Eyebrow Transplant Query

[Brows23]

Hello,

 

I am new here and I wondered if someone would be able to give me some advice? I really want an eyebrow transplant. I plucked my brows years ago and sadly they never grew back properly. I went to a clinic for a consultation in London and I was rejected. They said the hair on my head was too fine and light to match my eyebrow hair which is thicker and almost black in colour.

 

I have since looked further afield and have booked an appointment with a clinic in Brussels hoping they can help. I am very worried however that I will be told the same thing again (about the hair not being a good match) and therefore I wanted to know about using armpit hair. Can someone advise me on what the problems would be doing this, and if there is a chance that the results would be ok?

 

Many thanks!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Brows,

 

Welcome to our hair loss discussion forum and social community. You've definitely come to the right place to begin your research.

 

While I couldn't tell you whether or not you're a good candidate for eyebrow transplant surgery based on this post, I encourage you to do a free virtual consult with one of our prescreened hair restoration physicians. Each physician recommended on the Hair Transplant Network has been carefully selected and proven to perform state of the art hair transplants. To see our standards for recommendation, click here.

 

Not every physician we recommend do eyebrow transplants. However, many of them do and it would probably benefit you to consult with several of them for their input. It would also be helpful if you send them photos and if you're willing, post a few pictures of your eyebrows and donor hair (hair at the sides and back of your scalp) on this forum.

 

Regarding using body hair, while there are certain restrictions and limitations depending on a number of things, it may be a possible solution for you, that is, if your scalp hair really isn't viable for transplanting to your eyebrows. But I think consulting with a few leading surgeons and going over all your options would be prudent.

 

All the Best,

 

Bill Seemiller

[ulko]

Hey Brows23!

 

I'm on the hunt for a doc that can do body hair transplants to the eyebrow myself. If possible and done successfully, I think a BHT would be a much better choice over the standard scalp hair transplant, since the growth cycles of body hairs are a very close match to those of eyebrow hair (i.e. trimming the transplanted hair will most likely not be necessary).

 

Of course, there are possible complications as well, my main concern being that all the transplanted hair will become dormant at the same time (http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=136678). I have yet to get any confirmation if this actually is an issue or not yet, though. If it is, you may need a second, carefully "timed", BHT.

 

May I ask which clinic in Brussels you are going to? If you're going to Dr. Devroye's, he has actually posted a very good looking eyebrow transplant using armpit hair. Have a look here: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=139600

 

Let us know how things turn out!

Edited May 25, 2010 by ulko

[Brows23]

Hi Ulko!

 

Yes it is Dr Devroye that I am going to! I have a consultation on the 1st July and then the surgery on the 2nd July if all goes well! My colouring is similar to that of Emma Watson before she went too blonde (dark brows but blondish hair) so apart from just having to trim the hairs if I have them from my head I will also have to dye them! I have read that BHT is not always successful however, and I too worry about them all being dormant at the same time and thus end up with bald patches! Dr Devroye himself said that the regrowth for body hairs is longer and less sure than head hair.

 

I guess I will find out more when I go for the consultation! I shall keep you updated!

 

Thanks!

[Brows23]

Hi again!

Well I am now 2.5 weeks post surgery after having the eyebrow transplant in Brussels! My under arm hair was not used however as I did not grow it out long enough but it turned out that my head hair was ok to use and seems to blend in better than expected with my current brow hair! The procedure itself was fine, the only part that was slightly painful was when they put anaesthetic into the inner parts of my eyebrow, but overall it was painless and easy going! Dr Devroye and his staff were very friendly and warm, and they made me feel at ease throughout the process!

A handful of the hairs how now started to shed, but I am hoping it won’t be too long before they start to grow back! Overall I am very pleased that I went to have it done, and if I need a few additional hairs I would not hesitate to go back for a second surgery!

[mattj]

Hi Brows23. I'm glad Dr Devroye was able to help where the London clinic couldn't. It's a pity so many women over-pluck their eyebrows and then regret it. Did you have much say in where the hairs were placed? You could essentially design your own ideal eyebrows!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Brows23,

 

Thanks for coming back to update us on your procedure. I'm glad you're happy so far.

