Thinning Eyebrows: Home Treatments and Procedures to Consider

Celebrities like Cara Delevigne, Lily Collins, and Emilia Clarke are seen as eyebrow “it girls” who started a trend towards voluminous eyebrows. It’s a big turnaround from previous trends of ultra-thin, sparse, and arched brows. Now, everyone is looking for dense, natural-looking brows with elegant shapes.

The Road to Lush Brows

When clients come to Vargas Face & Skin center, they often mention celebrity eyebrows as they consider everything from brow lifts to PRP of the brows. It’s more challenging to gain thick brows than to thin them out. Approximately 80 million men and women in the USA experience thinning hair, and that includes eyebrows.

Many available home remedies and cosmetic procedures can bring volume to sparse, overplucked, or thinning brows. It’s simply a matter of selecting one that fits your needs and comfort level. But before you make that choice, it’s crucial to understand why your brows may be thinning in the first place.

Common Causes of Thinning Eyebrows

Aging or Hormone Problems

Thinning hair, including hair on the face, is part of the natural aging process. Men and women past 35 years old will start to experience thinning hair on various areas of their bodies. Hair follicles begin to weaken and die during this stage of the aging process, resulting in sparse patches of hair.

Eyebrow hair loss is a common symptom of hormonal issues as well. Women may experience telogen effluvium or abrupt hormone changes that cause sudden hair loss. While it usually resolves itself in six months, it can be an indicator of menopause.

Alopecia areata

This autoimmune condition causes the body to attack itself, mistaking healthy body cells as pathogens that the immune system must eliminate. In alopecia areata, the body is removing hair follicles, which leads to sparse or slow regrowth. In some cases, hair production may halt entirely.

The disease is also chronic, creating cycles of flare-ups and remissions. If you suspect you may have this condition, it’s crucial to speak to a dermatologist or an autoimmune disease specialist to confirm the diagnosis and consider more specialized treatment. 

Nutrient Deficiencies

Hair growth relies on Vitamins A, C, E, B12, and Z, zinc, iron, biotin (also known as Vitamin B7), and plenty of omega-3 fatty acids to maintain good hair growth and cellular reproduction. If you haven’t been consuming enough of these nutrients, your hair may struggle in regrowing.

Skin Conditions/diseases

Eczema is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin. Because hair follicles are found within the skin’s surface, the disease also affects their growth and cell turnover. 

Psoriasis is another autoimmune disorder that can affect hair follicles. It’s not like other autoimmune conditions that affect the skin, which damage cell turnover rates. People with psoriasis experience an excess of cell multiplication. It creates scaly, painful patches of skin that make it difficult for hair to grow through. Affected areas thicken, blocking hair follicles from coming through.

Contact dermatitis is another skin condition. An allergen or toxic substance may create a burning sensation as the skin gets damaged, affecting hair growth. One example is poison ivy. If the skin around the eyebrows comes into contact with the poison ivy’s irritants, it can cause inflammation that blocks hair growth.

Thyroid Issues

This is one of the most common medical conditions that could affect the hair and eyebrow growth. It also disproportionately affects women more than men. The thyroid gland produces the hormones necessary to facilitate hair growth. Women with thyroid issues have glands that produce too much or too little of the hair-growth hormone, resulting in an imbalance that disrupts hair growth.

Stress

Stress is such a significant component of hair thinning or hair loss that studies revealed many Americans experienced bald spots, thinner hair, and receding hairlines after pandemic stress. 

Fortunately, it’s a temporary situation. Once your stress eases, hair tends to regrow and recover after six months. However, persistent and constant stress could lead to weaker hair follicles and hair fallout.

Cosmetic Procedures and Solutions for Thinning Eyebrows

Microblading and Microshading

Licensed cosmetic providers can perform microblading and microshading procedures as a way to give eyebrows a denser appearance. Microblading creates extremely thin, featherlike strokes that mimic the appearance of hair follicles, creating the illusion of thicker brows.

Microshading is similar, mimicking the appearance of cosmetic powder often used to thicken the brows during makeup. 

