Eyebrow Transplant for Hair Loss Due to Alopecia?

There are many different types of alopecia. The term alopecia is a broad based term meaning hair loss. There is alopecia secondary to trauma. There is also alopecia secondary to inflammatory processes or autoimmune processes. Typically eyebrow hair loss secondary to inflammatory processes or trauma are amenable to eyebrow transplants. The growth in these cases maybe less than a typical result because of the scarring in the skin, but we still see improvement and growth in these patients. Patients with alopecia secondary to auto immune processes sometimes have good results and other times not. It is important to know the exact cause of the alopecia prior to performing an eyebrow hair transplant. It is also important that the patient understands the risks and the potential outcomes prior to undergoing the procedure.

Eyebrows can be successfully transplanted if the medical issue that caused the hair loss is under control or is no longer active. If the area is stable, a transplant session could be attempted, with the understanding that there is some risk of recurrence of active disease causing hair loss.
All the best,

Alopecia is just a medical term for hair loss. A doctor would need to give you a more specific diagnosis.  You would also need an exam to make sure you would be a candidate for eyebrow transplant surgery.

There are many forms of alopecia. Alopecia Areata is when the immune system attacks the hair follicles. With this condition, it may likely that this can happen to the transplant grafts in your brow region.


But it is possible for hair loss in the eyebrows to be addressed with an eyebrow transplant procedure. Hair follicles can be extracted from other areas such as the nape, leg or arms.

These hairs are thinner and create a more accurate match for brow hair. Like any other hair restoration procedure, successful growth would be affected by the skill of the provider and technique used 

 

Alopecia is more of a general term for hair loss.  If your condition is alopecia areata then the transplant is more complicated so a more complete consult and review of history is required.

I have extensive experience with transplanting eyebrows lost to alopecia areata.  It seems that as long as the process has burned out (has been inactive for at least 18 to 24 months) there is a reasonable chance of permanent hair regrowth, but this cannot be guaranteed.                        

Eyebrow transplants can look quite natural if you maintain a normal trimming schedule.  Eyebrows often require 2 treatment sessions.  Make sure you see an experience surgeon who can recreat the natural eyebrow pattern, hair direction, and curl.  Choice of donor hair is also important.

Yes, it can be done this way if the surgeon has great expertise in doing this. Remember that the hair will need to be trimmed since it grows long and I usually take 3 or more sessions of grafting to do this.

Sounds like a bout of alopecia areata.  Want to make sure this is the diagnosis as eyebrow follicles are extremely sensitive to endocrinological entities such as hyper or hypothyroidism.  If this was a recent event and you do have alopecia (hair loss) areata (immune related), then you should have a good chance of regrowth of your native follicles.  If this was a chronic condition, then your native hairs are less likely to regrow.  In this case, a restorative transplantation can be undertaken with great success. It is always possible that you may get another bout of the same symptoms (if this is in fact areata) in any hair baring part of your body.  The key is early diagnosis and treatment. 

Hair transplantation is not a "first-line" or "top of the list" treatment for alopecia areata. Other treatments ( including one or more of: steroid injections, topical steroids, minoxidil and bimatoprost) can be tried first. Pills can also be considered as well as immunotherapy with diphencyprone. If there has been no growth with these treatments, hair restoration can be discussed. It is critically important that individuals with alopecia areata know that a a hair transplant does not always "work" and sometimes the hairs don't grow well. Furthermore, if the hairs do grow, they can be lost in the future (at any time). Individuals with eyebrow loss but who still have quite a bit of scalp hair to take hairs from are the best candidates for a hair transplant.  (The hair MUST come from the same patient so individuals with alopecia totalis and universalis are seldom good candidates for a hair transplant. Hair transplantation is not a typical treatment for alopecia areata.  The procedure is not as successful as it is in other forms of eyebrow hair loss. Provided patients are aware of this risk, a hair transplant may be done for individuals with alopecia areata on a case-by-case basis.