Eyebrow Transplants

An eyebrow transplant is a good choice if you are currently unhappy with your brows, and are looking for a permanent solution to regain confidence in your looks.

Eyebrow Transplants

If the eyes are a window to one’s soul, then consider the eyebrow the archway of that portal. Patchy thin brows can easily make you feel less than gorgeous in a beauty world where strong, well-defined arches are revered. The first leg on your eyebrow transplant journey is to consider whether or not you are a good candidate for this kind of surgery. Here’s a general rundown of what the doctors look for in an ideal candidate:

Eyebrow Transplants

Ideal Candidate	Explanation
Trauma	The doctors look for trauma to the brow area due to car accidents, fires and the like.
A systemic or local disease.	Having low thyroid levels or anemia can cause the eyebrows to fall out or thin.
Over plucking, electrolysis or laser hair removal	Our vain attempts to achieve the perfect brow can often lead to over zealous plucking, electrolysis, or laser hair removal. Unfortunately, these beauty rites can lead to less than perfect looking brows.
Trichotillomania or TTM	This is the scientific name for obsessive compulsive plucking.
Radiation therapy or the surgical removal of a tumor.	Having a medical procedure is another reason why brows may not be as thick as you’d like them to be.
Genetics	Sometimes our genes are to blame for hair loss. There is good news though, especially for those who suffer from alopecia or alopecia areata because the hair can grow back as quickly as it fell out.

The Procedure

The procedure for eyebrow transplants consists of taking as many as a hundred hairs, usually from your own head, and carefully grafting them onto your brows. The doctor or doctors, careful to note the angle and direction of your natural hair growth, place the coveted hairs accordingly. The procedure is essentially painless, but if you are particularly sensitive to pain, a mild oral sedative is provided.

Two to four days after the procedure, tiny crusts form around each transplanted hair. There is no need to worry; these crusts are similar to what you’d see on a scab, and like a scab, they fall off painlessly. Additionally, these crusts leave no scars behind. You may experience some “pinkness” but this too should fade by the end of the first week. The transplanted hairs themselves fall out after about two weeks, but then re-grow at about three months, and continue to grow for a lifetime.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages are minimal. Keep in mind that a one to two inch incision has to be made, but this incision heals and any scarring is concealed by the actual hair re-growth. The only other foreseeable problem is that occasionally a few wayward hairs grow in the wrong direction. This can easily be corrected by either plucking or using a brow gel to reshape the hair’s direction.

In The Interim

While weighing the pros and cons of eyebrow transplants, try these tips for plumping up and in some cases, evening out your brows.

Eyebrows and Hair Color

• If you have very light blonde hair: You are going to want to define your brows a bit more. To add oomph or definition, work with a blonde or brown pencil.

• Naturally brown hair: If you have naturally brunette hair, use a reddish brown brow pencil. Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette is a good choice.

• Naturally black hair: If you have very dark to black hair, logic dictates that you should use a black pencil, but this is actually not the best choice. Black pencils tend to make the brows look too harsh and garish in certain lights, particularly under florescent lighting. Look for a pencil that has a slight gray cast to it. Cover Girl has some good choices. The gray tone mimics the sheen of naturally glossy hair, and thereby lends a much more natural appearance.

Shaping and Drawing Eyebrows

• Once you’ve selected your color, remember to use a light hand and short feathery strokes.

• Always follow your natural eyebrow shape. Here’s a great trick. The arch or highest point of the eyebrow usually falls just above the outer point of the eye’s iris. You can also see where your brow would naturally end by extending your index finger from the tip of your nose to the outside or very end of your eye. Hold your finger at an angle when doing this. Wherever your fingernail ends is the extent of your eyebrow length.

• A combination of eyebrow length and arch, coupled with sturdy pencils and blending shadows, will allow you to achieve stunningly beautiful eyebrows.

Inspiration

Check out some of these celebrities for some inspiration on truly great brows.

• Kelly Ripa
• Julia Roberts
• Oprah
• Katie Holmes
• Beyonce

For More Information

If you are curious, or need to know more about eyebrow transplants, online resources are available to help:

• The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell
• Hair Loss Specialists Website
• NHT Medical Center: Hair Transplant Gallery- Eyebrows

A Final Note

The decision to have an eyebrow transplant is entirely yours. Consider the fact that any surgery, no matter how minimal, is still surgery. While you decide, practice filling in your brows, and take cues from the stunning movie icon beauties of the 1940s. Let them be your jumping off point in your search for the perfect eyebrow.

Slideshows and Quizzes

• Funky Hair Color Trends
• Beach Wedding Hair Styles
• Blue Hair Images
• Hair Removal Quiz
• Healthy Hair Quiz

Top 5 Hair Articles

• Emo Hair Styles
• Emo Hair Style Pictures
• Layered Hair Styles
• Pictures of Emo Hair Cuts
• Short Hair Styles

Related Articles

• Fake Eyebrows
• Plucking
• Eyebrow Waxing
• Eyebrow Stencils
• Eyebrow Wax