Eyebrow hair loss is very common and can be caused by a diverse range of factors, from alopecia to overplucking, side effects of medications and hormonal changes as we age. Stress and skin conditions can also contribute to thinning or hair loss, impacting your brows.
The evolving trends for thicker, shaped, and youthful eyebrows mean many people feel self-conscious or want arched brows that frame their faces and accentuate their features, which is why eyebrow transplants are such a popular procedure.
This guide will examine the many causes of eyebrow hair loss and summarise the options if you’d like to permanently correct your thinning or patchy eyebrows.
Eyebrow Hair Loss Causes: The Facts
- Thinning growth or hair loss affecting eyebrows is often due to hypotrichosis. [1] For some people, this could be linked to hair loss on their head, and for others, it is a standalone issue.
- The underlying issues that contribute to eyebrow hair loss are varied, but they could include different types of alopecia, reactions to medications, or simply overplucking or hair removal that has caused permanent damage to the follicles in the past.
- Eyebrow transplants are one of the highest-growth hair transplant services and can address most causes of eyebrow thinning or hair loss. They result in a bespoke, thick brow suited to your requirements.
Common Causes of Eyebrow Hair Loss or Thinning
Eyebrow transplants account for 12% of female hair transplants and 3% of male transplants, demonstrating the scale of the market and the sustained levels of demand for customised eyebrow transplantation. [2]
Part of this is due to the many factors that can impact the health of the follicles within your hair. Our specialist hair transplant experts have compiled the list below to demonstrate why you may be dissatisfied with your eyebrows or have seen thinning or hair loss.
Alopecia Affecting Eyebrow Hair Growth
There is a specific type of alopecia called madarosis, which is more often referred to as eyebrow alopecia. [3] Depending on your symptoms and diagnosis, this could be characterised as:
- Alopecia areata, where eyebrow follicles may fall out in patches, caused by a response from your immune system. [4]
- Frontal fibrosing alopecia, where hair loss is typically seen around the front of the hairline and the eyebrows due to a genetic condition or autoimmune reaction. [5]
- Androgenetic alopecia, which is better known as male or female pattern baldness and is a hereditary and genetic issue. [6]
Other health conditions that impact the normal function of your autoimmune system can also influence eyebrow hair growth, including lupus and some thyroid diseases.
Medications Connected With Eyebrow Thinning
Clients who have previously received treatments, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, often request help with their eyebrows.
People who have been prescribed medications that contain high doses of niacin, vitamin A, and thallium for varied conditions may also experience hair loss or patchy growth in their eyebrows.
Skin conditions such as dermatitis can affect the health of the skin, which causes follicles to shed and leads to eyebrow hair loss, whereas ongoing health concerns like mastocytosis may also commonly lead to eyebrow growth being lost. [7]
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Injuries and Scarring to the Face
Any issues that cause the skin underneath your eyebrows to become scarred or damaged can make it difficult for follicles to grow new hairs. Accidents that leave scars on or around the eyebrows and procedures like laser tattoo removal can stimulate hair loss.
Other forms of trauma, such as ongoing stress and depression, may also impact the growth of your eyebrows.
Telogen effluvium is a common cause. It is normally temporary and attributed to very high stress levels or sudden changes in hormones. [8] Although this condition usually self-corrects, that may not always be the case, especially if follicles have become dormant.
Age-Related and Personal Habits
Some people find that their eyebrows become thinner or patchier over time. As they age, a certain amount of hair loss is typical, more noticeable for those with denser, darker eyebrows than people with finer and lighter natural hair.
Another very common cause of eyebrow hair loss is overplucking or excessive hair removal, which can mean that after years of removing hairs from the brow line, these become permanently damaged.
Treatments and Therapies to Correct Eyebrow Hair Loss
Understanding the reasons for hair loss impacting your brows is key since this can dictate the interventions that will achieve the results you are hoping for.
Our Director of Surgical Services says, ‘A private consultation is important because this gives us the time to conduct a clinical assessment of your eyebrows and discuss the aspects of your lifestyle or experiences of hair loss that have resulted in thin or patchy brows.
Following a consultation, we can discuss non-surgical therapies, personalised eyebrow transplantation, and medications that will help restore the eyebrow thickness and density you would like to achieve.
There are medications that could help, especially if you have a diagnosed form of alopecia or hormone imbalances contributing to hair loss. In other scenarios, clients may opt for an eyebrow transplant using the minimally invasive FUE transplant approach.’
Eyebrow transplantation involves collecting donor follicles from areas of thick growth, usually to the back of the scalp, depending on the colour, growth pattern, and density of your natural eyebrow follicles to ensure a seamless appearance.
From there, the donor follicles are graded, prepared and gently implanted in a preconfigured pattern under a local anaesthetic to ensure the procedure is pain-free and does not require an extended recovery period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Thinning Eyebrows Grow Back Without Treatment?
Potentially, yes – if you have overplucked your eyebrows once or twice, it’s very likely your brows will grow back in, and you can use an eyebrow pencil to replenish those thinner areas over the short term.
However, if there is permanent damage to the follicles or you have a condition such as alopecia that means the follicles are dormant, you may need either an eyebrow transplant or an alternative hair restoration therapy.
How Can I Find the Best Solution to Eyebrow Hair Loss?
Our advice is always to book a consultation with your nearest KSL Clinic. Initial consultations are free of charge and enable our surgeons to evaluate your brows and suggest the treatments, medications or transplant options most suited to you.
