Health

New Surgical Procedure Helps Eyebrows Grow Back

BOSTON (WBZ) ― For women, hairstyles change and that includes the eyebrows. Some women plucked their way to a thinner brow line and now regret it because all of that pulling led to permanent hair loss.

Michelle Innocenti is getting a second hair transplant—not for her head, for her eyebrows.

"When I was in my 20's I had very thick eyebrows, but then thin eyebrows were in. So, I plucked them a lot to get the thin shape."

And when she wanted thicker brows again, she found the hair had stopped growing. This experience is supported by medical professionals. Dr. Ken Washenik says that continuous pluck damages the hair follicle so that no usable growth will emerge.

A follicle is basically the tissue beneath our skin that allows new hair to grow. When an area is damaged, whether from plucking or a scar, that tissue has to be replaced with a transplant.

Michelle had the first transplant done last year and there is a noticeable difference. Now a second transplant is being done to add thickness. An eyebrow transplant is exactly the same as a hair transplant.

In the first step, doctors take a graft of healthy tissue from the back of the head. Holes are made where more hair is needed and filled in with the new tissue. It takes a few months for new hair to grow and, once it does, it doesn't stop.

When you move the hair, it continues to grow because it thinks that it is still on the back of the head. That's right, the hair on the eyebrows can then grow as long as it would on the head. So, you have to continuously trim them.

Besides the maintenance, there's also the three to five thousand dollar price tag to consider. But, for Michelle it was worth it to have her eyebrows back.

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