Everything you need to know about eyebrow hair loss

May, 15 2020 | By Dr. Sangay Bhutia (Hair Transplant Specialist in Delhi)


Hair Loss Treatment

People don’t usually pay too much attention to their eyebrows. Of course women thread them, shape them, and use eyebrow pencils to fill them out. However, most men don’t worry about their eyebrows as much as they do about their mane or their beard. But did you know that as we age and as our hair starts to thin, our eyebrows may become thinner as well.

Although age is not the only cause for eyebrow hair loss. It can happen due to other reasons as well. Here are some of them:

Poor diet
It cannot be said enough that what we eat reflects on our skin, hair, and overall health. The human body requires certain kinds of nutrients for hair growth; if a person is not eating a balanced diet containing iron-rich leafy green vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, eggs and other foods which contain essential vitamins, zinc, and protein, the body will use whatever it gets for essential functions and non-essential functions like hair growth get ignored. This can cause hair fall, including on your eyebrows. Hair loss can be caused by the deficiency of zinc, vitamin B-7, E, B-12, D, Biotin, and iron.

Hormonal imbalances
Conditions such as hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid or a condition when the body produces the thyroid hormone in excess) or hypothyroidism (body does not produce sufficient amount of the thyroid hormone) can cause eyebrow hair loss. If a person is experiencing irregular heart beat, irritability, rapid weight loss or gain, dry hair and dry skin, hair loss, it could be a sign of thyroid imbalances.

Stress
Stress leads to the production of a hormone called cortisol in the body. Cortisol pushes hair follicles out of the growth phase to the catagen or transition phase, leading to hair fall. This kind of hair fall is called telogen effluvium. This can affect eyebrow hair as well. Stress can also lead to a condition called Trichotillomania, a hair pulling disorder. It is an urge to pull out our own hair from the scalp or other parts of the body including the eyebrows, leading to hair loss.

Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune Diseases, conditions such as psoriasis or alopecia areata, where a person’s immune system attacks their own body, can lead to eyebrow hair fall as well.

Apart from these, too much plucking which creates trauma can impact eyebrow hair loss, using a lot of chemical makeup on the brows can cause damage as well. Chemotherapy, and pregnancy and childbirth are also known to cause eyebrow hair loss.

Prevention and cure
Any kind of hair loss caused by a disease, stress, or nutritional deficiency can be reversed by targeting the root problem, but the important thing is to see a professional as soon as you start noticing the symptoms. However, there is medication to stop eyebrow hair loss. Here are the most common treatment options:

Minoxidil : A topical medication, it is used to treat hair fall in both men and women. It can be used for the eyebrows as well to stop hair fall and for regrowth

Corticosteroids: These are steroid hormones that can be used for the treatment of alopecia areata, and other conditions like eczema, dermatitis, or psoriasis. They can help restore eyebrow hair.

Hair transplant: Eyebrow transplants involve using hair from the permanent hair areas of the scalp, above the ears or back of the head, and implanting them onto the brows. The procedure is often also used to fill out sparse eyebrows. It is, however, not suited for patients who have alopecia areata, trichotillomania, or bleeding disorders like haemophilia, where the blood doesn’t clot properly.

Eyebrows play a huge part in our appearance and their thinning can cause stress and anxiety among patients. The good news, however, is that for most people it is treatable, all it needs is a visit to a good doctor.



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