As if losing the hair on your head weren’t enough, you may also notice (to your dismay) that your eyebrows – a prominent feature that enhances your appearance – are gradually thinning out. But why?

Actually, eyebrow hair loss is a fairly common occurrence. It can be due to any number of reasons, ranging from hormonal changes or nutritional deficiencies to an infection, skin condition, stress, or even an overactive immune system that’s attacking the hair follicles. This type of hair loss has a number of different possible treatments, depending on the cause.

Getting to the Source of Eyebrow Hair Loss

Specific causes for eyebrow hair loss include:

• Alopecia areata – The same autoimmune disease that is oftentimes responsible for scalp hair loss can also affect your eyebrows. In this case, your immune system mistakenly targets and attacks your eyebrow follicles, thereby slowing or halting eyebrow hair production.
• Nutritional deficiencies – Your body requires a healthy balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Since some of these nutrients sustain and influence hair growth, a lack in any of them could result in hair loss. For example, a deficiency of vitamins C, E, B-12, D, iron, cysteine, and/or omega-3 fatty acids could trigger hair loss, including in the eyebrows.
• Dermatitis – Skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis, can interfere with proper hair growth. Any type of dermatitis can block hair follicles from growing hair normally.
• Thyroid disease – The thyroid gland, located in the front of the neck, produces hormones that regulate your metabolism. When it produces too much or too little of a hormone, your body’s normal processes – including hair growth – can be disrupted.
• Excessive stress or anxiety – Psychological issues are known to contribute to eyebrow hair loss. If you have recently experienced a traumatic event or major lifestyle change, this may be the root cause.
• Telogen effluvium (TE) – This refers to a temporary, but dramatic, loss of hair that happens when your normal hair growth cycle is interrupted. This can be due to stress, changes in your diet, medications, hormonal or other changes in your body chemistry.
• Overplucking – This practice creates minor trauma to the follicle, which can result in the hair no longer growing in that spot. 

• Scar tissue – can be the result of trauma, burns (chemical or thermal) and skin conditions typically involving problems with the immune system attacking the body’s own tissues.
• Aging – Generally starting in our 40s, as levels of estrogen in women and testosterone in men dwindle, both genders may start to experience thinning of hair on the scalp and in the eyebrows.
• Chemotherapy – Chemo is specifically designed to affect all rapidly dividing cells, including hair follicles. Therefore, chemotherapy can stifle hair production in the brows.

How Can I Get My Eyebrows Back?

Once Dr. Niedbalski diagnoses the cause of your eyebrow loss, he will recommend the most appropriate treatment to restore your eyebrows to their natural condition.

One of the most effective options for this is eyebrow transplant restoration. Similar to scalp hair restoration, this procedure involves hair follicles from the scalp and relocating those hair follicles into the sparse eyebrow area.

Our team offers the latest advancements in hair transplant surgery, including ultra-refined follicular unit transplantation (FUT and FUE), eyebrow transplants, facial hair transplants, and many more options to help you look great.

To find out whether an eyebrow transplant is right for you, or if there is a less-invasive treatment you’d prefer, contact us at Northwest Hair Restoration today by calling us at (253) 572-2949 to arrange a consultation with Dr. Niedbalski. You can also use our convenient online appointment request form. We look forward to helping you love how you look!