Through the ages women with long thick eyelashes have been considered more beautiful and more desirable. Centuries ago the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian women were painting around their eyes. In 1913 Mabelline created eyelash mascara so that women could lengthen, darken, and thicken their eyelashes. The product caught on with women around the world. Next, eyelash extensions became fashionable. In the past several years eyelash transplantation has been very popular.

Everyone wants to know how it is done. The eyelash procedure is done in the following manner: The patient is given a mild tranquilizer. An area (2 inches X 3/8 inch) of scalp in the back of the head is numbed with a local anesthetic. That section (scalp strip) is removed and the gap is sewn shut with stitches. The scalp strip is given to a technician who uses a microscope and jeweler’s forceps to cut and separate the hair tissue into single hair follicular grafts. The grafts are then one by one implanted into the upper eyelid by the surgeon using microscopic lenses. The graft is a follicle with a long hair (2-5 inches) attached to it. The long hair follicle, like a piece of thread, is sewn into the upper eyelid with a very small curved needle. The procedure takes approximately 2-3 hours.

The new transplanted lashes shed within two weeks. - The hair shaft falls out, but the bulb or root of the hair follicle stays implanted in the eyelid and starts to re-grow new permanent lashes in 6-12 weeks. To see the full cosmetic results it takes 6-12 months. Some patient may require an additional session of eyelash transplantation to reach their restoration goals. It is required that the patient have transportation to and from the office so that adequate anesthesia can be given.

These newly transplanted eyelashes will need to be trimmed every 1-2 weeks because they grow just like the hair from the back of the patient’s head. (The new eyelashes will flap on your sunglasses if you don’t regularly trim them!) The new eyelashes will also need to be curled with an eyelash curler or a crimper.

Most surgeons charge approximately $6,500 for 2 upper eyelids. This may seem a lot, but one should consider that professionally applied false eyelashes costs $200 to $300 and only last one to three months.