In a previous blog I wrote about a new procedure that claimed it would allow you to get rid of your mascara forever. Eyelash extensions plumped up your lashes without the pain of going under the knife. Well, if you thought that was inviting this next procedure could take your lashes to a whole new level. If you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to cosmetic surgery think again.
Introducing… eyelash transplant surgery. Studies show it is the new must-have procedure for women — and the occasional man – looking to extend their lashes in an unconventional manner. The procedure itself is not that unusual—it’s the same one pioneered by the hair loss industry for balding men. In it surgeons use the “plug and sew” technique to give you the same long, sweeping lashes once achieved by glued on extensions and thick lashings of mascara.
But here’s the part that made me blink—the surgically implanted lashes are made of human hair—so the new lashes keep growing. Like the eyelashes themselves, surgeons offering the service say the new procedure will likely extend into the world of mainstream cosmetic surgery.
“Longer, thicker lashes are ubiquitous signs of beauty. Eyelash transplantation does for the eyes what breast augmentation does for the figure,” said a leading proponent of eyelash transplants.
The procedure is fairly simple in that surgeons are only required to make a small incision at the back of the scalp to remove 30 or 40 hair follicles, which are carefully sewn one by one onto the patient’s eyelids. Doctors say the procedure requires just light sedation and local anesthetics. And the cost for the eyelash makeover? About $3,000 an eye.
Originally, the technique was confined to patients who had suffered burns or congenital malformations of the eye. But word spread and about 80% are now done for cosmetic reasons. Hair restoration surgeons say they average about three eyelash transplants a month. However, take heed, doctors say the surgery is not for everyone. Surgeons say the transplanted eyelashes grow just like the hair on your head (after all, the follicles are transplanted from a patient’s scalp) and need to be trimmed regularly and sometimes curled.
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Throw Away Your Mascara Forever