Eyebrow Hair Loss

For those of us born with unnaturally thick eyebrows, we were shamed into plucking them into thin lines back in the 1990s.  Now that nice, full eyebrows are back in style; trying to regrow our over plucked eyebrows can be difficult.  However, there may be other causes for eyebrow thinning.  Some of these causes may be clues to other systemic or skin issues that may have developed.

 

Most Common Causes for Eyebrow Loss
 

• Trauma

As mentioned, tweezing our eyebrows may lead to permanent thinning in the area.  This is due to a form of traction or traumatic alopecia.  This leads to mild inflammation around the hair follicles.  Clearly, decreasing traumatic procedures to the eyebrows will reduce this form of thinning.

 

• Aging

Sadly, we can blame numerous aspects of our lives on aging.  In addition, it lead to thinning of the eyebrows.  Over time our hairs can become finer and more dry.

 

• Hypothyroidism

Thyroid abnormalities can affect metabolism and protein synthesis.  This can lead to brittle, dry, shedding scalp hair.  In addition, it can lead to thinning of the ends of the eyebrows.

 

• Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is autoimmune disorder where immune complexes attack the hair bulb.  This leads to circular patches on the scalp and beard.  If the eyebrows are affected, it will typically manifest as patchy areas of eyebrow loss.  It may lead complete loss of eyebrows.

 

• Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA)

FFA is a form of hairloss that most commonly occurs in postmenopausal women.  It causes smooth, band-like hairline recession over the frontal scalp, patchy eyebrow loss, and sometimes body hair loss.  There may be noticeable red spots around the hair follicles in the affected areas.  This entity may also lead to a prematurely aged appearance with a change in texture, discoloration and increased fine lines on the face.

 

Treatments

The most important aspect of treating eyebrow loss is identifying the underlying cause.  For eyebrow loss due to alopecia, steroid injections or topical creams may help.  For most types of eyebrow loss, topical prostaglandin products may increase the thickness, despite underlying cause.  In addition, there are numerous types of camouflages available, for example, microblading, tattooing, and makeup brow kits.  We also offer eyebrow hair transplant in applicable cases.

 

In conclusion, eyebrows are back in style.  For those of us that have less than we used to, identifying the cause may lead to more targeted treatment, and hopefully fuller eyebrows!

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