Complete eyebrow restoration in 50 y/o; Dr. Mike Beehner

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

This 50 y/o male had gradual diminishment of his eyebrow hairs over many years down to only a few remaining ones. He had his first eyebrow hair transplantation procedure in May of 2012, with 255 1-hair grafts being placed in each eyebrow. He returned one year later and had 205 placed in each eyebrow again, for a total of 460 per side. He returned today and we touched things up with 55 on each side to finish him up. He obviously wanted a "bushy" type of eyebrow and the outline shown in one of the photos was the one we agreed upon before starting his first procedure. He is very happy with the result so far.

I feel I can do the best job and be the most artistic by using all 1-hair grafts. Obviously, some of these have to be obtained by cutting some 2-hair FU's into two hairs. What takes the most time in placing these grafts is getting the rotation correct so that the curve of the hair "flows" with the contour of the eyebrow and doesn't curve away from the skin. We use mostly 22g needle holes to make the sites.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[DancesWithHair]

Looks good Mike I do have a question. I have heard Doctors can use donor hair from the back of the neck, the back of the head and even leg hair to do this. Can you say what method of donor hair you used? Thanks

[TakingThePlunge]

Excellent case Dr. Beehner! The eyebrows look perfectly natural and the change in his appearance is amazing.

[Spanker]

Over a thousand grafts for eyebrows? The person asking what 500 in the crown will do should take note. With that said these are all single grafts so you would expect more of an impact on the head.

 

By the way, this is one of the best brow cases that I have seen. Very impressive indeed.

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

Thanks for the comments. Regarding the one question about where I obtained the donor hair, I always take the hair from the mid-occiput (back) of the head. My reasons are these: Most importantly, for most men these are the last hairs that will turn gray/white and will retain their dark color, which I feel is important for eyebrow hairs, so that they contrast against the light-colored skin of the face. I know that a man can color his brow hairs, but that is a pain int he neck, and I feel it is to his advantage if I can deliver dark hairs there. Secondly, those hairs have the largest diameter and thus will deliver more "hair mass" to the area. This is particularly important since I am using all 1-hair grafts. I feel that hairs obtained from the legs, arms, etc are too "wispy" and don't show up well. Also, they have very short anagen (growth) phases and long telogen (rest) phases, so they are only part-time workers. A third reason is that I feel I can deliver an undetectable scar best in the rear occiput area.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[tempenet]

very artistic work. I would be thrilled if i was him

[Rootz]

Looks very good, but it must have been a little frustrating having to come back for 2 more procedures... was this expected? Also, does he need to trim the eyebrows or is that their natural maximum length?

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

One of the commentators above asked about the number of procedures used to transplant eyebrows, and also concerning whether these hairs remain short after they are transplanted.

The number of procedures needed varies, mostly related to how much "native" eyebrow hair is present at the start. Many of those who only have "thinning" of their eyebrows, not almost total absence of hair like this gentleman has, do fine with one procedure. 90% of the patients in my practice with minimal hair there to start with, they come for two sessions, usually at least 10 months apart. Around 10% come back for a final "touch-up" procedure for maximal density, as this fellow elected to do. I believe strongly that you are doing the patient a dis-service if you somehow are able to make 300+ sites on each eyebrow. I don't think it's possible to have each of their paths pass through their path alone and not cut across those that have already been made. I would ask anyone doubting this to draw on paper the contour of an eyebrow square area; then take the finest point pencil you can find and try to make 300 dots within that square area.

Regarding the question about final length of hair, the answer is simply that the hair will grow as it did in it's original donor site. My patients tell me that they trim the eyebrow hairs on average about every two weeks. They are basically "sculpting" the contours and shape of the eyebrows, and most get very good at it after a few months.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[Mickey85]

Very natural looking. I have seen some eyebrow restoration results where the caliber of the hair was just too thick and your eyes were drawn to the eyebrows but this result is quite inconspicuous. Good work.

[Rootz]

I would ask anyone doubting this to draw on paper the contour of an eyebrow square area; then take the finest point pencil you can find and try to make 300 dots within that square area.

 

That's right. I have no life

 

[Janna]

Beautiful eyebrow result!! Eyebrow work is more difficult than most patient believe it to be.