Eyebrows are an important component of facial shape as they provide some visible structure to it. One of the important components of eyebrow shape for women is whether they have an eyebrow arch. A small arch in the middle of the eyebrow helps create a nice frame for the eye. But not everyone is fortunate enough to have an arch in their eyebrow. This has led to numerous ways to create it, most commonly done by plucking/threading/shaving but also can be created by pencil liner or even hair transplants.
An alternative surgical approach is to add or change the arch shape by structural enhancement using fat grafts. Through small cannulas, concentrated fat can be linearly placed along the eyebrows in an arched fashion. This very straightforward fat grafting method only requires about 2ccs of fat per brow which is placed through a small needle puncture in the middle of the brow.
The entrance site should be placed in the height of the arch of the brow. Finding where to place the arch of the eyebrow is well known. The peak of an eyebrow arch is not necessarily in the direct middle of it but usually just a bit more towards the tail of the brow. It usually is just a bit more lateral than a vertical line drawn up from the iris. Thus, a good eyebrow arch shape does not have a perfectly symmetric rainbow shape.
Beside helping with eyebrow shape with good placement, fat injections can also have a lifting effect. By adding volume directly beneath the eyebrows, an outward and upward push of the eyebrows can occur.
Small volume fat injections to the eyebrows done with a microdroplet (small aliquot) technique is associated with good survival. (volume retention rate) Given the small volume needed, a large number of donor site options are available for harvest.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana