In their quest for perfect eyebrows, stars enjoy a ritual of dyeing, plucking, threading, waxing, laminating and microblading, enhanced by an arsenal of serums, supplements, pencils, powders and gels. All on repeat, because the results are temporary. Now a permanent eyebrow transplant is on the rise, thanks in part to Chrissy Teigen who shared her results on social media in November.
The procedure is quietly performed by “a bunch of actresses and actors, some of the most famous A-list actors in the world,” says Dr. Marc Dauer, Century City hair restoration specialist, who has been performing it for over 15 years.
Teigen’s hairstylist Jen Atkin vlogged about getting the procedure in 2021. She and Teigen saw Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Jason Champagne, as did actress Meagan Good after seeing Amber Rose’s results on Instagram.
“It immediately took 10 years off my face,” says Good, who underwent the procedure three times to perfect the shape. “It was life-changing for me. I grew up in the ’90s when everyone was doing their eyebrows super thin, so by the time I was 19 they didn’t grow back. I got them tattooed when I was 24 or 25, but it faded and looked harsh. So I started microblading [in which semipermanent pigment is injected into brows] when I was 30, but the lines started to blend. I just wanted a thicker, fuller, natural brow.”
Robin McGraw, wife of talk show host Dr. Phil, turned to Dauer for the surgery and reported on it in 2020 after the transformation sparked plastic surgery rumors.
“It was crazy how it changed my face,” says McGraw THR. “My eyebrows finally grew in proportion to my features. I blame my three older sisters. They played with my eyebrows a bit and plucked them too much. They were very far apart and thin. One had an arc way to the left and the other had no bow. I grew my bangs to cover them. I’ve had bangs all my life until now, and that’s why!”
There is also an increase in men booking the surgery; Dauer says his initial 9-to-1 female-to-male ratio has changed to 7-to-3.
“Men’s eyebrows start thinning from the outside in,” Champagne says. “It ages when you lose hair in your eyebrows, so it can definitely help you look more youthful.”
The process begins with designing a patient’s dream eyebrows, something both Champagne and Dauer do themselves. “I literally draw it out with an eyebrow pencil, freehand,” says Dauer.
Other surgeons turn to Hollywood brow gurus like Anastasia Soare. “I’ve had clients come to me so I can mark their perfect eyebrow shape with my golden ratio shaping technique prior to their implant appointment,” says Soare, who worked with Beverly Hills transplant specialist Dr. Craig Ziering.
Kim Kardashian’s arched eyebrows are often cited as a model by patients, say both Champagne and Dauer (who also says Megan Fox is often mentioned).
Performed under local anaesthetic, the five-hour procedure ($8,000 to $20,000 in Beverly Hills, surgeons say THR spoke) involves transplanting an average of 250 hairs per eyebrow, usually from a spot on the back of the scalp, and inserting them one at a time into the eyebrow area. Recovery with minimal bruising and swelling takes a few days, then the hairs fall out within a month and begin to grow back in three to four months. Full results can be expected within 10 months.
Because the new hairs come from the scalp, the texture varies and the growth exceeds the existing eyebrow hairs. “I trim my eyebrows every two to three days,” Good says, “and if your hair is curly, like mine, you need to train it to be more straight, like eyebrow hair.” For this she uses Patrick Ta’s Major Brow Lamination Gel.
The angle of the implants is another part of the technique. “I refined it so that the hair lays as flat against the skin as possible,” Champagne says. If done wrong, he says that “hair can stick right out of the face, and the only way to get rid of it is to do laser hair removal or electrolysis.”
While there are many hair growth-promoting elixirs and treatments on the market — such as FDA-approved Latisse (which Dauer recommends) — none of them will grow new hair. “Those serums work to an extent if you have hair there,” Champagne says. “But for those patients who have epilate too much and have never seen growth, the only way to get more hair in the eyebrows is to transplant them.” Seconds Dauer: “Once the hair follicles are gone, it’s gone.”
This story first appeared in the July 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