 

Feel free to share your photos by creating a photo album, blog with photos, or posting them directly on this forum. We'd love to be able to encourage you throughout your journey and celebrate your final results with you :-).

 

All the Best,

 

Bill

[Brows23]

Yes they ask you to draw your ideal eyebrow shape on using a dark pencil, although I asked them to do it for me and showed them a picture of the type of shape I wanted to go for. I agree in that it is a shame that girls are encouraged to pluck their eyebrows, I was young when I started and I didnt know the risks that they will never come back! Thank god for surgery! I will post some before and after pictures once they have grown through! I just hope that they do, I guess this is the more worrying time when you are waiting for growth!

[TakingThePlunge]

Brows23,

 

Congratulations! It's always great to hear a success story. Please come back and update us on your progress.

[Brows23]

Hi again!

Well I am a few days away from the 6 month mark, but I must admit I feel a bit disappointed in that the growth hasn’t been great, maybe around ten hairs per eyebrow. Is it normal that growth is this sparse at this time? I cannot see any more sprouting through, and feel that perhaps the surgery didn’t go as well as I had hoped! Especially when I look at other results (particularly Robert Haber’s eyebrow photos – I am so jealous of that woman!) The shapes are uneven too which I feel quite self conscious about. I am starting to wish I had been more outspoken and asked for more hairs where I felt I needed them during the procedure (but I felt they were rushing as staff were leaving and they were closing the surgery) Does anyone have any advice?

Many thanks J

[gillenator]

brows23,

 

Facial hair HTs have always interested me over the past thirty years and wanted to ask you afew questions if that's okay. How many grafts or hairs were transplanted? Most docs have the grafts dissected into single hair grafts as obviously that's how our eyebrows are established.

 

Can you put the yield to date as a percentage of the hair that was transplanted?

 

The only other thing I can think of that might be attributable to a slow regrowth is that those transplanted follicles are resting for a bit longer than they normally do which is 3-4 months post-op.

 

Hopefully you are going to get more from the procedure. Best wishes to you.

[waveskier]

Anybody know if Rogaine could help with any growth or thickening of the eyebrows?

[Brows23]

Hi Gillenator,

 

I am actually embarrassed to say that I was not told how many grafts I had received! I was due to have a consultation for half an hour before my surgery, but the clinic was running late and therefore it was only a quick discussion for around ten minutes before I had the transplant. I was there at the surgery for a very long time even though a few hours of that were waiting for the surgeon to return to me while he was seeing to another patient and carrying out a consultation. So it was fairly late at the end of the day and they were closing up, so there was no time afterwards to discuss the graft count. I am sorry I cannot answer your question!

 

Yes hopefully I shall get some more growth soon, I have emailed the clinic meanwhile and I currently await their response!

 

Thanks!

[hairthere]

6 months is still quite early. It takes 12 months to see the final result from HT surgery, so you are only at the halfway mark and should see much more growth. I know it's tough, especially at this stage, but be patient.

[ulko]

I feel so bad for you. Don't want to let your hopes down, but I don't think you can hope for much more growth 6 months post op. The graft count in eyebrow transplants is usually in the hundreds. A yield of less than 10% is just not sufficient.

 

The hairs that actually do grow - how do they match in terms of direction and texture to the native hair?

[hairthere]

".... but I don't think you can hope for much more growth 6 months post op."

 

I'm sorry but declaring her HT a failure when she has six more months of growth to go is simply wrong.

 

Also, brows, I would call your clinic and tell them your concerns and I would get the graft count which I'm they will have on file. I would also discuss the feeling of being rushed through the consultation process prior to surgery.

Edited November 29, 2010 by hairthere

[ulko]

".... but I don't think you can hope for much more growth 6 months post op."

 

I'm sorry but declaring her HT a failure when she has six more months of growth to go is simply wrong.

The follicles enter dormancy due to the trauma from the procedure. The telogen phase in scalp hair is 3-4 months. Any follicle that has not gone into anagen by then will not do so - it has simply suffered too much trauma from the procedure. Sure, there might be some (more or less inexplicable) exceptions to the rule, but to say that 90% of the growth hasn't occured yet 6 months post op is just naive.