Hair Transplants

Hair transplants are performed by transplanting hair plugs or healthy hair follicles from body areas with good hair growth and embedding them into the place where you need more hair growth. While often used for receding hairlines, hair transplants can also be performed on the eyebrows.

Hair transplants became popular as they utilize resources from your own body. And because the healthy hair is set to regrow in the new region, the effects last for many years to come.

PRP or platelet-rich plasma therapy is another form of hair transplant and eyebrow restoration. Your blood, correctly processed by specialists, infuses the region that needs further hair growth. The platelets are enriched components of your blood that help blood cells circulate correctly through the eyebrows. The substance helps clot your blood and is considered the beginning of the natural healing process.

The natural healing factor from rich platelets is the foundation for using PRP for the brows. The platelets nourish and restore the natural healing of the hair follicles and roots in specified areas, prompting growth and healthier cell turnover. In the hands of a professional, it’s considered a safer, natural way to restore thickness in your eyebrows.

Medications

Some medications can help facilitate better hair growth. The best-known options are minoxidil, corticosteroids, and topical bimatoprost. 

Minoxidil is an over-the-counter solution that addresses hormonal issues in hair growth. There are versions available for both men and women and can potentially restore hair growth over the next several months of use.

Corticosteroids are topical medications used to regrow hair by reducing inflammation that could be blocking hair follicles from getting through the skin. They’re best when administered against skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis. They are also available in pill or injectable form.

Finally, topical bimatoprost (Latisse) was tested in 2016 for off-label use as a hair growth solution. While not yet FDA approved, the study showed that it increases hair growth during the anagen phase. This leads to better hair growth, length, and thickness.

Home Remedies and Solutions to Thicken Eyebrows

Natural oil remedies

Many natural oils have been used as home remedies for thicker, more voluminous hair. They’re applied topically to hair directly or to the skin where you need your hair to regrow.

Some examples of natural oils for hair regrowth are coconut oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil, and castor oil. Tea tree oil, in particular, has been known to create a moisturizing barrier that protects hair follicles, bolstering cellular and follicular health. 

Castor oil has also been popular recently as an effective way to grow thicker eyelashes and eyebrows. The oil is rich in fatty acids and proteins, including several vitamins, that encourage hair to grow better. 

Saw palmetto

Saw palmetto is a health supplement that some people swear by as a solution to hair loss. Unlike natural oils, this supplement isn’t applied to the skin. Ingesting it in pill, tea, or capsule form is the preferred method. 

Studies are still ongoing to measure the true effectiveness of saw palmetto to hair growth. The supplement had primarily been used for prostate problems before doctors noticed its potential for regrowing hair.

Egg yolk

Hair is made from keratin, a protein type similar to the proteins in egg yolk. Egg yolks are rich in biotin as well, which is another nutrient necessary to improve hair growth. 

To use egg yolk for hair regrowth:

1. Separate the yolk from the white and apply it topically to the eyebrow area with a q-tip or a small brush.
2. Keep it on for 20 minutes before washing it thoroughly with soap and water.
3. Remember not to leave it too long as egg yolk can clog pores and lead to pimples or acne.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is one of the most popular skincare ingredients globally and has proven effective in soothing and healing. This plant contains the aloenin compound that has chemical components similar to the keratin in hair and nails. 

Applying it topically to the eyebrow region as a gel nourishes hair and enriches hair follicles. This leads to better elasticity and stronger hair with reduced breakage.

Remember to first consult with specialists.

Before trying any hair growth solution, remember first to seek the advice of specialists. Not all remedies to thinner eyebrows may be effective for you. Some might even give you an adverse reaction, exacerbating the situation.

If you’re planning to try cosmetic procedures for eyebrow restoration, it’s even more important to consult with professionals with years of experience in performing them. They understand the required medical standards and can give you the safest, longest-lasting results from these procedures.

Vargas Face & Skin Center has been one of the most trusted skin and hair specialists in Kansas City, offering numerous skin rejuvenation and hair restoration services. Contact us today to schedule your appointment so we can help you find the ideal procedure for your needs. Or you can browse the different services we have available for hair growth and restoration for both men and women.