I was a victim of the late 90's supermodel super thin eyebrow trend when I was 16 and over-plucked my then thick brows for about 5 years. I tried to let them grow back but the damage to the hair follicle was done. They only got thinner the older I got and I resorted to trying every brow product known to man- liners, gels, and even eyebrow extensions which I never knew existed. I thought I finally found a solution since they looked pretty natural but it only made my brow problem worse because they pulled out most of the remaining hair I had left. I was extremely self-conscious about anyone seeing me without makeup and I researched this procedure for 5 years before I actually started looking for a doctor. I narrowed it down to about 3 and was ecstatic when I saw that Dr. Champagne did virtual consultations since I live in west Texas. I had the virtual consultation the same week I called his office to get info and I scheduled my surgery date for 2 months down the road. I was able to fly in and have my pre-op consultation the day before the surgery which at first made me a bit nervous because I didn't want to risk rushing through it and ending up with an awful shape. My fears were instantly eased after I arrived and the process began. Dr. Champagne spent over 3 hours going over everything and most of that time taking measurements and mapping out a shape and thickness he thought would look good with my features. He drew it out over my brows and we spent quite some time tweaking it until he was sure I loved it and he then took pictures of the final shape. The next morning I arrived very early for the surgery and he began the mapping process all over again. There were 10 different blown up pictures of my face from all angles plastered all over the operating room wall that he'd taken the day before. He spent over an hour replicating the shape and didn't stop tweaking until he was sure it was absolutely perfect and I was happy with it. His team of 2 hair harvesters then arrived and he proceeded to remove to strip of hair from the back of my head, which was much easier than I expected. First He shaved the hair strip to be taken down to a short length and then began with the lidocaine injections to the scalp. Once he removed the strip he handed it over to the harvesting team and began making the incisions on the brows. After the hair was placed, he went over each individual graft with his loupes on to make sure each one was placed in the proper direction for the shape he'd drawn out...all 700 of them! If one was out of place he's instruct his team to rotate it however many degrees needed so that it sat correctly against the skin. I was very impressed with the meticulousness of the entire process. It took about 8 hours for the entire process as my case was pretty severe. Pain was minimal and I was only out of commission the day after. My scalp was a little tender and brows were scabbed and swollen, but I was able to throw on a baseball cap and enjoy Los Angeles 2 days later. I was able to fly home 4 days later and just had to have my stitches removed back home in a few weeks. Even though I was warned this would happen, I couldn't help but freak out a bit when most of the transplanted hair fell out 3 weeks later. Slowly but surely it started to grow back around the 2 month mark. Then around 3 months it seems like one day they all just appeared one morning, which is when the 3 month pic was taken. The 5 month picture is how they look now, and I just have clear holding gel in them to keep them in shape. I can't believe I waited so long to have this done. It has definitely been life changing. It definitely helped restore my confidence and it feels amazing to be free of something that made you so self conscious for so many years!
I plucked my eyebrows to oblivion in high school and about 50% of hair just never grew back. The shape was still there, but they were so asymmetrical and sparse. It bummed me out for so many years, I was ready to take a risk and get this procedure done. Everything about this experience was a dream. Dr. Champagne answered every single question I had. Asked me all the time if he answered all the questions I had, because trust me, I had ****A LOT**** of questions! I was just so nervous because for me, it was a big risk. I actually had second thoughts a week or so after my consultation (before I ever scheduled an apt.) and wanted to call Dr. Champagne to ask him one or two questions. He called me back right away and reassured me about everything I was worried about. The consultation was $150, which went towards my procedure. I made the appointment with the ladies up at the front of the office (who are all angels by the way) after the consultation was over and I was excited! The consultation was probably about 45 min to an hour. Dr. Champagne was absolutely in no rush to see anyone else and he gave his full and undivided attention to me and any questions I had. I had a pre-op appointment two days before the day of the procedure where he gave me a prescription list I needed to fill (Antibiotics, pain medication, anti-anxiety, and an over the counter antibiotic ointment) The day of the procedure I came in and he had me draw in my brows exactly like how I like to fill them in. Next he gave me the antibiotic and anti anxiety medication to take at the same time. We waited about 30 minutes for the anti anxiety to kick in and began the procedure! The first thing he did was gave me some numbing shots in the back of my head. Not that bad, to be honest! Next came the shots in my brows. OUCH. Those were really uncomfortable, but bearable. After that, I did not feel an ounce of pain! No pain at all, no exaggeration. Once the numbing kicked in, he began to take the small strip from the back of my head. I was very overwhelmed by everything that was going on and started to get very light headed and faint. I am 100% sure this was because I don't take any medication whatsoever, and the anti anxiety medication was very strong. The faint feeling only lasted about 5 minutes and I just made sure to breathe and sip on some water. Once the strip was removed, he began to stitch it up. About 12 stitches. After the strip was taken from the back of my head, three other ladies began working away at separating the hairs one by one while Dr.Champagne made the tiny incisions. Dr.Champagne works with a wonderful lady who places the hairs in the incisions he's made and she works very carefully and really pays attention to every little detail. It took about 4 hours, maybe 4.5 hours? Went by fast. I was literally in so much shock!!! I have photos of what my face looked like **THE DAY OF** literally an hour or two after the procedure and I could of gone out in public if I really wanted to!! The swelling