Eyebrow transformation over old tattoo in one procedure of 422 grafts

Dr. Michael Beehner · November 14, 2017

This 22 y/o female had a single eyebrow restoration procedure performed approximately one year ago and returned recently for evaluation, at which time the "after" photos were taken.

We use exclusively 1-hair grafts, and leave the length of the donor hair around one-half inch, so that we can visualize the natural curve of the hair and also so that we can "preview" for the patient at the end of the procedure what it will look like when the hair grows out. Everyone has a slight curl to the hair, even those that we would assume have all straight hair. Owing to the fact that we want our grafts to have these longer hairs on them, a strip harvest has to be used rather than FUE. With FUE it is necessary to cut the hair down to 1mm in length, which gives you no idea as to the direction the hair will be heading once it grows out. Since there are usually a minority of the natural follicular bundles consisting of one hair only, it is necessary to very carefully cut some of the 2-hair FU's into two separate 1-hair micrografts. We use a very small 22 gauge needle to make most of our recipient sites. The whole procedure takes around 4-5 hours. The reason for this length of time is because, for each graft we place, we take care to rotate it until it "flows" in direction with the curve of the eyebrow itself and also to make sure it "hugs" the contour and shape of the face in that area. In other words, we don't want any of the grafts to curve upward above the upper border of the eyebrow or to curve away from the face.

We have been doing eyebrows now for 23 years and have always enjoyed the challenges of performing these demanding operations. It is very rewarding to have the patients return with a big smile and happy with the big change this makes in their appearance.

Mike Beehner, M.D.