Eyebrow transplants grow in popularity

(NBC/WJAR) - A new anti-aging trend is growing in popularity, and it's a procedure that's sure to raise an eyebrow or two – literally.

Most of us don't give our eyebrows much thought unless they need to be groomed.

"Eyebrows are very important on the face,” said Dr. Robert Leonard, a hair restoration expert. “It creates a balance. If people miss their eyebrows, just something looks very odd."

One woman in her early 30s overplucked her eyebrows.

"And when you have long-term pulling -- which is plucking -- the follicles get destroyed and they don't grow hair any longer,” said Leonard.

So a year and a half ago, the patient came in for an eyebrow transplant.

"Just like with hair transplantation on the scalp, I remove a small amount of skin with hair follicles in it. And under magnification, my team will dissect that strip into individual hairs, single follicles,” said Leonard. “And they're all placed in saline, and then I have the patient come in and actually ask them to mark the shape of the eyebrows that they want."

The woman opted for a little more brow so she could shape them – the full effects happening in about 18 months.

Throughout the years, hair restoration expert Leonard says he's done almost three dozen eyebrow transplants, more in just the last year.

”Last Friday, I had two women come in for eyebrow consultations, just out of the blue," said Leonard.

Transplantation is one option for thinning eyebrows, but there are nonsurgical choices.

"Rogaine foam. Rogaine grows hair on the head,” said Leonard. “It also will stimulate growth on the eyebrow and potentially stimulate growth on the eyebrows. And then Latisse, it's FDA-approved for eyelash growth, and it works beautifully for eyelashes. And I also have patients use it on the eyebrows. I've seen some benefits."

Eyebrow transplantation costs on average about $5,000 -- more or less depending on how much hair is transplanted.