next, the hair transplant surgeon will make tiny incisions in the eyebrow areas with a fine needle, replicating the pattern of natural hair growth. The donor follicle units (as many as 40-300 for each eyebrow) will then be transplanted into the eyebrow incisions and stitched in place. This process can take a few hours depending on the number of follicles being implanted.
Recovery
Initially following eyebrow transplantation, there may be redness, swelling, itching and some scabbing as the incisions start to heal. Not only should the eyebrow hair and skin be well protected during the first weeks after surgery, the utmost care must be taken when washing the face and eyebrow area.
About 2-3 weeks after surgery, the newly transplanted eyebrow hairs may fall out as part of the natural growth cycle. On average, it can take 3-6 months for new hair growth to appear in a donor hair's place.
Eyebrow Hair Transplant Results
Complete results for eyebrow hair transplant surgery should be evident in about 6 months following transplantation. This may seem like an unbearable length of time, but all hair grows in a time-consuming cycle of stages, and transplanted hairs are no different. With proper care, and excluding the possibility of disease or future eyebrow injury, eyebrow hair transplants should be permanent. If any complications occur post eyebrow transplant, patients should contact their hair transplant surgeon without delay.
Eyebrow Hair Loss Causes
Forgetting the typical aging process, causes for eyebrow hair loss may include:
- Brow injuries/scars
- Burns
- Over-plucking
- Thyroid diseases
- Auto-immune disorders
- Radiation treatments
- Genetic predisposition
Meeting with a highly trained hair transplant surgeon for a hair loss analysis will help to clarify possible causes of your thinning eyebrows and/or hairline.
Are Eyebrow Hair Transplants Right for Me?
If you are presently concerned about your thinning brows or eyebrow hair loss, eyebrow hair transplants may be a logical choice for you. The best way to determine if you're a candidate for eyebrow hair transplantation will be through a brow hair consultation, performed by an expert local hair transplant surgeon.
Since eyebrow hair transplants are a newer, specialized procedure in the field, not all hair transplant surgeons will have experience with this technique. Dr. Parsa Mohebi, who treats hair loss patients in Beverly Hills, Encino and Foothill Ranch, CA, is one such surgeon who specializes in eyebrow hair transplants, as well as other modern hair loss treatments.
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