As the procedure of eyebrow transplant grow in popularity, it is evident that there has never been a period in time where eyebrows were of so much value in terms of fashion as in this era. Albeit their evolutionary purpose, eyebrows help define our facial features, indicate our age, and as of late; a fashion trend.
Hence, when eyebrows begin to thin or when they stop growing due to trauma, it leaves people in distress. But regardless of the reason behind a patient’s interest to enhance on their eyebrows, there’s only one procedure that can reverse eyebrow damage: eyebrow transplant.
Be it for increasing brow thickness or for restoring lost hair, an eyebrow transplant is a one size fits all type of procedure. In the following article, the vicissitudes of an eyebrow transplant procedure will be carefully laid out.
What Is The Evolutionary Advantage of Eyebrows?
1- Physiological Functions
Although eyebrows do not participate in major mechanical functions such as chewing, they certainly have a physiological purpose. The shape of the eyebrows and their location serve as protection for your eyes. What are they protecting against? Sweat, debris, and dust. The arched shape of eyebrows redirect harmful material to the sides of your face and away from your eyes.
2- Expression Of Emotion
Regardless of how much we like to play tough, humans rely entirely on communication and love to develop. The young and old of us alike, need to connect and interact. The way eyebrows help us to do so, is by facilitating the display of our interior emotions into standard gestures and messages understood by the other person.
If we are feeling happy, neutral, or relaxed, our eyebrows tend to take on a certain form that helps convey this message to other humans. In other words, it helps send the message we are approachable. The same is the case with negative feelings such as anger, depression, and agitation.
Our eyebrows in times of distress take on certain forms that deliver your current feelings to the world and warn them from approaching. In short, eyebrows are traditional slept-on mood chart rings (you know those rings we all bought in sixth grade.)
3- Self-Expression
This is a somewhat recent trend, well it has been around for ages. Ancient civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans frequented distinct eyebrow shapes. In reality, it is not a recent phenomenon that eyebrows are trendy.
Every era brings about new eyebrow fashion and the concept is ever-evolving. Aside from that, certain individuals follow different trends and hence find that they can self express through their eyebrows.
Granted all the evolutionary advantages of eyebrows and the crucial role they play in our social life, eyebrow transplant has become an increasingly popular eyebrow restoration technique.
When Is An eyebrow Transplant Necessary?
A number of elements trigger eyebrow thinning, but the most widespread causes are age, cosmetic routines, alopecia, and trauma. If you are dealing with eyebrow thinning as a result of trauma, repeated hair removal, or genetics, you are a fit candidate for an eyebrow transplant.
It is fortunate that eyebrow transplant can reverse eyebrow hair loss in nearly all cases. In the special condition of alopecia, all categories are treatable with an eyebrow transplant with the exception of alopecia totalis and alopecia Universalis. For the latter, medical treatment for the condition is necessary before opting for an eyebrow transplant.
What Is An Eyebrow Transplant?
Eyebrow transplant is a procedure that incorporates the standard follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique to enhance eyebrow shape. The general FUE process overview is: extracting follicular units from donor regions, opening channels for implantation, implanting grafts. With that, eyebrows do not need to be shaved for this procedure.
Following this is the extraction process. The extraction stage in an eyebrow transplant consists of harvesting grafts from donor regions such as the scalp or behind ears without jeopardizing the area. Next comes channel-opening.
Channel opening is the process of preparing recipient sites for implantation by making incisions using micro-sized blades. We advise patients to opt for sapphire FUE instead of the standard FUE method to completely eliminate scarring. Doctors will then implant the extracted grafts in the incisions made earlier.
How Does Eyebrow Transplants Work?
Eyebrow transplant work through mirroring the basic concept of a hair transplant. It is best to extract donor hair from behind the ears during an eyebrow transplant. This is because this hair best matches the texture of eyebrow hair.
Once extracted, the next step is to implant the grafts. To prepare the recipient sites, surgeons will first create incisions with micro sized blades to avoid scarring. The next and final step is to carefully insert the grafts in the direction of natural hair growth.
The Consultation Process
Consultation is an important step before any surgical procedure. It gives patients the chance to discuss their aesthetics goals, in terms of eyebrow shape and thickness, and voice their concerns.
In this session, patients should also thoroughly discuss their medical history with their surgeons. According to their medical data, their eligibility will be determined.
After The Surgery
Following this surgery, you may experience some slight swelling or bruising, but this is usually short-lived and can be treated with pain medication.
The full effect of the eyebrow transplant may take months to be seen. Do not panic when the transplanted hairs fall out after a few weeks, as this is completely normal. What is shedding off is the hair and not the root. Therefore, the hair will continue to grow.
Is An Eyebrow Transplant For Me?
Like all forms of cosmetic surgery, an eyebrow transplant is a medical procedure. Although simple, it should not be taken lightly. Before going for the operation, consider a consultation with a trained medical practitioner for successful results.
Even though it is more popular with women for whom the eyebrow has become a central part to looks made popular by fashion icons such as Cara Delevingne, eyebrow transplants are open to both sexes.
Alternative Eyebrow Restoration Techniques
Other common eyebrow restoration techniques other than eyebrow transplant include micro-blading and tattooing. Both micro-blading and tattooing incorporate the use of pigment to restore or reshape the eyebrows.
However, unlike the technique of eyebrow transplant, the technologies do not yield satisfactory results.
1- Micro-Blading
Micro-blading is a technique that employs ink strokes shaped like hair around the region of eyebrows to give the allure of full brows. Although it uses ink, the results of a micro-blading are semi-permanent.
2- Tattooing
Tattooing is an archaic technique of eyebrow restoration that yields permanent results of inked eyebrows.
Advantages of Eyebrow Transplant
- Permanent. Unlike tattooing and microblading, the hair after an eyebrow transplant can be treated like natural hair. Meaning it can be threaded, waxed or even dyed.
- Natural-looking. An eyebrow transplant uses natural hair from your body and displaces it to the eyebrow region. The grafts continue to grow naturally and are congruous in color.
In Short
An eyebrow transplant utilizes the standard FUE method to increase brow thickness or restore lost hair. It is a very immaculate process for eyebrow restoration that does not leave any traces behind. The end results are natural-looking and permanent.
To learn more about FUE eyebrow transplant, either read our guide to hair transplant or contact us at Vera Clinic.