went down so fast the first day and I only had one tiny bruise on my right eyelid. That night I slept on my couch with a neck pillow and slept great! The next morning I had a follow up with Dr. Champagne - He said none of the hairs got displaced in my sleep and it looked great! He asked me if I was in pain at all because he told me that I might experience some throbbing pain on the back of my head and my eyebrows but to be completely honest, I was not in any pain! He showed my boyfriend how to apply the antibiotic ointment and after that I was out of there! I see him in five days to get my stitches out. It's been three days since the procedure and swelling has gone down 95% - My red bruise on my eyelid will probably be gone in 4 days. I take an antibiotic three times a day and apply antibiotic ointment to the back of my head once a day. I haven't showered or washed my face since then because I'm not allowed to get the grafts wet at all, however In a few days I will be able to - I could probably shower tomorrow if I wanted to, I just wouldn't be able to wash my face or get the grafts wet. I still sleep on the couch with a neck pillow and I probably will sleep on the couch for another 4 days just to be safe. I'm also in no pain. No grafts have fallen out yet, but I know they will in about a week or so. No big deal. The scabs are so incredibly small, I don't think anybody would even notice that I had anything done to my face. I hope I didn't miss anything! Updated on 30 Dec 2016: Hi everyone! I'm thinking of doing a Youtube video about my whole experience .... so let me know if you want to see that... It's been three weeks since my procedure and 100% of the grafts have fallen out. I was already so used to my new full brows I was bummed but i know that they will grow back. I read one of the comments and someone said that my experience sounds too good to be true - the reason for that is because I had about 250-300 grafts put in total. I was only looking to correct my brows, not to enhance them. That's also why the cost of my procedure was only $2800. And on top of that, I went to the best surgeon you could go to, period. Just look up "dr.champagne los angeles" or "diamond institute los angeles" and give them a call. I was NOT paid to post this review, nor am I affiliated with dr.champagne in any way... I WISH i was paid! that would of been great..... I'm also posting more photos of what they looked like right before all the grafts fell out and what my brows look like now. My brows look like how they did before I got them done. only the grafts that they put in fell out and none of my natural hairs fell out from shock. I'm expecting to update again at the end of february. Updated on 30 Dec 2016: Updated on 2 May 2017: I think the final results speak for themselves! The grafts fell out about 7 days after I got the procedure done. I started seeing results in March but only a few hairs here and there. By the beginning of april, the brows hairs were coming in FULL FORCE. It's like I looked in the mirror one day and had to do a double take OMG! But seriously, it turned out flawlessly. I am so grateful for Dr. Champagne for the absolutely seemless experience from start to finish. I know a lot of you were confused because I updated you guys and said all my grafts fell out - the new hairs fall out about a week after the procedure and that's to be expected 100% But after 2-3 months they grow back and after about 4 months they are completely grown in!! Another question I got on the forum was "how does the doctor ensure that all the hairs grow in the same direction as all your natural hairs??" Dr. Champagne makes the incisions for all the new grafts to go into and once he gets the new grafts into the incision he just made, he twists and turns the hairs while they are in their new spot to make sure they are curved in the direction that your natural hairs are going. It's a true art form. Any doctor can do this procedure, but it takes a very talented and skilled doctor to place them and turn them just right so it looks totally natural and flush with all your other natural hairs. This is truly a life changing procedure and I encourage everyone out there to get this done if you are thinking about doing this! But seriously, don't go to just any doctor. Go to Dr.Champagne and you'll thank me later!!! Updated on 28 Apr 2018: Hi everyone! Wanted to update you all on what my brows are looking like after almost a year and a half. I took pictures in different lighting so you can really see what they look like! I never fill in my brows anymore! I will fill them in when i’m doing a makeup look but I just add to the shape of them, nothing crazy or dramatic. I sleep with clear brow gel on almost every night - I find that it helps keep a good shape to them even when I don’t have brow gel on. When I first got my eyebrows done I slept with a headband around my brows to help with the direction of growth for two months or so, but it wasn’t extremely necessary at all. Just wanted to get the best results I could possibly get! My surgeon recommended it in the beginning. I like to keep my brow hairs rather long. I usually will trim them once a week. I think the longest i’ve let them grow out for was probably a little over a week and a half, maybe two weeks. They get REALLY long but honestly I don’t mind it at all! It’s nice because if I accidentally cut too much they grow really fast, so if I make a mistake they will grow out within two days. I still experiment with the length and shape of them and so far it’s been super easy maintenance. I got the brow procedure done in December of 2016. Five days later, all the grafts fell out (grafts only). All that was left was my original brow shape. After two and a half months, I started to see growth. About 4 months after the procedure, my brow hairs were completely grown in. None of them have ever fallen out and only a few (maybe four or five hairs) grew straight out. I don’t even pluck those hairs that grow straight out, I just cut them down to the skin. I never pluck, wax or thread my brows. All I do is cut them and put clear brow gel on (I use the clear brow gel from MAC cosmetics. best brow gel by a landslide). My advice to anybody who is thinking about getting their eyebrows done is please please choose your surgeon wisely and don’t try to score a deal or look for the lowest price. This is on your face forever and it’s one of the most challenging procedures to get right esthetically. Brows frame your entire face so it’s extremely important to look for the best surgeon and ask lots of questions. If you have any questions definitely leave them down below!! x Updated on 3 May 2018: Just wanted to add the 6 month post-op before and after photo that Dr.Chanpagne took of me.
