Eyebrow transplant in Iran: what it involves and how to plan it

An eyebrow transplant moves hair follicles from your scalp to your eyebrows, to fill in brows that are thin or missing. This page explains how the operation is done and what recovery and regrowth look like, using guidance from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) and Cleveland Clinic. It then covers what's different when you have it done in Iran: confirming who will do each step, timing your stay, and the costs. Whether a transplant is right for you is a question only your doctor can answer.

What an eyebrow transplant is

Cleveland Clinic describes an eyebrow transplant as cosmetic surgery that moves hair follicles from the scalp to the eyebrows to make them fuller. ISHRS explains that the donor hair is taken from an area of the scalp whose hair has a suitable texture and direction to serve as eyebrow hair.

That has one practical consequence people often don't expect. The transplanted hairs are still scalp hairs, and they keep growing like scalp hair. Cleveland Clinic says you may need to trim your eyebrows regularly to keep them at the length you want. ISHRS adds that the hairs need occasional trimming, and "training" with gel or wax, so that they lie flat.

Why eyebrows are lost, and what your doctor checks first

ISHRS lists several reasons people lose eyebrow hair:

• an injury, such as a burn or an accident;
• a disease, either affecting the whole body or the skin locally;
• being born without the ability to grow eyebrows;
• years of plucking or reshaping;
• trichotillomania, a condition that causes repeated hair pulling;
• medical or surgical treatment, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

The cause matters before any transplant. ISHRS says a disease causing hair loss must be under control first, that trichotillomania needs treatment first, and that scar tissue from an injury or burn may need reconstructive surgery before a transplant. This is what your consultation is for. It is not a checklist to judge yourself against. Your doctor will also look at:

• what is causing your eyebrow loss, and whether it is stable;
• your donor area: whether your scalp hair is suitable;
• the shape and density you want, and what is realistic for you;
• your general health and medical history.

How the operation is done

ISHRS describes two ways of taking the donor hair:

• Individual follicular units of one or two hairs, removed one by one (FUE) from the scalp or the body.
• A strip of hair-bearing skin, taken from the scalp and divided into grafts. This is the strip method (FUT) that is also used for scalp transplants.

Cleveland Clinic says the donor area is trimmed first. The grafts are removed with a fine, sharp instrument and placed in small slits made in the skin of the brow. You usually go home the same day.

Sources differ on anaesthesia. Cleveland Clinic's page describes an anaesthetic that puts you to sleep. For hair transplants on the scalp, the NHS describes local anaesthetic with sedation, so you stay awake without feeling pain. Ask your doctor which they plan for you, and why.

ISHRS says more than one session may be needed, and that two or more sessions several years apart are common. Each one can mean another trip.

Recovery and regrowth

Cleveland Clinic describes a typical course:

Planning an eyebrow transplant in Iran

How long to stay

We have not found a flying interval for eyebrow transplants from a professional society or national health service. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the NHS both advise waiting 7 to 10 days before flying after cosmetic procedures of the face. ASPS names facelifts, eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty and laser treatments as examples. Neither names hair or eyebrow transplants, so it isn't clear the figure applies. Plan your dates around the aftercare instead, and ask your doctor to confirm them:

• the first days, when the grafts are fresh and bandages may still be on;
• the check-up your doctor wants before you travel;
• a buffer for a delayed operation or a cancelled flight.

Entry rules

Your passport decides whether you need a visa, and some visa-free stays are short and can't be extended. See the Iran medical visa guide. For payments and staying in touch, see our Iran guide for international patients.

What your doctor will ask for

Usually clear photos of your eyebrows and of your scalp's donor area, your medical history, and what you know about the cause of your eyebrow loss. With Sahleva, nothing medical is collected until you have given specific consent. You then complete an intake, which goes to your doctor.

What it costs

An eyebrow transplant trip has three separate costs: the medical fee, coordination, and travel. The number of sessions matters, because a second session usually means a second trip. We don't publish price figures without real, dated data. Our eyebrow transplant cost guide explains what makes up each part, and what makes it vary.

Choosing a doctor: who will do each step

ISHRS has warned for years about clinics where unlicensed technicians, not doctors, perform hair transplant surgery. Its warnings are written about the scalp, and it cites a medical board ruling that medical assistants may not make the holes or slits in the scalp. An eyebrow transplant uses the same graft techniques, so the same question is worth asking, in writing: who will do each step of my operation? Our hair transplant planning guide sets out the ISHRS questions in full.

In Iran, you can check that a doctor is registered in the Medical Council's official member search, and whether a hospital holds a certificate to admit international patients. Our guide on how to verify a doctor or hospital in Iran walks through both. How we verify providers explains what Sahleva checks on every case.

What Sahleva does, and doesn't do

We coordinate everything around your treatment:

• verifying the doctor and facility you've chosen, or helping you find a verified one;
• managing the consent-based intake your doctor needs to review your case;
• passing your doctor's response back to you exactly as given;
• a coordination quote, kept separate from your medical and travel costs;
• travel, accommodation, local transport and an interpreter around your dates.

What only your doctor can tell you: whether a transplant is right for you, whether the cause of your eyebrow loss needs treating first, which technique and how many sessions, what result to expect, and your personal recovery timeline. Sahleva doesn't diagnose, assess candidacy or predict results.

After your intake, your doctor's response comes back as one of a small set of clear outcomes. They may ask for more information, recommend a remote consultation, give a preliminary acceptance, decline, or say the decision has to be made in person. Whichever it is, it comes from them. We don't summarise or soften it. How it works shows where this step sits in your case.

Questions to ask your doctor

Drawn from ISHRS, Cleveland Clinic and NHS guidance:

• What is your medical training, and how long have you been practising?
• Which steps will you do yourself, and which will others do?
• What do you think is causing my eyebrow loss? Does it need treating first?
• Which donor area and technique do you recommend for me, and why?
• What anaesthesia will you use?
• Do you expect I'll need a second session, and roughly when?
• When do you need to see me before I fly home?
• How should I trim and care for the new hairs once they grow?
• Will we share a language, or will an interpreter be present?

Risks, and when to get help

All surgery carries risk. Cleveland Clinic lists scarring, pain, swelling, infection, bruising, and loss of feeling or of some hair follicles at the surgical site. It advises seeing a healthcare provider if you have severe pain, swelling, or blood or pus coming from the area.

If you have any of these, contact your doctor straight away. In an emergency, call local emergency services. Our guide to aftercare and complications after surgery abroad covers what to arrange before you fly home.

This page was written from the sources listed below and hasn't yet been reviewed by a clinician. Each medical statement on it comes from one of those sources, and none of it is advice for your case: that comes from your doctor.