 

It is my understanding that the conception of waiting until the 1 year mark before the final result can be seen has sprung from the fact that there might be some thickening of the transplanted hair even when all of the hair has grown out.

[hairthere]

Ulko, I am speaking from my own experience (3 hts so far) as well as from what I have seen countless times on these boards. I am now 7.5 months post-op from a fue temple point reconstruction. Growth on one side took off early whereas the other side has lagged behind. Just a few days ago new hairs in the slow-growing side popped up. What's my point? HTs can be, and very often are, unpredictable.

 

Here are just a few examples:

 

Hair Transplant before and after photos

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/145176-8-18-months-important-period.html

 

Also, I'm never really sure how posters like brows benefit from such doom-and-gloom statements as "but I don't think you can hope for much more growth 6 months post op." Have you been in her position before? I certainly have, and I would much rather have had nothing but positive support. If in 4-6 more months she comes back here with no more growth and unsatisfied, then we can be realistic and discuss her options. For now perhaps it makes more sense to keep hope alive. But then again I'm a glass-half-full kind of person....

[ulko]

Ulko, I am speaking from my own experience (3 hts so far) as well as from what I have seen countless times on these boards. I am now 7.5 months post-op from a fue temple point reconstruction. Growth on one side took off early whereas the other side has lagged behind. Just a few days ago new hairs in the slow-growing side popped up. What's my point? HTs can be, and very often are, unpredictable.

 

Here are just a few examples:

 

Hair Transplant before and after photos

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/145176-8-18-months-important-period.html

 

Also, I'm never really sure how posters like brows benefit from such doom-and-gloom statements as "but I don't think you can hope for much more growth 6 months post op." Have you been in her position before? I certainly have, and I would much rather have had nothing but positive support. If in 4-6 more months she comes back here with no more growth and unsatisfied, then we can be realistic and discuss her options. For now perhaps it makes more sense to keep hope alive. But then again I'm a glass-half-full kind of person....

You may very well be right, I just think it is a bad idea to go around waiting for something that may never come around. At the very least, I think it might be a good idea to devise a back-up plan, should the result not be satisfactory.

 

If the problem in brows' case is just low yield, the surgery was far from a disaster. If there was no shock loss and the hairs that actually do grow blend in well, I'd say: just go for it again! Hair transplants are hardly rocket science. It does work for almost any individual. Only in very rare instances it doesn't. Since barely any of brows' donor was used, it is not the end of the world, even though it might feel like so at this point.

 

Sorry if I sounded too harsh. It was certainly not my intention to instill any sense of doom-and-gloom

[wb280]

ulko, i agree with hair there. At this junture, its better to instil positiveness rather than gloomy statements. Unless its already like a yr post op, then we goto admit growth is sub par but like the guys said, at half year mark, the journey is far from finished, so lets all encourage each other thats wat these forums promote so lets help each other to be positive

 

cheers everyone!

[Brows23]

Hi everyone,

 

Thank you for your comments and advice! I have decided to go for a second surgery early next year and fingers crossed it will go well this time! The hairs that have grown do blend in very well, but I think the problem from the first surgery was that the hairs were kept extremely long during the procedure, and therefore gave a false impression of thickness and shape. Now that the grown hairs are kept to a normal eyebrow hair length, it is clear that there are important areas which needed filling in (which were otherwise covered over by the ends of the long hairs during surgery) and so I will be more aware of this the next time I go. Thanks again!

[wb280]

Best of luck matey!

[hairthere]

brows, I am approximately 8 months post op on a temple point fue procedure and am still having new growth. 6 months is way too early to start planning another surgery. Please give it more time.

[SiverSurfer]

Hi Brows 23,

 

Tell us, how did your second surgery went?How many grafts did you had this time? Was it through FUE or Strip?

 

BEst of Luck

[Brows23]

Hi again!

 

Just a quick update to say that the second surgery I had at the start of this month went really well! I am very pleased with the shape of the brows, and the time and care that was spent on me in this session was great! I had 200 grafts placed, and the strip method was used again (completely painless I might add). The shedding process has now begun, so I won't see growth until around June I imagine, but I shall update again once they have grown in

 

Thanks!