A plastic surgeon once coined the phrase “eyebrows frame the face”. The phrase stuck and is oft used by Semi-permanent make-up technicians as seldom have so few words painted such a true and vivid picture.
You Only Miss Them When They’re Gone.
We all take our eyebrows for granted – they’re just there. We pluck, wax, thread, tint them, pencil in gaps between them safe in the knowledge they’ll be there in the morning where we left them. But for many people it’s not always such a stable relationship. The following are the more common reasons for eyebrow hair loss:
Overplucking - Years of plucking, or more correctly overplucking can lead to permanent loss of the eyebrows, often in patches (Fig.1).
Powder brows
Age And Genetics - Eyebrow hair, like scalp hair, thins with age. The genes we’ve been dealt play a significant role in the extent to which the thinning occurs and when it occurs.
Thyroid Disorders - Eyebrow hair loss is also a symptom of Hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid). In fact, loss of the outer section of the eyebrows is used as a diagnostic sign of hypothyroidism.
Please note, although less common, eyebrow hair loss can also occur in an over-active thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Adequate thyroid replacement therapy helps towards restoring the eyebrow hair but the re-growth can take many years and is often incomplete or absent.
Alopecia - The word on it’s own means hair loss. There are different types of alopecia such as alopecia areata (patchy hair loss) or alopecia totalis and different reasons for it, such as immune disorders. In some cases, with medical treatment, the hair loss can be reversed. Often however, it is permanent.
Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy given, for example, for breast or ovarian cancer can lead to a general loss of hair including the eyebrows. The hair re-growth is delayed and of a thickness dependent on the type, dose and duration of the Chemotherapy. Instances where the hair has not re-grown are well recognised. Restoration of the eyebrows in these patients is a great self-esteem and confidence boost at a time when it is needed most.
Trichotilomania - Some sufferers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) display a behavioural pattern called Trichotilomania which, in plain language, means habitual pulling out of the hairs. Any hair that can be pulled is pulled. The eyebrows are a frequent target. Once again, as in overplucking, the eyebrow hair does not re-grow.
Restoring Eyebrows
Semi-permanent make-up or micropigmentation is a safe, effective and time proven method of restoring a natural appearance after eyebrow hair loss.
There are two techniques for restoring eyebrows – “Hair stroke brows” or “Powder Brows” The Hair stroke method involves the precise drawing of individual hair strokes to mimic a natural brow. (Figs.2 and 3). It requires much skill, training and patience to do.
Hairstroke Eyebrow
Hairstroke Eyebrows
Most people would like their semi-permanent eyebrows carried out by this method.
Powder Brows (Fig.4) mimic carefully applied eyebrow make-up, such as an eyebrow pencil. It would be chosen, for example, by people who have drawn their eyebrows on daily for many years and feel that a “make-up look” of their eyebrows is what they are now used to. For these clients, the powder brows are convenient, ever present, smudge free and a constant, beautiful shape.
A wide selection of natural colours is available and the shape of the eyebrow is drawn to the client’s liking. The treatment proceeds only after the client is completely happy with the colour and shape selected.
Powder Brows
The Procedure itself
There is a small and poorly documented (no statistics found in our research) risk of allergy with the pigments used for semi permanent make-up. Nouvelle Aesthetics use pigments made in Germany to pharmaceutical grade and in use for over 15 years. This goes a long way towards minimising any possibility of allergy. To lessen this even further, a test patch is given to the Client prior to treatment.
The consultation process is detailed and can take 30-45 minutes. It is only when both our Client and our Technician is happy with the colours, method and shape selected that the treatment begins.
The treatment itself is a very exact, careful process and can take 40 – 60 minutes. Semi-permanent eyebrows are carried out under topical local anaesthesia.
Using an adequate amount of the correct anaesthetic for a sufficient amount of time results in a comfortable procedure.
As the deeper layers of the skin are not disturbed, some of the pigment may not be retained in the skin at the first treatment. If this is the case a “top-up” treatment may be required a month after the initial treatment.
Restoring Eyebrows restores confidence and self esteem, this is more so for those who have suffered a sudden loss of eyebrow hair. This factor often dominates over benefits such as not having to spend extra time applying eyebrow pencils, and then worrying about smudging during the day.
Hairstroke Eyebrows
Powder Brows
Eyebrow restoration following Chemotherapy Hair Loss
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