Eyes are often considered the windows of the soul and the beauty of a person is often judged by the eyes. However, the beauty and safety of these eyes would be incomplete without eyelashes. While for most women, their long eyelashes are a sign of beauty, there is actually a more important purpose to them as well. Eyelashes protect the eyes from dirt, strong winds and grit, which might be floating in the atmosphere. Eyelashes can also get damaged and when the same does happen there can be several other issues, which crop up because of it.
Here is a look at what could cause loss of eyelashes:
- Certain congenital conditions, such as congenital atrichia can lead to absence of hair on various parts of the body, including eyelashes.
- Medical procedures such as radiation or chemotherapy can also lead to loss of eyelashes.
- There are certain surgical treatments, such as those related to injuries or tumours, which require the removal of eyelash follicles.
- Trichotillomania, which is a condition that compels the person to pick their hair could force the person to pick their eyelashes too.
- Eyelash loss could also be caused due to trauma brought on due to accidents, chemicals or other burns, cosmetic treatments such as tattoos on eyelids or even elongated usage of false eyelashes.
Although initially, eyelash restoration was considered more of cosmetic procedure, it has now become a medical one. A growing number of doctors are using this procedure to bring back a sense of confidence to people who might have lost their eyelashes due to any one of the above mentioned causes.
Let’s take a quick look at the history of eyelash transplantation:
The very first step in this field was made by a physician from Germany, by the name of Dr. Franz Krusius, almost a century ago. According to him, hair from the scalp could be removed by making small punches and the hair could be transplanted into the eyelids, using a minute needle. A few years later, in 1917, another physician from the same country named Dr. P. Knapp, successfully inserted a graft strip, free from composites into the border of the eyelids. In the years to come, several studies and experiments were conducted in this field, many of them in Japan.
It was in 1980 that a member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, Emmanuel Marritt MD established a method of transplanting individual hair from the scalp into the eyelids. In the very same year, another doctor named Robert Flowers, wrote at length about his ‘pluck and sew’ technique, the revised version of which is still being used.
Not everyone can be a good candidate for eyelash transplantation, and the criterion for the same includes:
- If there is an existing eyelash, and the structure of the same only requires a little improvement, then he or she would be an ideal candidate.
- If the eyelash has been lost due to an accident or disease, then transplantation can help.
- There are conditions when the surgery is not advisable like in presence of active inflammation of the lid margins, underlying ophthalmic disorders or when the anatomical structure of the lids are altered due to trauma.
Before a candidate can be given hope, there are extensive exams, consultation sessions and reviews of medical history:
The prospective candidate will have to undergo proper tests and checks, before he or she can be considered ideal for an eyelash transplant. There will be a detailed study of the medical history of the person to ensure that such a procedure will not cause any physical or mental distress.The doctor, who will conduct the procedure, will probably put forth a set of statements and facts, to which the candidate will have to provide acceptance:
- The candidate has a proper understanding of the procedure.
- The candidate needs to understand that there could be complications during the procedure.
- The candidate has to understand the entire pre-operative and post-operative procedure.
- The final result might not be in exact accordance to what the candidate might have expected.
- The candidate should also have a clear understanding of the costs involved.
Now let’s look at the actual method of transplanting eyelashes:
- The donor hair that will be used has to match the hair structure of the eyelids.
- Donor areas are normally the back of the neck, the scalp region around the ears and even eyebrows.
- The process is conducted under local anaesthesia.
- A minute surgical needle is used to puncture the eyelid, right at the margin, and then the hair graft is placed right inside the slit.
- Each graft has to be placed with care, because if not, there is the possibility of trichiasis.
- Normally, a single session will take anywhere between one to three hours and for many people, more than one session is required to attain the perfect result.
Now that the process has been completed, there is a list of post-operative care that needs to be kept in mind:
- There is bound to be itching for a few days, but it is important not to irritate the eyelashes too much.
- Swelling and bruising can be present which usually clears off in a week.
- Eye makeup and rubbing of eyes should be avoided till about 2 weeks
- Transplanted lashes sheds in about 2 weeks and regrowth starts sfter 2-3 months
- It is important to remember that the newly transplanted hair will continue to grow, which is why it will need to be trimmed regularly.
- In case of people with straight donor hair, curling or perming can be done to improve the cosmetic appearance.
A twitch of your eyebrow or how you raise it can say a lot about what is going on in your mind. But what about those people who have lost their eyebrows due to an illness, trauma or some medications? However, there is hope for even such people, because these days, restoring eyebrows has become truly easy. In the hands of an experienced surgeon, you can go back to having natural looking eyebrows that will last you a really long time too. We get many enquiries regarding eyebrow hair loss, eyebrow hair transplant, eyebrow hair growth serums and creams and even castor oil. So we though to share some information with the patients.
In order to rectify an eyebrow, there is firstly the need to identify the exact cause of the loss of hair. The following are the major reasons
- regular and incessant plucking of brows
- trauma, burns
- thyroid disorders
- alopeciaareata
- infections
- tattoos
While most cases of eyebrow hair loss can be rectified with ease, there are certain cases, where there is no scope for restoration at all, such as alopecia universalis.
