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Over Plucked Brows and Wanted Them Back - Layton, UT

UPDATED FROM ALC1979
1 year post

Sad brows

ALC1979
$2,950
I can honestly say, my brows look better. But, I have plucked a great number of follicles out because they don't lay flat. I also have bumps and holes that look horrible and when I use my eyebrow makeup, they look caked on and funny. I have to do them everyday with pencil because of the holes. Once I am done, they look better, but it's a huge process. I regret doing them, and wish I had gone with feather stroke tattooing. Only the club portion. It would have been easier upkeep and less problems. I don't want to pay $600 more for more implants to be done. I keep letting them grow and cutting them short. The hairs that stick out I pluck. It's been a bad experience. The doctor and staff were great, this just wasn't a great outcome for me. Sucks, because I'm stuck with even funkier brows for life.

ALC1979's provider

John Bitner, MD

John Bitner, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 164 Reviews
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Replies (5)

July 31, 2015
Sorry you're unhappy with your results. I think your eyebrows look better now than before your transplant.
August 4, 2015
I really think the transplant is a better option than the feather stroke tattoo. No matter how good the tattoo artist is it will never look like real hair. The feather stroke is usually used to add the illusion of density between existing hairs, but i have seen people up close and it does not look natural if you don't have any hair to camouflage the feather strokes. If you are unhappy with the hairs you could try electrolysis to remove the ones you dont like.
September 2, 2015
One eyebrow transplant doc wrote that he likes to recommend tattoo first for females, then follow up later with transplanted hair on top of the tattoo only if they think it is necessary. Maybe people could avoid transplants by trying tattoo first, then if they do opt for transplants the underlying tat can help the brow look fuller. I would be afraid that I may dislike the design of the base tattoo (too high or too arched or too dark) and it would be tough to undo.
October 11, 2015
Trust me, eyebrow tattoos suck. THEY WILL FADE, probably in months, and if they're a weird shape, you'll be happy if they fade. Plus the procedure is very painful. At least with real hair eyebrows, you can shape them yourself, and they'll always be there. I don't get the complaining, at all. I have VERY little natural eyebrow hair - did not overpluck, don't know why my brows are so sparse - and I've tried eyebrow tattoos 3 times with 3 different people with terrible results. DO NOT DO IT.
August 9, 2015
Hi! I had an eyebrow transplant 10 months ago and I completely get what you say. I have tried every eyebrow gel and wax and it just wasn't enough hold. I realized that I cannot cut the hairs too short because they will stick up. So my best advice will be to let them grow a little longer and tame them to the side. i have a system down that I think works and looks pretty natural. First use some firm hold mustache wax and style them. Then, with a spoolie brush apply a little of elmer's purple banishing glue stick $1 :) Making sure you apply just enough to glue the hairs but not too much that looks weird. You may want yo practice a bit. I was so happy when I found that the glue does the trick and so cheap. I hope this helps.
September 2, 2015
Where do you get mustache wax and is there a brand you recommend? Also why the purple glue stick and not the clear kind? Thank you for the tips.
September 2, 2015
I'm sorry you have pits and bumps in the brow skin long after surgery :/ mine feels rough too but I'm hoping it smooths out over time.
September 18, 2015
I think the reason you have hairs sticking straight out is due to the fact that the recipient holes were not done at the correct angle.
UPDATED FROM ALC1979
1 year post

Current photos!

ALC1979
Here are current photos!

Replies (1)

April 26, 2016
You still have holes after over a year? I am so scared as I had the procedure done two and a half months ago, my skin is absolutely terrible and the scarring and putting is not improving at all. I am now convinced this is permanent damage. I am so upset.
UPDATED FROM ALC1979
1 year post

New update!

ALC1979
Hello all. So, I decided to get eyebrow transplants after over plucking my eyebrows and NOTHING helped to grow them back. I reasearched and was too afraid to go the tattoo route. I felt my thin brows would look funny. So, I did the transplant surgery. All in all it was not terrible. I was not able to be put under sedation so I was awake. I'd recommend sedation! It wasn't a long session and I was able to sit back and watch Elf. :) when I initially had the Doc draw my "ideal" brow shape on, I went by pics I liked. We didn't go as far in as I hoped and wanted. But, I was nervous and maybe should have really looked in the mirror and studied them. Anyways, it was done and recovery was easy. Itchy and sore, but easy. As for the brows anyways. For my donor spot! That was the pain. It's taken from the back of your head!! Ouch! So you aren't super comfortable. But once the stitches were removed its a whole new world there too. I had my surgery in UT and am from AK so I emailed any questions. The Doc always helped and answered.
I am a year out now. I can't honestly say anymore I love that I did it. I like them, but I do have issues that I don't think will ever go away. In many areas my brows stick straight out. Especially the "club" part which is right up front. Drives me bonkers! I really had hopped they'd lay closer to the skin so I could use a little wax to train, but these aren't trainable. For a year I've tried. :-/ I also have very patchy spots and I can see most of my natural thin brow on my right brow as it shows through. I know in many cases you need another session, and I emailed and got a quote, but I don't know if I want to risk more brows sticking out. My hair might not be a good fit for this. It may be my follicle or something isn't laying right? I don't know. So, I'm kind of stuck with what to do next. It takes me a lot of time to "do them" everyday. So, that's where I am at! Feel free to ask questions or give advice! Thanks.

Replies (2)

February 4, 2015
Hi ALC, thanks for the 1 yr update. I got an eyebrow transplant done one month ago and most of my hairs have shed by now. I can relate in that I think my doc was also a bit conservative. How many grafts did you get? And do you remember if you were much more satisfied with the initial results before the hairs shed and regrew? I know I already want to do a second round of grafts because the before/afters always looked much better (not just denser, but darker) with the people who did it twice. I'll be doing my second one late this year myself, although may think about trying with a different doctor who would be more aggressive with graft placement. I had 420 grafts and expecting maybe another round of 400-500. Also, what's your hair type? I unfortunately don't have super straight fine hair, which seems to be the best match for eyebrows, so I'm also worried about mine.
August 4, 2015
Contact Dr. Umar for a consult. He uses nape hair or body hair for eyebrows I stead of scalp hair. It is finer and matches the texture of eyebrow hair better than scalp hair and because it is finer it won't stick out as muh as scalp hair.
August 9, 2015
Thanks, I guess I should update my comment. I am now pretty happy with my transplant now that they've grown back, although I may still add some more grafts later. The hairs blend in fine with my native eyebrow hair; I guess it was more a fear of the unknown. Best of luck.
December 6, 2016
I got an eyebrow transplant a year and a half ago and I think i did too much hair lol i did 300 on one and 250 on the other which is a better problem to have. I wish I had gotten eyebrow stencils from Sephora and really played with them at home first and brought that for an outline. I have 2 small areas that COULD get filled in and he said he would do it for free but it would cost me a flight out there and I don't want to go through the procedure again when it takes 2 seconds with some brow powder to fill it in. Mine stick out too and I feel like they are untrainable. I use mustache wax every night before bed and they are still out of control and stick straight out. Not sure if it's my hair or the placement of them? I guess it's better than having hardly any eyebrows like i did before.