It can happen very suddenly, can’t it? One day you’re complaining about having to pluck your eyebrows so often and the next, you’re trying desperately to get the hairs to grow back. We overheard a lady saying the other day something we at The Wimpole Clinic hear so often from our eyebrow transplant clients: ‘I over-plucked my eyebrows!’ To some of us it may seem like a bit of a first world problem to have over done the eyebrow shape however for the majority of us, having a bare hole somewhere in your eyebrow is akin to having a huge spot on your face, every single day of the year.

There can also be more uncontrollable reasons for having hair loss or alopecia areata in your eyebrows. The obvious one is scarring, which can leave a permanently hairless area, further highlighting the existence of skin trauma there. There can also be medical issues leading to hair loss. And one we all fear while trying not to fear, eyebrow alopecia from stress which can leave us with no eyebrows for long periods of time on top of our woes.

However the eyebrow hair loss has occurred, there are a huge number of men and women now opting for eyebrow transplant for alopecia which can be done in little time and produce long-term brow-raising satisfaction. Today we’re going to outline what to expect in an eyebrow transplant procedure and how it works to restore hair on the face.

What can I expect in an eyebrow transplant?

The procedure is relatively simple, requiring only a local anaesthetic and no lengthy stay in hospital. However, the surgeon must be able to work with exact precision and accuracy to get good results.

The procedure for eyebrow transplant is the same as that for the scalp whereby donor hair follicles (a typical site for hair donation is from behind the ears) are removed using very tiny needles ensuring no scarring is left either on the head or on the implanted eyebrow. Each hair is implanted individually, a painstaking process using needles just a few millimetres wide and every single hair must be transplanted in the right position, following the direction of other hairs in the eyebrow and lying very flat against the skin so real skill and experience is required from your eyebrow transplant surgeon. The hairs must also be spaced very closely together in order to create a full and smooth appearance.

How many hair grafts are needed for an eyebrow transplant?

Each eyebrow typically needs between 250 and 400 hairs to create a natural and healthy appearance; the actual number will vary depending on the size and appearance of the existing eyebrow as well as the desired result.

During the process the patient will have a local anaesthetic so they won’t be aware of any discomfort and can comfortably relax. Once the procedure is complete, they won’t need to stay in the clinic and can go home to recover.