Trendy Procedure Has Many People Raising Their Eyebrows
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Fuller brows are having a major fashion moment.
Entire Sephora aisles and YouTube tutorials are dedicated to helping you achieve Instagram worthy brows in search of the trendy look.
More people have been turning to a procedure that's raising some eyebrows.
From Cara Delevigne to Gigi Hadid, Sofia Vergara and Eva Mendes, power brows have taken center stage on the catwalk and in Hollywood.
This is netting big bucks for those in the brow biz.
Some women are paying big bucks for semi-permanent tattoos called microblading.
But now women are actually going under the knife for brow transplants.
Dr. Sam Lam, a Plano hair transplant surgeon says he's seen the uptick too.
A procedure that used to be pretty rare, he performs them as often as once a week.
"The trend in the last year has been tremendous probably due to overplucking or the trend to fuller brows," said Dr. Lam.
Cynthia Jones confesses to overplucking in the 70's when that was the look.
"I didn't have any, they just disappeared," she said.
After trying every gel and pencil on the market and drawing on her eyebrows daily, Jones' secret didn't fool her granddaughter.
"She comes up and gives me a big hug and says 'grandma how come you only have one eyebrow?' I though oh gosh how long have I only had one eyebrow," Jones recalled.
She came to Dr. Lam after a failed brow transplant at another location.
Following a successful procedure, she spoke with CBS News after a touch-up surgery.
"It almost feels like you have a headache, but I wouldn't describe it as pain," she said.
The procedure lasts from two and a half to four hours and involves harvesting hair from behind the head.
Dr. Lam's team dissects active follicles, its science and art to create a realistic brow.
"It's basically like planting flowers," said Dr Lam. "Move the flower from one bed into the other and then it grows."
Recovery can up to a week and swelling is common. Patients see full results in six to ten months.
"I tell my students this is the most technically challenging thing to do well," said Dr. Lam. "The biggest risk in eyebrow transplantion is going to someone not qualified."
In most cases, the tranplanted hair continues to grow like it would on your scalp
"They'll have to trim their hairs every few day," he said.
Jones says she wasn't pursuing a trend. She wanted her own natural brows back, which just happened to be on trend.
"I think it was definitely worth it," Jones said. "I look more alert or awake, maybe a little younger I hope."
Trends come and go but good brows are timeless.
