An eyebrow transplant procedure must be planned carefully by a doctor that specializes in it. Before any plans are made, a patient must see a doctor for a consultation. During this, the doctor will examine the affected areas and decide how many grafts need to be transplanted.
Eyebrow Transplant Process
Once all the plans have been made, the patient must be prepared for the operation. after sterilizing the area of operation, the technician begins collecting grafts from the donor area that was professionally determined to work best for the patient. The hair grafts will then be transplanted to the receiving area. After the procedure the patient’s wounds will be dressed and they will begin the PRP therapy. This is a very important step that must be taken so the patient’s wounds will heal faster. It is essential for the patient to be properly educated on how to clean the transplant site. The doctor will give the patient strict instructions on how to properly care for the treated area. Sometimes the hair from the nape of the transplantees neck won’t work, so it may be sourced from the facial region or chest.. The operation can last for about 8 hours depending on the amount of hair being transplanted.
A great amount of focus and care must be used when transplanting the grafts to the eyebrow area. Follicles are taken from the donor site and positioned at a particular angle to make them look as natural as possible. The procedure that most use is known as FUE or Follicular Unit Extraction. This is when follicular units, naturally occurring groups of 1 to 4 hairs, are extracted directly from the scalp and transplanted into the treated area.
Eyebrow Transplantation Reasons
During the healing process, the transplanted hairs begin to fall out. This is not something to worry about as the hairs will grow back after shedding. Someone looking into hair transplants might wonder, “how much will this hurt?”. This will depend on the method of transplantation and if the patient plans on using sedatives. In most operations, the patient will receive an anesthetic to reduce the amount of discomfort, but this is completely optional. Patients of any gender between the ages of 20 to 50 are most eligible for an eyebrow transplant surgery. Many adults between these ages can suffer from thinning eyebrows due to hair loss.
Eyebrow transplantation are done for all sorts of reasons, most of which being for those who no longer have their eyebrows, however many patients also do it for cosmetic reasons, such as people over plucking their eyebrows and then them never growing back the same, or others being unsatisfied with the way their natural eyebrows look and simply wanting them to be thicker and more noticeable in general.
Eyebrow Transplant Cost
Eyebrow transplants are not cheap, however, the average median cost for an eyebrow transplantation ranges anywhere from $5,500 to $7,500 in the US and it is rarely covered by insurance, making it a rather difficult and costly surgery. An Eyebrow transplant in Turkey, however, would cost between $700 to $1500 including hotel and transfer to/from hotel and airport. Some eyebrow specialists are wary, as those who seek out the surgery for cosmetic reasons often times don’t understand just how permanent and semi-permanent these surgeries can be, cosmetic or not. Not only this, but the hairs that are taken are from your head, which has a completely different texture and look as compared to the natural follicle of the eyebrow, these hairs also grow incredibly fast and look unnatural in comparison. An alternative, if there are still some eyebrow hairs left would be microblading.
What to Consider
It is very important that when considering eyebrow transplantation for the first time that the patient’s also do their research, looking into what surgeon they’re going to have, before and after pictures of that surgeon’s works, so you know just what to be expecting and what results you’ll be receiving, to get a good idea of that surgeon’s skill level and if it is what you’re looking for. If an eyebrow transplantation is not done properly, the results can be extremely problematic and unnatural looking, which is why it is so very important when looking into the procedure of an eyebrow transplant you are giving it some serious thought and much looking into beforehand.
There are two questions you should ask yourself before giving eyebrow transplantation some serious thought, the first of which being, should you just work with what you got, and are there other options that could help you that don’t involve undergoing the pricey and risky surgery of an eyebrow transplant. If the answer is yes to either of those questions, you should be considering other options instead of the surgery. If the answer is no, however, do your research on what surgeons you’d like to consult.
Eyebrow transplants are almost no different than a FUE hair transplantation, the only difference being that the hairs are taken from your head in a more unnoticeable place and reapplied to the eyebrows. Once the follicles are in place, many patients have said that the result at first can look really unnatural and obvious, however, a few weeks after the procedure is done and the hairs are able to continue growing out, it isn’t noticeable at all that the transplant was even done to begin with. It can take up to seven days to heal fully afterwards, and up to two to three months for a more full and natural look as the hair begin to grow properly.
Eyebrow Transplant Aftercare
The aftercare once the surgery is done is much less intensive than that of a hair transplantation, as the area of care is much smaller and less painful. Though this is true, that doesn’t mean that proper aftercare should not be taken seriously. A doctor will provide the patient with a personalized aftercare program specialized to the patient’s specific needs after seriously considering their health records beforehand, this aftercare almost always consists of a four day antibiotic treatment to ensure against infections, and other medications will be provided to help with dealing with the swelling and pain, however those are usually optional.
Once the patient has recovered from the procedure, they’ll start seeing a noticeable and more natural look after two to three months, which is about when the hairs are able to start growing on their own, but can differ for each person depending on the severity of alopecia if that is the reason for the treatment.