Are eyebrow transplants worth it? Inside the cosmetic surgery trend that’s hot in Hollywood, from Chrissy Teigen calling it a ‘blessing and a curse’ to Dr. Phil’s wife, Robin McGraw’s thick brows
Enter the eyebrow transplant, Hollywood’s hottest new cosmetic surgery trend. Similar to hair transplantation, this revolutionary procedure harvests follicles from other parts of your head, typically the back of the scalp where hair is the thickest and won’t be missed. Then the hair follicles are implanted into the eyebrow area, where they take root and slowly blossom into thick, luxuriant brows.
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The transplant can be done under local anaesthetic, so it’s not too invasive and the whole operation takes anywhere from two to five hours. But the recovery can be painful, there are risks of infection – or even rejection – and it takes around 10 months before your new eyebrows grow into their fully formed state.
Eyebrow transplants aren’t cheap either, with an eye-watering price tag of as much as US$20,000 – as much as more extreme cosmetic surgeries like a nose job, facelift or breast augmentation. The most bizarre part? Since the hair follicles are from the scalp, they won’t stop growing the way normal brows do – meaning you have to trim them every two or three days to prevent them from overgrowing into your eyes. Fun.
That might explain why Chrissy Teigen, one of the most recent celebrities to admit to having done the procedure, called her eyebrow transplant “a blessing and a curse”.
Not everyone is as open about this eyebrow-raising experience, though. Dr. Marc Dauer, a Los Angeles-based hair restoration specialist who has been performing the procedure on celebrities for over 15 years, told the Hollywood Reporter that the procedure has been discreetly performed on “tons of actresses and actors, some of the most famous A-list actors in the entire world.”
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So while we might be left guessing about which bushy-browed stars have or have not had this unconventional beautifying procedure, here are five celebrities who definitely have.
1. Chrissy Teigen
2. Jen Atkin
Teigen might have gotten the idea to have the surgery done thanks to her bestie, celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin. The co-founder of haircare Ouai had her eyebrow transplant done in 2021 and vlogged about the entire process on her YouTube channel.
3. Meagan Good
The Shazam! Fury of the Gods starlet came clean on The Wendy Williams show in 2019, sharing that she resorted to a brow transplant after she over plucked her eyebrows as a teenager in the 90s.
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4. Amber Rose
This model and social media personality had the procedure done in 2017, per The Hollywood Reporter, and credited it for giving her thick and full brows that she is able to style exactly the way she likes.
5. Robin McGraw
Dr. Phil’s wife was an early adopter of the brow transplant, getting it done in 2011. The transformation to McGraw’s face was so dramatic that it even sparked plastic surgery rumours, per People magazine.
- Looking for fuller, bushier brows? This celebrity-beloved cosmetic surgery procedure harvests follicles from your scalp, which are then implanted into the eyebrow area – and it can cost up to US$20,000
- Chrissy Teigen explained the bizarre fact that the new hair won’t stop growing, Meagan Good said she resorted to it because she over plucked them, while Robin McGraw’s face looked utterly different