Inside the Eyebrow Transplant Process

On the surface, eyebrows just seem to be a good complement for your eyes and round out your facial appearance overall. But they do perform necessary functions, including reducing the light that gets in your eyes and preventing moisture from getting into them. 

This is why eyebrows grow outward toward the sides of your face.

They are also key to how you express emotions, where using one or both eyebrows can display surprise, interest, and skepticism. If you’ve lost eyebrow hair or wish to make them look fuller and more expressive, it may be time to consider an eyebrow transplant.

To get eyebrow transplants or other hair restoration in the Newport Beach or Glendale, California, areas, see Drs. Michael and Alister Meshkin and our Meshkin Medical team. We’re here to help.

Why you lose eyebrow hair

Some people have lighter hair, which can make eyebrows harder to notice, and some people simply have naturally thin eyebrows. But if you’re losing hair in this area, it’s referred to as eyebrow madarosis or hypotrichosis, and here are some of the factors that can cause it.

• Aging — As you age, hair follicles produce finer hair or less hair, as well as hair that becomes grey or white
• Hormonal imbalances, such as thyroid imbalances (hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism)
• Autoimmune illnesses, such as two different forms of alopecia (areata and frontal fibrosing), as well as discoid lupus
• Nutritional deficiency, such as the lack of fatty acids, biotin, and zinc 
• Skin conditions, such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and seborrheic dermatitis
• Medications, including chemotherapy, retinoid drugs, and anticonvulsants

How eyebrow transplant surgery is done

We can transplant hair on one or both eyebrows, by transplanting hair from other areas and grafting it where needed. We usually take the hair from above your ears, which can contain 2-15 hair follicles, but it can also come from other locations. 

We start by applying an anesthetic so you can rest throughout the procedure, then we trim the donor area for easier access. We use special instruments to remove the follicles we need, then close the area with stitches. 

We make small slits to place the hairs into their new home, and then stitch the transplant area. 

We can do the procedure using either the follicular unit transplantation method (FUT) or the follicular extraction method (FUE), which we also use in other hair restoration treatments.

What to expect after it’s finished

Since this is an outpatient treatment, you can go home when it’s finished, but expect some swelling and pain, and possibly some bandages that you wear until we tell you to remove them. These side effects resolve shortly after the surgery, and some of the stitches will dissolve several days after as the incisions heal.

You can expect some of the transplanted hair to fall out in the following weeks, but over the next several months, you should see full hair growth.

If you want to have fuller eyebrows, make an appointment with us at Meshkin Medical. We serve the Los Angeles area from our Glendale clinic, and Orange County, California, from our Newport Beach clinic.