An eyebrow transplant is not right for everyone.
This page is not written to convince you. It sets out who tends to do well, who should wait, and who I turn away — so that you know all three before you decide anything.
Why people come for eyebrow restoration
Almost nobody who writes to me woke up one morning and decided to have this done. Most have been managing with pencil, powder, gel or microblading for years and do not want to do it for the rest of their lives. What brings them here falls into a handful of patterns.
The reasons I see most often:
- Brows that never recovered from years of tweezing and threading — a fashion for thin brows thinned a whole generation of them permanently
- Areas where hair no longer grows because of a burn, an accident or surgical scarring
- Thinning due to a medical cause: alopecia areata, thyroid conditions, loss after chemotherapy, or trichotillomania
- Naturally sparse brows, where the density was never present to begin with
- Brows that have thinned gradually with age, usually losing the tail first
- Microblading or permanent makeup that no longer gives the result it used to
None of these reasons means yes or no on its own. I regularly say yes to one person and "wait" to another with the same history. What decides it is not the cause, but where that cause stands right now.
Who tends to be a good candidate
Broadly, what I am looking for at assessment:
- Your brow loss has stopped and has been the same for some time — nothing is still progressing
- There is hair at the nape that is fine enough and plentiful enough to suit a brow
- Any underlying medical cause has been looked at and is under control
- Your expectation is for a shape your own face can carry, rather than someone else’s brow
- You accept that the result settles over months and requires patience
- You are in a position to follow the aftercare properly
You may not meet every line on that list. Most people do not. What matters is which parts are missing and whether they can be corrected. Some resolve with time. Some do not resolve at all.
When I will honestly say no
Most of the requests I turn down are turned down on timing, not on the person. In some cases, though, the answer is a lasting no, and I would rather say that at the beginning than at the end.
The situations where I tell someone to wait, or not to go ahead:
- Loss that is still active: placing grafts into a brow that will keep thinning spends a donor supply you cannot get back
- An underlying cause that has not been assessed, or is not yet under control — that comes first
- Hair-pulling that is still happening; newly placed hairs are exposed to exactly the same thing
- An expectation your facial structure cannot carry, or a request to copy a brow from a photograph exactly
- A donor area that cannot support the area you want covered — sometimes what is possible is more modest than what was hoped for
- Pressure to be ready for a date in the near future. This follows biology, not the calendar
A no is usually not a never. In most cases there is a condition that, once met, makes it worth looking again — and I will tell you plainly what that condition is.
If you have had microblading or permanent makeup
This is one of the most common questions I get, and the short answer is that having had microblading, tattooing or permanent makeup does not automatically rule you out. A large proportion of the people who write to me have that history.
What matters is what has been done to the area. Repeated work can leave scar tissue in the skin, pigment can make it harder to read the real shape underneath, and faded pigment can still be visible after a transplant. I look at all of that closely at assessment, and we discuss whether anything should be addressed beforehand.
Why I cannot decide from a photograph
A photograph flattens everything. I can see in an image that a brow is sparse. What I cannot see is why it is sparse — and the decision rests almost entirely on why.
What an assessment shows that a photograph does not:
- How fine the hair in your donor area is, how much there is, and how close it is to brow hair
- The direction your existing hairs grow in — the whole design is built around that
- Whether there is scar tissue, retained pigment or a change in the texture of the skin
- Whether the loss has stopped, and how long it has looked the way it looks now
- What you actually want, which is almost never written on a photograph
If someone has looked at one photograph and told you that you are suitable and how many grafts you need, that is not an assessment. I do not work that way, and I would be careful with anyone who does.
How to get assessed
The assessment costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Write to me
Through the consultation form. Tell me what happened to your brows, roughly when it started, and what you have already tried.
Send a few photographs
In daylight, without makeup: straight on, both sides, and one with your hair tied back so the nape is visible. That is enough for a first look.
We look together
On video, or in person in Istanbul. I will ask questions and you should ask yours — I would prefer you to come prepared.
You get an answer
If you are a candidate, I explain what can realistically be done. If you are not, I tell you why, and point you at the more sensible option if there is one.
Questions
- I have alopecia areata. Can I have an eyebrow transplant?
- That is not answerable on its own. Whether the condition has been quiet for a sustained period is the deciding factor, and it needs an assessment — alongside the view of the health professional looking after you, where relevant. I do not recommend transplanting during an active phase.
- I have had microblading. Does that rule me out?
- No, not automatically. I do need to look at whether there is scar tissue or retained pigment in the area, as both can affect the design and how the result looks.
- What happens if you tell me I am not a candidate?
- I explain why, and tell you what the alternative is if there is one. In some cases we can reassess once a specific condition is met, and I will say clearly what that condition is.