A Real Eye Opener

Whenever people meet my oldest son, they always remark about his gorgeous eyelashes. He's 5 years old, and with his sparkling green eyes, those lush, dark lashes become the envy of almost every woman he meets. "Why do little boys always have such long, thick lashes?" they say.

I wish I knew the answer.

Certainly, I don't share in the wealth of my son's lash bounty. While my lashes are OK, I still feel much better with a coat of mascara helping to make them thicker and longer. I also secretly (well, I suppose it's not a secret anymore) treasure my Tweezerman eyelash curler (a gift from my late mother-in-law).

Through the centuries, women have been obsessed with their eyelashes. Black ink made from plants and berries were used to highlight lashes, making them appear fuller and longer. The invention of mascara in the early 1900s was a much-heralded arrival. And when mascara alone isn't enough, false eyelashes, though often tedious to apply, lend a helping hand to short, thin lashes.

The obsession with eyelashes isn't that far removed from our obsession with our hair. For years now, men and women with thinning hair on their heads have turned to hair restoration doctors to help them regain their former crowns. Today, a pioneering group of hair restoration specialists have taken their talents to the eyesthat is, they have devised ways to transplant hair to the eyelashes. The results: Longer, thicker eyelashesno mascara or falsies required.

Transplant What?

I'll admit, when I first heard about this new procedure, I was a bit shocked. Believe me, it takes quite a bit to shock me, considering I've been writing about all sorts of strange health and beauty issues for more years than I care to admit. Still, this procedure was intriguing. And I wanted to learn more.

Dr. Alan J. Bauman, M.D., medical director and founder of Bauman Medical Group in Boca Raton, Florida, has been at the forefront of eyelash transplantation. In 1999, Dr. Bauman, a hair restoration physician, did his first eyelash transplant procedure to help a trauma patient regain eyelashes lost during an accident. As his practice grew, he found more and more people in need of eyelash restoration because of burn injuries, cancer treatments, disfiguring accidents, even certain psychiatric disorders. Bauman said he also found many women who were interested in the procedure for cosmetic reasons.

He developed ways to make the procedure less invasive, less painful and more effective. "Most of the people who want eyelash transplants are in some way born with shorter, thinner, sparser lashes," Bauman says. "Many times, they've tried extensions or false eyelashes, which can weaken natural lashes."

Way back when, the only people who underwent this often-difficult procedure were people who had lost their lashes due to some type of trauma. In those cases, physicians were able to perform 10 to 12 implants per eyetoday, most people can get as many as 40 to 60 new lashes per eye.

"This procedure has been done in Brazil for many years," Bauman says, but it is relatively new in the United States.

How It's Done

Here's how a typical eyelash transplant procedure works:

Healthy hair is selected from a section of the head in the back of the scalp. The area is numbed, then a very small section of hair follicles (about the size of your pinky finger) is removed. This "gap" is sewn shut in a way that allows hair to grow through the scar. This process, Bauman says, has only been available for about a year (it's called a trichophytic closure). "If you can cover that scar with hair, it's a much better result for the patient," Bauman says.

Next, the strip of follicle is given to a team of technicians who use microscopes to separate the follicles to create micro skin grafts that are approximately 4 to 5 mm long, and mm wide. These grafts are then returned to the surgeon for transplantation.

Bauman says he uses high-powered magnification to determine the natural pattern of hair growth as he creates a transplantation site on the skin. Each graft contains a follicle plus a very long hair attached to it. The hair is used like a piece of thread, sewn with a very fine, curved needle. The sharp end of the needle enters the eyelid at the halfway point, then exits at the lash line. The hair is pulled through the lash line. "It's very delicate work," Bauman says. Each needle stroke places two follicles at a time.

Since the new eyelashes originate from hair in the back of the scalp, they will continue to grow. "Normal" eyelashes grow for about 100 days, then they fall out, Bauman says. These newly transplanted eyelashes will need to be trimmed regularly, and curled with an eyelash curler. "They have to be 'trained' to blend with your natural lashes," Bauman says. "These new lashes are not fragile, but you can cause trauma to your new or existing lashes with too much pulling or tugging on them."

Dr. Bauman works only in his Florida center; however, he says approximately one-third of his patients travel to Florida for the eyelash procedure. At the end of October, Bauman performed his trademark procedure at a medical conference in Los Angeles. The conference, which was targeted at medical professionals who would like to learn the procedure, featured a live presentation of an actual eyelash transplantation surgery. Alev Loh, 30, of Los Angeles, was the patient. "A friend of mine had the procedure done in Japan. When I saw her lashes, I knew I wanted to have it done, as well," Loh says. "I saw some information about Dr. Bauman, but he was in Florida. I just figured I'd wait until the procedure came to California. Fortunately, I learned that he was looking for someone for the L.A. demonstration," Loh says. "It was a really interesting experience."

