Eyelash and Eyebrow Transplants

Article provided by Hair Transplant Center
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Created on July 13, 2007

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Dr. Robert Jones

Nowadays women and men with complete or partial eyelash or eyebrow loss can regain their eyebrows and eyelashes through a microsurgical hair transplant procedure. It is safe, effective, minimally invasive, and takes only one session in most cases. This procedure has been mentioned in the press a lot lately, and because of this, it has dramatically increased in popularity.

The medical term for eyelash loss is madarosis. Eyelash loss can be permanent or temporary.

What causes eyebrow and/or eyelash loss in men and women?

• Physical trauma, e.g., accident, thermal, chemical or electrical burns
• Systemic or local disease that causes loss of eyebrow and/or eyelashes
• Congenital inability to grow eyebrows and/or eyelashes
• Plucking (to reshape the eyebrow) that results in permanent loss of eyebrows
• Self-inflicted obsessive plucking or eyebrows and/or eyelashes (trichotillomania). Medical or surgical treatments that result in eyebrow or eyelash loss, e.g. radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgical removal of tumor
• Possible signs of Alopecia Areata for some individuals

Eyebrow and eyelash restoration is a minimally invasive microsurgical procedure. Usually one session is all that is required.

The donor hair is extracted one follicle at a time from either your scalp or your leg. The donor is usually taken from a site that furnishes finer rather than coarser hair; finer hair is a better "match" for eyebrow hair. Donor hair is transplanted microsurgically, one or two hairs at a time. Each graft is placed into an incision prepared for it. The use of single hairs permits meticulous adherence to the eyebrow contour for a natural appearance.

The results are as natural as your own naturally growing hair. In many cases, they are more beautifully shaped and contoured than what you were born with. The one problem with eyelash and eyebrow transplants is that the hair will continue to grow, which necessitates the hair being constantly trimmed.

Hair grows in cycles, so the effect is not immediate. It will take four to six months before the new hairs start to grow in your eyebrow or eyelash.

Are the new hairs permanent? Yes, in most cases. What is the post-operative maintenance? Sometimes a short maintenance session may be required after a few years, but that is rare. For some individuals, occasional trimming as well as "contouring" of the transplanted eyebrows or eyelashes may be required until the grafts start to form their own curves.

Post-operative complications are often limited to minor itching, pain and possibly swelling in some patients. Patients should avoid scratching the recipient site as this may dislocate or dislodge the grafts.

Is everyone a candidate for this procedure? The cause of eyebrow/eyelash loss is evaluated in medical history and examination prior to consideration of hair restoration:

• Systemic or local disease that causes hair loss must be under control to assure that hair restoration can succeed
• Obsessive-compulsive plucking (trichotillomania) must be treated to assure that restored hair will not be plucked out

Trauma, burns or surgery may have resulted in formation of scar tissue; reconstructive surgery may be necessary before eyebrow/eyelash restoration. The degree of eyebrow loss may vary from complete to partial; the degree of loss may be a consideration in selection of the restoration procedure. Once all of these factors are taken into consideration, we can then assess the patient's suitability for this procedure.