Understanding the physiology and anatomy are crucial to a proper restoration process:
The eyebrow is perhaps one of the more complicated areas of hair restoration, because the direction of the hair changes in every part of the brow. If you have ever noticed, the hair that is closest to the nose always stands upright, while the other hair can point either upwards or downwards. Also the arch is very important in females, the absence of which gives the masculine look in males. The density of eyebrow hairs vary, with very fine, sparse hairs at either ends to thicker and increased density in the middle part. This is why not all hair restoration specialists will promise you an eyebrow restoration process, because not only is it complicated, but also very hard to perfect.
There is one other distinctive feature of the hair in the eyebrows – the hair that emerges from the follicles is normally at a very acute angle. This means that the hair that does grow is flat against the surface of the skin. Then there is also the fact that eyebrows grow in the form of individual strands, as opposed to follicular units founds on the head, which have from 1 to four hairs.
Finally, the growth cycle of each hair on the eyebrows is very short; this means that the movement from the anagen stage to telogen and catagen happens much faster, as compared to hair on the scalp. This is one of the main reasons why, hair on the eyebrows never grow really long.
Eyebrow transplant After one week
Now, let’s take a look at the actual transplant method used for eyebrows:
The eyebrows are divided into 3 parts, head, body and tail and in each part, the direction of hair is different. The holes or slits are made accordingly in each part, parallel to the direction of the patient’s existing hair. They are also made at a very acute angle almost parallel to the skin so that the hair that emerges out is flat, as is the case with normal eyebrows. If this goes wrong, the eyebrow hairs can stand out forwards, giving a bizarre look. Very fine hairs are placed along the eyebrow borders and at its tail, while thicker hairs can be placed in the centre. The arch in females should also be made right. All these steps are very crucial in order to ensure that an eyebrow transplant looks totally natural.
Single-haired grafts are mainly preferred for eyebrows to match with the normal eyebrow hairs, while two haired grafts can be placed in the middle to increase the thickness. The donor hair can be taken by FUE or Strip technique from the scalp.
Here is a look at the points that need to be considered while completing an eyebrow restoration:
- The hair that is being transplanted has to be placed in a manner that it lies flat against the skin.
- The hair should follow the proper direction of the eyebrow hairs.
- Transplanted hair, once it grows might need to be trimmed at regular intervals as, being taken from the scalp, they will grow longer than the normal eyebrow hairs.
Let’s take a quick look at how a follicular unit extraction on the scalp and the brow differ:
- Donor area: For the restoration of the scalp, hair has to be taken from the part of the scalp, where the hair growth is the densest. This includes the back of the head or the sides. However, for an eyebrow, hair has to be extracted from an area where the hair matches the eyebrow the most. This is why, most surgeons prefer to harvest hair from behind the ear or from the mid donor region.
- Recipient site creation: The hair has to be placed at a 30 or 45 degree angle in a scalp restoration process, while in the brows the hair has to be placed acutely, flat against the skin.
- Graft placement: The placement for scalp restoration is simple enough – straight in, but for the brows, there is the need for rotation to match the curve of the existing hair.
- Type of grafts preferred: For a scalp restoration, multi-haired grafts are more preferred as they give good density with less number of grafts. In case of eyebrow restoration, fine single-haired grafts are essential to give a natural look.
We recently received an email from Mayuri, someone who was looking to learn more about an eyebrow transplant. Here is the information that was sent out to her:
We understand that eyebrows are an important part of one’s persona, which is why women have been shaping them for ages. However, there are conditions that could lead to the loss of eyebrows. There are some primary causes for eyebrow loss and these include:
- Over plucking or excessive shaping
- Genetics – thin eyebrows
- Alopecia universalis
- Medical conditions such as chronic anaemia and thyroid
- Trauma, accidents or burns
While for most people, eyebrows are only an aspect of looking good, they are actually crucial for providing symmetry to the face. There are many cases, where without proper eyebrows, people have faced severe loss in confidence and have been extremely self-conscious about their appearance. This is why, if you too are suffering from such a condition, you should consult with a doctor, who will be able to rejuvenate your brows.
Here’s a look at how we could go about restoring your brows:
- We could utilise medicines to stabilise the loss
- We could consider hair transplantation
There are some topical solutions and lotions that can be applied on the eyebrows, but these might work only in cases, where the hair loss is minimal.
The other option for having beautiful thick eyebrows is to go for a transplant. Eyebrow transplant or restoration should be done by an experienced transplant surgeon as the angle and direction of hairs placed should be made very carefully to have a natural look. Usually grafts are harvested from the scalp donor area and single haired grafts are preferred for eyebrows. These transplanted hairs may have to be trimmed once it grows to keep up with the normal eyebrow length.
So if you feel that your eyebrows need restoration, please visit our clinic and our doctors will ensure that you have a fuller looking brow in no time!
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