Loh, a marketing manager, says in the past she would have salon lash extensions applied, but they didn't last very long. "My dad is Chinese and my mom is Australian. I have typical straight, short, Asian eyelashes. I am very happy with the results."

"Ten years ago, when I was modeling in Japan and Singapore, I used to hate having the fake eyelashes put on at shoots. The glue hurts! Actually, during this time I was first exposed to those individual silk lashes and I thought that was super revolutionary, they were individual lashes that looked real, one step up from the junky plastic fake ones. I think it was then that I became really intrigued with enhancing my eyelashes. A model I knew from several years ago in Tokyo (she is still modeling), is the one who got the procedure done four years ago in Japan."

Bauman says that the most common side effect of the surgery is the development of sties in the eyes. Loh says her experience was right in line with this warning. She also says that the back of her head, where the grafts were obtained, was sore for a few days after the procedure. When we spoke, Loh was three weeks post-surgery and says that several of the new lashes had already fallen out, but were in the process of regrowing. This also is typical, Bauman says, as most times the newly transplanted lashes start to "shed" after a week or two. In about six to 12 weeks, they start to regrow. "It takes six to 12 months to see the optimum results," Bauman adds.

When asked if she was apprehensive before the procedure, Loh says, "It's like anything else where you don't know what to expect, but I would recommend the procedure to anyone."

Pain, What Pain?

Perhaps the most revolutionary thing about Bauman's technique is his philosophy about pain management. "We have tricks," Bauman says. "Our center was the first to use computerized anesthetic injections east of the Mississippi River. Computerized injection is a device that pushes medication into the skin with the smallest needle possible. The computer does it at a very slow level. We also use anesthetic IV warmers, vibration fingertip massagers and other devices to manage pain," Bauman says. "Just like banging your finger in the car door, when you shake it, you create a vibration to dull the pain. A vibration fingertip massager 'tricks' the skin so you don't feel the needle."

Dollars and Cents

Eyelash transplants cost $3,000 per eye, regardless of the number of follicles implanted. While the amount may seem a bit stiff, consider that many salons charge in the neighborhood of $200 to $300 for professionally applied false eyelashes that last anywhere from one to three months. Also, false eyelashes sometimes are not an option.

Rachel Dauod, 31, from Southern California, is recovering from trichotillomania, a condition in which the sufferer has uncontrollable urges to pull out their hair (this can be body hair, hair from the head, or, in Dauod's case, her eyebrows and eyelashes). From the age of about 11, Dauod says, she tried various therapeutic treatments to rid herself of the condition, eventually succeeding six years ago; however, the loss of her eyelashes continued to trouble her. "About six or seven years ago, I noticed that I wasn't really doing it anymore (pulling out her hair). I had only pulled out my eyebrows and eyelashes, and I realized that they weren't going to grow back. I was devastated. I has spent to much time working on the condition and I felt I was free of it, but I still have the visual repercussions of it," she says.

She says most people don't notice her condition because she uses a lot of makeup to cover it up. "I don't leave the house without makeup on. I won't even go downstairs to see my family without makeup on." Dauod says she has tried false eyelashes, to no avail. "I don't have much to attach the false eyelashes to, and the false eyelashes pull out the few lashes I do have because they are so weak."

Dauod became interested in Dr. Bauman's procedure and wrote to him. He agreed to take her case and her surgery is being scheduled. "I have no reservations about it," Dauod says. "I got to speak with [Alev Loh] about her surgery and I've also seen another person who had it done for cosmetic reasons and she looks amazing."

Dauod says she is excited about her upcoming surgery, and can't wait to fly to Florida to work with Dr. Bauman. "My self-perception will change. It will improve my self-confidence. I have good self-esteem, but this will be like icing on a cake. I've worked hard to overcome the [trichotillomania] and I feel like this surgery is something that will help me move on. I won't have to look in the mirror and be reminded...this will finish an aspect of my life that doesn't pertain anymore."

Unquestionably, eyelash transplantation is an exciting new medical procedure. But perhaps financial or medical concerns will keep you from hopping on the next airplane to Miami. Or maybe you're just looking to thicken up and get some instant gratification in eyelash length. Well, Talika has launched a quirky little product that may just fit the bill. Known as Talika Eyelash Extender - this unique product is actually loose black nylon fibers that are applied to a wet coat of mascara - giving the appearance of long, full lashes. Patience and a bit of mascara expertise are required to apply this product - but the end result is worth it. The results are amazing.

Robin Heinz Bratslavsky
DERMAdoctor Staff Writer

(Any topic discussed in this article is not intended as medical advice. If you have a medical concern, please check with your doctor.)

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