Feb 26, 2008 1:18 am US/Eastern
Hair Club For Women: Eyelash Transplants
Once Reserved For Burn Victims, Rare & Expensive Surgery Now A Vanity Exercise
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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If you are tired of extensions and don't mind shelling out up to $7,000, you can have eyelash transplant surgery, a procedure deemed safe by surgeons.
CBS
When we talk about surgical transplants you probably think about a kidney or a heart, but a new cosmetic procedure allows surgeons to transplant eyelashes.
Today's starlets, like the ones you saw at the Academy Awards, would not be caught dead without lash extensions.
"We isolate one lash at a time and lay down that synthetic lash right down on top of it to make it longer," said Michelle Phelan of Ms. Marty's.
But now some women are taking advantage of a surgery once offered only to trauma and burn victims.
The cost is quite prohibitive, between $6,000 and $7,000. But there are cheaper alternatives: $75 for extensions and false lashes go for as little as $4 a pair at your local drug store.
But that wouldn't be permanent. Instead, women of all ages are going for an eyelash transplant.
"It's a very rare procedure," said Dr. Sara Wasserbauer.
Wasserbauer is one of a handful of hair transplant surgeons who performs the procedure. The hair is harvested from tissue taken from the scalp.
"Right behind (the back of the ear) where it's a little finer and has a little wisp to it," Wasserbauer said.
As many as 150 intact hair follicles are required.
"So I could select which hair under a microscope, which hair would look best and match the best to your particular eyelashes," Wasserbauer said.
One by one each hair is threaded. Using a surgical needle, hair follicles are transplanted into the upper eyelid alongside existing lashes. The end of each hair acts as a knot.
"After three days, those new eyelashes have formed a blood supply and they're yours for life," Wasserbauer said.
The effects are dramatic, but there's a catch. Since the hair is from your scalp, it's going to grow the length it would have on the back of your head.
"It is possible that if you let all of them grow you can braid them," Wasserbauer said.
These transplants also need a perm to give them a curl – usually once every six weeks.
"This is not a solution for never putting on mascara again," Wasserbauer said. "You're going to have to trim them. You're going to have to get them permed."
Eyelashes account for less than one percent of all hair transplants. Since so few are done, there's little data on complications. But based on what we currently know, they are viewed as safe and effective.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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