Follicle Transplant Can Restore Eyebrow Hair Loss

Michelle Innocenti is getting a second hair transplant -- not for her head, but on her eyebrows.

“When I was in my 20's, I had very thick eyebrows," she said. "But way back then, thin eyebrows were in, so I used to pluck them a lot to get the thin shape.”

Dermatologist Dr. Ken Washenik says continuous plucking damages the hair follicle.

“Essentially, no useable growth comes from that follicle,” he said.

A follicle is basically the tissue beneath the 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.

Innocenti had her first transplant last year. A second transplant will add to the thickness.

“An eyebrow transplant is exactly the same as a hair transplant,” Washenik said.

First, the doctor takes a graft of healthy tissue from the back of the head and makes holes where where more hair is needed. Those holes are then filled in with the new tissue.

It takes a few months for new hair to grow, but it doesn't stop growing.

“So when you move it, it's just going to grow, thinking its still back,” Washenik said. “So, you have to continuously trim them.”