Is it normal to lose eyebrow hair?

Have you ever noticed that one day you have beautiful, full eyebrows and the next they’re looking a little sparse? Maybe you’re seeing more of your skin in between those lovely locks. It can be disconcerting, even alarming if your hair seems to be disappearing from your face.

So what’s going on? How can we lose eyebrow hair seemingly out of nowhere? Or is this totally normal? Let’s get to the root (pun intended) of the matter.

The Basics

First things first: yes, it is entirely normal for adults to experience some degree of eyebrow hair loss. In fact, as we age our bodies tend to produce less collagen which means our skin becomes looser and fine lines begin forming around delicate areas like the eyes [1].

Even hormonal changes such as pregnancy or thyroid imbalances may cause temporary thinning [2]. But hang tight! Temporary thinning doesn’t always translate into permanent damage.

That being said…sometimes there are underlying health conditions at play that might contribute toward brow hair loss.

Alopecia

The most common culprit is alopecia – an autoimmune condition where our immune system begins attacking healthy cells by mistake. This can show up anywhere on the body but when referring specifically to eyebrows, doctors dub it “alopecia areata” or spot baldness [3].

Fun fact: 70% percent people affected with alopecia also go through nail abnormalities along with losing their hairs including body hairs too[4]!

Alopecia isn’t just about genetics though; high levels of stress could potentially trigger its onset too (don’t make me put another fun fact here) . In any case, speak with a dermatologist who will assess whether treatment is necessary based on how frequently epilation happens over time.

Seborrheic Dermatitis

Another potential factor leading towards patchier brows inflammation of the skin underlying hair follicles; a condition called seborrheic dermatitis [5]. While this may not directly cause hair fallout, due to minor swelling and scale build-up near your brows, it can lead towards discomfort or trigger loss.

If you’ve recently had flaking around your nose area or have been experiencing whiteheads then good chance is that there’s some derma related issue on the way.

Eyebrow Hair: The Growth Cycle

There are three stages of eyebrow hair development:

  • Anagen
    In the initial growth stage named anagen cycle, which usually lasts 45 days. This time period determines how long each strand will become over its lifetime.

  • Catagen
    The intermediate phase in growth cycle is known as cataget cycle lasting for two weeks where individual hairs decide if they’re going to stay put or fall out.

  • Telogen
    Lastly in telogen phase the existing brow strands begin shedding and plucked hairs get replaced with new ones of their own[6].

Sounds simple enough right? Now let’s put all these phases into practical terms:

Plucking

Plucking specifically uproots eyebrow strands from their individual follicle rooted at base of each shaft by applying direct force/pressure. This triggers entire “hair life-cycle” enabling growth anew but also creates room for accidental injury beneath skin level.

Waxing

Waxing might just sound like another option similar to plucking but it warrants mention since while waxing adherents rip off wax coated strip pushing along direction against grain– causing instant removal granted─Yay!–of multiple through properly installed layers resulting primarily in unwanted irritation throughout regrowth period and immediate redness

How Can We Prevent Brow Thinning?

As earlier stated: healthy eyebrows lose some amount of hair too, thus prevention would mean only safeguardinhg reduction caused by external factors such as listed below:

  1. Healthy Diet – Keep your diet healthy full of essential vitamins and dietary proteins that promote growth such as Vitamin B, C, D along with minerals including Iron,zinc etc . opt for eggs,nuts & fish wherever possible [7].

  2. Regular Tweezing – you might be surprised to see this one here but regular tweezing could potentially lead towards hair regrowth by allowing maximal blood circulation towards follicle base(although in moderation – overplucking does far more damage than good!)

  3. Proper Sanitation – Make sure to clean your hands , tweeze/makeup gears continuously. Sanitizing not only prevents infections from bacteria/settling particulates,but also allows uninterrupted uptime for each strand’s growth cycle.

Now; what about those times when excess fallout raises a little alarm bell? Take these below steps to reduce breaking/malfunctionings’:

  1. Brush them daily using dedicated eyebrow brush
  2. Minimise harsh chemicals found within cosmetics like henna (could contain synthetic dyes), processing oils or skinsensitive stimulating agents.
    3.Consider alternative methods such as getting semi-permanent tattoos done if the hair loss is severe enough[8].

Conclusion

Losing eyebrow hair can be both perplexing––and sometimes traumatic experience depending on frequency it hapens.Notably though- most cases caused by either aging skin, hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy/puberty/taking birth control pills/obligatory medication/ underlying issues i.e seborrheic dermatitis/alopeca areata often can be preventable/resolvable at the same time.Some “theories” abound (like myths regarding shaving haphazardly or sporadic plucking causing boldness!) but in reality are just talk-of-the-townish jiffies. Ultimately- if all care fails – hair transplantation surgery is an option albeit cost intensive.Then again–nothing beats natural brow strands so always take into consideration second opinion before going ahead with any high-impact treatment.

Whatever the reason, be kind to yourself and your brow hairs! They might just come back with time. Until then, browse through demos on youtube for freshly baked brownie recipes 🙂

[1]https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324036 \
[2]https://www.self.com/story/eyebrow-hair-loss-causes \
[3] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17069-alopecia \
[4] https://bcmj.org/sites/default/files/bcmj/pdf/BMJ_56_Vol6___No6_Alopecia.pdf – page 199(200 of pdf) in section what other conditions may associate with alopecic patient?\
[5]https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seborrheic-dermatitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352790
[6]https://stylecaster.com/beauty/best-tips-for-growing-thick-full-brows/
[7]https://fashionista.com/2014/06/how-to-grow-out-your-brows-as-fast-as-humanly-possible
[8], http//abcnews.go/com/Lifestyle/model-starts-social-media-campaign-after-going-blind-from-getting-eye-tattoo/story?id=51566951

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