Beauty standards of previous decades favored thin, overly-arched brows, which led to overplucking and permanent hair loss. Eyebrow transplants restore these areas with follicles sourced from the scalp, chest, or beard.
This procedure differs from semi-permanent makeup, such as microblading, which uses pigment to alter or improve brows. A specialized surgeon will perform eyebrow transplantation to create a natural-looking shape.
What is Eyebrow Transplantation?
Eyebrows are an essential feature of your face, defining its shape and adding the finishing touch to your look. They protect your eyes from dust and debris and convey a sense of beauty and openness, helping others connect with you. Thinning or sparse eyebrows can leave you feeling self-conscious and frustrated, but fortunately, there are ways to restore their thickness.
One of the most effective ways is eyebrow hair transplantation, a permanent cosmetic procedure that uses scalp or eyebrow hair to create thicker, more pronounced eyebrows. During the process, your surgeon will harvest a small section of scalp tissue containing hair follicles and then transfer those to your eyebrows, filling them in.
Once the grafts have been placed, they must recover, which will take about 10 to 12 weeks. Once they have recovered, they will begin regrowth and grow into your new eyebrows. Because the grafts are taken from your scalp, they must be trimmed regularly as they grow.
Eyebrow transplantation can be performed as an outpatient procedure in a surgeon’s office using local anesthesia. After the process, you must protect the brow area from sunlight and gently clean it for the first few days. Mild redness, swelling, crusting, and tiny scabs can occur where the follicles are placed, but they will resolve within a few days to a week.
What Can I Expect From Eyebrow Transplantation?
After the procedure, your surgeon will provide postoperative care instructions. Follow them closely to ensure that you heal properly and enjoy optimal results. This includes refraining from plucking, waxing, and tweezing your eyebrows until the hair grows back to avoid ruining the results of your transplant.
Eyebrow transplantation offers a permanent solution for those unhappy with their sparse brows. It’s popular with women and men with thinning or patchy brows and people who have lost their brows due to an injury, skin condition like alopecia areata, or aging.
Before deciding to undergo an eyebrow transplant, consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon who has performed several of these procedures before. Ask to see before-and-after photos of previous patients to feel confident that the doctor understands what you want.
During your consultation, the surgeon will examine your eyebrows and scalp to see if you have enough hair in the right areas for an effective transplant. It would help if you told the surgeon about any underlying health issues or medications you take, as these could impact whether the procedure is successful. Your doctor may also recommend that you try a non-surgical treatment before moving forward with an eyebrow transplant. Options include microblading, brow tattooing, and regrowth serums.
How Does Eyebrow Transplantation Work?
A plastic surgeon-in a plastic surgery procedure—will use a small blade to separate individual hair follicles from the scalp, which will then be transplanted into your eyebrow area. This will create a more natural, fuller, and thicker look. The procedure typically takes about four hours.
Depending on your goals, there are different techniques for eyebrow transplantation: strip harvesting and follicular unit extraction (FUE). Your doctor will discuss which method is best for you. Both options can be performed outpatient, with little to no downtime.
The donor’s hair is typically harvested from the back of your head, and once it is prepared under Ziering microscopes into single-hair grafts, our specialized eyebrow team will then make the recipient sites. These will be designed with your input, so there will be symmetry, and the brows’s shape will complement your facial features and meet your goals.
Once the grafts are in place, they will grow into new homes, mimicking natural eyebrows’ angles and growth patterns. You mustn’t disturb the transplanted follicles by rubbing, picking, or scratching them. Moisture should also be avoided, as this can prevent the hairs from “taking” and may cause them to fall out or to form cysts. This is why it is so vital that you follow your doctor’s recovery instructions.
What Can I Do to Prevent Eyebrow Transplantation?
An eyebrow transplant is a permanent procedure that can transform your appearance. It takes hair follicles from another part of the body—typically the back of the scalp—and transfers them to your brows to make them appear fuller. This can be an excellent option for men and women who are thinning or losing their natural brows and those who have over-tweezed their brows or had less-than-desirable results from tattooing and microblading.
This cosmetic surgery isn’t typically covered by health insurance, but it can be worth the investment if you can afford it. However, the price tag can vary based on your specific needs and provider.
Before getting an eyebrow transplant, choosing the right surgeon for you is essential. Look for a practitioner who has performed several of these procedures and can provide you with before-and-after photos. In addition, you should make sure to disclose any underlying medical conditions that may affect your outcome.
Conclusion
Finally, you should be prepared for a few days of downtime after the procedure. You should avoid washing the area or touching your brows during this time. If you need to clean your face, use a gentle cleanser, such as Gentle Micellar Water, on a cotton round or Strip Reusable Cleansing Wipe. This will help prevent moisture from interfering with the new grafts and inhibiting them from taking.
