Story of a FIGHTER

Dr Shikha Baghi Bhandari presents a case study on male alopecia eyebrows.

H air loss is usually thought of as something men start by the worrying about as they get older. But there are various forms of hair loss, often extensive and sudden, which can impact on anyone – male or female – at any time. There are three main forms, distinguished largely of the loss: alopecia areata, referring to the partial loss of hair from the head, usually patchy rather than general thinning; alopecia totalis, which is the loss of all head hair; and alopecia universalis, the loss of all head and body hair.

Alopecia is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the hair follicles, and it can affect men, women or children at any age. The aetiology and subsequent development of alopecia is not fully understood, but it is an autoimmune disorder that arises as a combination of genetic and environmental influences

Alopecia is neither life-threatening nor painful, though there can be irritation of the skin, weakness of the fingernails, and physical problems resulting from the loss of eyelashes and eyebrows.

Alopecia can have serious psychosocial consequences, causing intense emotional suffering, and personal, social and workrelated problems.

Alopecia also leads to depression, anxiety and social phobia in a number of sufferers. This relationship between alopecia and psychosocial consequences can be complicated, in that alopecia can result from a stressful experience, and then itself lead to further distress.

Furthermore, alopecia is a disfiguring disorder and therefore there are also issues relating to self and identity. The loss of hair, particularly the eyelashes and brows which help to define a person’s face, means that a person looks different. Hair loss may be seen as a failure to conform to the norms of physical appearance within society, a situation which has the potential to set people apart in their own estimation and in the estimation of others.

Men suffering from alopecia go through a difficult situation in terms of eyebrows hair loss. Applying a regular brow product gives them an artificial appearance and thus many men silently go through this condition. Permanent makeup brings an end to this suffering. By combining different techniques, we can recreate a natural and long lasting result.

CASE STUDY

A young 24-year-old male patient reported to my clinic. He was suffering from Alopecia Universalis. He had taken two sittings of permanent eyebrows from an inexperienced professional who ended up doing more damage than good. He did not agree to go through a removal process. So we decided to go ahead and camouflage the old bad work.

After spending a large chunk of my life in the aesthetics world, I have realised that permanent makeup (PMU) turns out to be the only treatment that could be applied to cases like his and I am familiar with the alopecia skin textures and challenges it creates to perform any fine work.

There are no guidelines or references on the face for designing the brows as there is a complete hair loss. This treatment mimics the real brows, and hence projects a natural look. There are no artificial elements both in terms of application and the resulted look.

THE PROCEDURE

The procedure began with skin assessment and due to the damage by the old work, I had to keep the old shape inside of my new brow design during the eyebrow mapping procedure. I opted for combination brows as he was insistent for a bold look.

Mapping and designing were done according to facial proportions and features adjacent to the eyes. Then came the hard part where the needle had to make contact with the skin.

Alopecia skins are what I term as PMU Sensitive skins. They then to have a lot of lymphatic ooze as compared to normal skins and thus the colour retention is hampered. Such patients may require three sittings as compared to two for a normal skin type.

I had dealt with this scenario several time in the past, and I made sure this young man would not leave my chair without the best he could have.

STROKE BY STROKE

Usually, the procedure takes somewhere around two to two and a half hours. But in alopecia cases, I slow my speed down just a bit due to the particular skin type, as no two are the same plus I need to be gentler. This allowed him to be comfortable in the chair and not feel anxious.

Talking to the clients during the procedure and playing the music they prefer is a common practice, but this time, it holds greater meaning.

The brows took shape stroke by stroke as the pigment was placed carefully under the skin. I did microblading for him to create a natural hair strokes effect. Followed by microshading to give boldness to the brows.

POST PROCEDURE REVELATION

Once the procedure was done and the residue of the pigment was cleaned off, he saw his new brows for the first time. It was a daunting and nerve wrecking moment for me. What if he would not like it or wants it removed, either way, the artist does not have much of choice. What if his old work is not satisfactorily camouflaged?

Luckily for me, he loved his brows and so did his extremely anxious mother. It was brows she had always wanted for her young son. Her smile turned the tension in the room into pure joy.

PS: The shape and effect of the brows is a patient’s personal choice. Immediately after, the brows look thick and dark. They turn almost 40 per cent lighter over the next one week. And then look much more natural and well blended with the rest of the skin. The consecutive sittings are done with a minimum time gap of 30 days between two appointments. Any changes as desired by the patient are done at that time.

MEDICAL MICROPIGMENTATION

PMU is not just for vanity. For a whole lot of people, it is about looking just normal and that’s exactly what we strive at Timeless Aesthetics… to give them their identity back.

The steady hand and experience are what make me an ideal PMU artist to operate on difficult or damaged skin, or a severely scarred one. These treatments do not take much time and besides having to get touch-ups done once in a while, these are hassle-free.

The brows, after healing properly, look even better and more natural. He does not have to worry about applying any eyebrow pencils or the smudging of those brow products. He can now lead a normal life and can swim and get into sports as he pleases, without any more worry of those brows. That means more to me than anything.

Timeless Promise foundation is a non-profit social initiative of Timeless Aesthetics where we have pledged free treatments to acid attack survivors. We offer huge discounts to Alopecia patients and cancer survivors. We at Timeless Aesthetics, will be forever ready to help these fighters.