Low Thyroid, Hair Loss and Eyebrow Transplant

By Emina Karamanovski

Recently I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and personally experienced the horror of hair loss that many women share. One of the symptoms associated with it was hair loss. Beside the fact that my hair was shedding more than usual, it was becoming alarmingly thinner. As I was diagnosed and my thyroid problems treated, my hair loss stabilized. However, many patients we see in our office have not been able to catch the hair loss at an early stage of the thyroid dysfunction and have been left with thin hair or eyebrow loss requiring restoration.

Oftentimes, thyroid disease affects hair growth and causes accelerated hair loss, affecting not only the top of the head but often making the eyebrows thinner or shorter. Once the treatment is established and the functioning of the thyroid gland restored, it may take 6 to 12 months before the hair loss stops and the hair grows back to its original density. It is estimated that as many as 59 million Americans have a thyroid problem, but the majority don’t know it yet. If left undiagnosed for a long time, hair loss may become recalcitrant to the treatment and the only solution to restoring thin hair is hair transplantation. As women are more affected with thyroid problems, women are seeking and benefiting from hair transplantation. Interestingly, there are increased numbers of women seeking eyebrow restoration. Whether it is due to over tweezing, genetics, trauma, a medical condition or inspired by the new fashion trend (as thicker eyebrows are in vogue now), eyebrow transplantation is gaining popularity in the last several years.

Eyebrows stand out on the face and cannot be camouflaged with “hairstyling”. Some women use an eyebrow pencil or choose permanent makeup to fill in for missing eyebrows but these solutions do not provide a three-dimensional solution and often do not look natural. To really restore a natural look to the eyebrow, hair transplant is the solution and selecting an experienced surgeon is the imperative.

Eyebrow transplantation requires an artistic eye, as a properly designed eyebrow provides an aesthetic frame to the face and eyes. But, the aesthetic artistry in eyebrow restoration extends beyond the shape of the eyebrow. The selection of the hair used for restoration, the graft care and placement play a significant role in achieving good results. Finer hair caliber is selected and approximately 300 hairs per eyebrow are placed to imitate natural hair growth pattern in the eyebrow. Surgical technicians prepare grafts delicately and infuse them in platelet rich plasma (PRP) to ensure their best survival and growth. Each hair is handpicked and inserted at the correct angle and depth by the physician. Hair curl is carefully oriented and the hair trimmed at the perfect length. In the last several years, Dr. Lam and his team have perfected their eyebrow transplant technique by using special implanters and the aforementioned regenerative medicine (PRP). Although, eyebrows in comparison to the hairline may seem small and insignificant, when restored correctly, they can make all the difference in a person’s life and confidence in one’s appearance.

For more information about eyebrow restoration or to schedule a consultation with Dr Samuel Lam please call 972-312-8105, or visit Dr Lam’s eyebrow transplant forum to ask him a question