All About Brow Transplants

We cast our eye over the hottest new procedure in Hollywood.

Jen Atkin unveils her brow transplant. Photo courtesy of Instagram.

Jen Atkin did it, Chrissy Teigen did it. Eyebrow transplants are the new procedure everyone is talking about, so what exactly does it involve?  Well, a brow transplant is actually not all that different from a traditional hair transplant. Grafts are taken from the patient’s own head - usually the middle of the back of the scalp where the hair is finer - and then both the hairs and the hair follicles are transplanted onto the brow area where, hopefully, they will continue to grow.

The procedure is performed by a dermatologic, cosmetic, or plastic surgeon in an outpatient surgical facility or a medical spa. Currently, prices for this procedure range from anywhere between $5000 and $8000, including fees related to the facility itself, the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist. Be aware that an eyebrow transplant is considered a non-medical procedure, so it is not typically covered by health insurance, and ideal candidates should not have had brow tattooing or microblading in the past as scarring can hinder the grafting process, or hair loss due to a medical condition.

Before getting a brow transplant, you not only need to find a surgeon who specializes in hair restoration (both Atkin and Teigen used Dr Jason Champagne based in Beverly Hills), but you also need to decide on a shape for your new brows. Experiment with thickness and length using a brow pencil so that you can show your surgeon what you are aiming for in your consultations. 

Next you need to discuss the two methods used to harvest the hair for a brow transplant: the Follicular Unit Transfer (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Using the FUT method, a small donor strip is removed from the back of the scalp and the area is sutured closed leaving a fine line scar that is hidden beneath the hair. The donor strip is then dissected into single hair follicles for transfer to the eyebrows. The FUE technique involves shaving a small strip of hair and removing each hair follicle individually with a special drill. Your surgeon should be able to explain which one is right for you.

Once the hair grafts are removed, the individual follicles are trimmed down and placed in the eyebrow through small incisions. Around 200 hairs are used for each eyebrow. The entire procedure is performed under local anesthetic and can take around six hours.

After the procedure is done, the brows are left uncovered (no bandages) allowing a crust or scab to form around the newly transplanted follicles. This a normal part of the healing process and they fall off after a few days. There can also be bruising and swelling in the transplant area for up to five days. Once the brows have fully healed they can be treated just like natural eyebrows. You can tint them, trim them, use brow pencils and grooming products but you might want to retire your tweezers or you’ll end up right back where you started.

Within a month of the procedure most of the transplanted eyebrow hairs will shed but this will be followed by regrowth of new hairs after about 12 weeks. At six months about 60 percent of the new hairs should be growing in but the full results will not be seen until a year after the procedure. There is also a chance that some of the grafts won’t take (in other words the new follicles don’t produce new hairs) in which case patients can have a touch up nine months after the initial surgery (currently around 10 to 20 percent of patients return for touch up procedures).

So far Atkins loves her results  - which is undoubtedly why her longtime client and friend Teigen decided to make the leap - but be aware, these new brows will need maintenance. Since this hair comes from the scalp, it will have the same texture as the hair on your head and will grow longer than typical eyebrow hair so you will need to regularly trim your new brows with brow scissors to keep them from looking unruly. You will also need a product like Rbrow to style them into shape. Packed with non-irritating, natural ingredients including Camellia Seed Oil and Cotton Seed Oil, which smooth the hair cuticle, and Pomegranate Seed Oil, which enhances softness, use the anti microbial silicone applicator brush to gently style the hairs into place.

For more information about surgeons specializing in hair restoration go to www.iahrs.org.