Eyebrow Transplantation - What Happens when Transplanted Follicles Turn Gray?

Question

For eyebrow transplantation, I know that the doctor would choose the darkest hair follicles, but wouldn't those transplanted hair follicles turn gray eventually? Another question is once they are transplanted to the eyebrow site, would they become like eyebrow hair and not turn gray? If not, what can I do to prevent the transplanted hair from turning gray?

Sanusi Umar, MD · Answer

Transplanted hair retains its texture, color, growth speed, and length. Thus, hair taken from the body and transplanted to the head (in body hair transplant) or, in this case, hair taken from the head and transplanted to the eyebrows will retain these innate characteristics. If your scalp hair is meant to turn gray, there is no way to prevent this from happening after its been transplanted to the eyebrows.

Matthew Richardson, MD · Answer

With any hair transplant procedure, including eyebrows, the transplanted hairs retain the characteristics from the donor area where they originated. If a particular hair is destined to turn gray, it will still turn gray after being transplanted to the eyebrows. While there is nothing that can be done to prevent transplanted hair from turning gray, the hair can still be easily colored like any other hair.
All the best,

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

Transplanted hair may turn gray as you age like any other hair.  Transplanted hair is not immune from turning gray.

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS · Answer

Like with any hair transplant, the color of the donor hair will be the same in the area transplanted. When I perform these eyebrow procedures, I select out the hairs from the area that is least likely to turn gray.

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

Graying of hair results from a lack of pigment.  typically if scalp bearing hair turns gray then the eyebrow hair usually turns gray also.  If you are opposed to graying then dying your hair and brows may be attempted.

	 

	Dr. ES

Raj S. Ambay, MD · Answer

Each hair is genetically programmed for that particular part of the body. When the hair is transplanted it retains its genetic programming. Therefore, taking a hair that would most likely turned gray and placing it in the eyebrow would likely turned that hair gray over time.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Eyebrow hair taken from the scallp will follow what happens to the donor area in the scalp and when that turns gray, so will the eyebrow hairs

Richard Galitz, MD, FACS (in memoriam) · Answer

Most likely the eyebrow transplants will act genetically like the hair in the area from which it was donated. They probably will turn grey about the same time the hair in the donor area turns grey. Just as you will need to trim them to the proper length you may also need to dye them to get the color you desire.

Richard Fitzpatrick, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

Whether hair turns grey or white eventually is determined by genetic factors.Most of us will develop some grey hair,but how much ,which locations and when are all variables. If scalp hair that is already grey is transplanted to eyebrows, it will still be grey. If dark hair is transplanted it will still turn grey when it was programed to do that, even though its location has changed. There is nothing that can prevent that from happening, but the hair can be dyed.It will also grow to the same length that it would have on the scalp, so maintenance trimming to keep it short is necessary.

Sheldon S. Kabaker, MD FACS (retired) · Answer

Your native eyebrow hairs may also turn grey.The tinting of eyebrowsis a coomon practice in cosmotology. Eyebrow transplants must be trimmed periodically as opposed to native eyebrow hairs.

Eyebrow Transplantation - What Happens when Transplanted Follicles Turn Gray?

Answers (10)