40-some-year-old Man Got an Eyebrow Transplant - Los Angeles, CA

Here are a few photos of before and after the procedure.

Four years ago I was diagnosed with a few conditions and one of them was hypothyroidism. During that time, I noticed a distinct reduction in my eyebrow density. I never gave it a second thought but as I got older, I noticed that I was beginning to look much older that I really am. This older looking me was due to very thin eyebrows. One could describe what I had as an eyebrow comb-over. My follicles were spread across my brows far and few between.

I looked at some photos of myself from the years leading up to my thyroid diagnosis and I could tell I had much fuller brows which helped to frame my face and balance it out. After I pinpointed exactly what I was missing I began to do some research online. It seemed that an eyebrow transplant was possible although I had never really heard about it before. I knew about hair transplants but I didn't know that same hair transplant technique could be applied to eyebrows.

After reading through various websites I came across the New Hair Institute's website. There I learned about Dr. Rassman and Dr. Pak and how they pioneered most of the hair transplant procedures in use in the hair transplant industry today. I was impressed. I felt their clinic offered the service and had the experience necessary to do a good job.

Since I was dealing with my facial features, the last thing I wanted was to get butchered or have the surgeon pull a Frankenstein and end up looking scarred from a car wreck. I remember a guy who lived in my neighborhood when I was a kid who had one eyebrow pointing up like the tip of a triangle. People tried not to make eye contact with him because it was scary to have the "pointy eye" look in our direction. Some people said he was struck by lightening while someone else claimed he had been cursed by a witch. Not sure what happened to his eyebrow but it was scary. Later in life he became a metal head and played guitar in a heavy metal band. He rally looked the part. At any rate, I didn't want to end up looking like him.

I met with Dr. Pak at the New Hair Institute in Los Angeles. He explained the procedure to me and assured me that I would not end up looking like a freak. He showed me before and after photos of others who had the same procedure. I was sold both by the before and after photos but also by his confidence in his own abilities. I scheduled the procedure for the next available date which was two weeks later.

The clinic was very clean and staffed with very friendly, confident and competent people. At no time did I feel like I was just another patient. The treatment room was very comfortable and they had a TV with Netflix and Pandora. They served me lunch from a very varied menu. I can honestly say that I got the executive treatment all the way.

Before the surgery, Dr. Pak drew eyebrows on me with a grease pencil to give me a feel for what it would look like and to show me where the grafts will be placed. We both agreed that I needed more brow peak so he added extra peak in my brow to make me look a bit more masculine.

The procedure was not painful. They gave me laughing gas before the numbing injections and I really didn't feel anything. During the follicular unit extraction (FUE), there was no sensation at all. He extracted 400 or so follicles or grafts from the back of my head. I keep my head shaved or buzzed really short so there was no need to cut any long hair off. I had very little bleeding from the donor site on the back of my head.

After the grafts were harvested and prepared, they turned their attention to my eyebrows. I was again given some laughing gas and then my eyebrow area was numbed. I felt nothing when he created the recipient area holes or when the grafts were inserted.

I was given pain medication to take at home if I had any discomfort. I returned the next day to have my head washed and my transplanted brows washed. I followed the post-operative instructions they gave me such as how to wash the area etc.. I had some mild bruising (it is an operation) and swelling but that only lasted a few days. The donor area on the back of my head was a bit tender while it healed but it certainly was not debilitating in any way. I've had headaches that are a lot worse.

Five days after the procedure, I looked at myself in the mirror and was absolutely excited at the fact that I will have full eyebrows some months from now. For whatever reason, I really felt more complete than I had in years. My self-confidence also started to improve after that. It's been a month since the procedure and I can't wait for next spring to see what it will look like. I know it will look fantastic and I already feel fantastic. Best decision I've made in many years.