I really can't believe that I found this forum. I have been searching for a diagnosis, and have never found one. My father and Grandmother, both Scottish, (hence my name Skye - the Isle of Skye) have sparse eyebrows... except that mine are 50% gone, and are steadily falling out as I get older. They started to get sparse when I was young, maybe early teens. I'm now a 27-year old blonde living in CT, USA. It is very frustrating... I have a few bumps in the eyebrow area as well, and the skin is red and irritated. I have purchased a "waterproof" eye pencil, and am an expert at applying powder on top for texture, but it washes off when I swim, sweat, or even just rub up against a pillow. It is very embarrassing, and I hate it. I have KP on my arms, back and back of legs too. I had no idea that the two conditions were linked. I have read through many of these posts, and am wondering if any of the treatments have worked. I am more concerned with hair regrowth than the redness, and I am mostly obsessed with my eyebrows, or lack thereof. I have spoken to dermatologists who have no clue, and have not helped me at all... is there any hope? I am desperate and willing to get a transplant if that is the answer and I can afford it. Is there a chance that my hair folicles are dead becuase I've had this for so long? The outer 2/3 of the brow is completely gone... will transplanted hair just fall out again? Also, what's with this Minoxodil cream for regrowth? Does it work? Sorry for all the ranting and raving... I just can't believe that I'm not the only one...

If you treat with Demodex Solutions' products, your hair will improve after 3 months, according to my own anecdotal experience. Using only the ZZ, my eyebrows, lashes, and the hair on my head became stronger and grew quickly.

This is what somebody said on www.demodexsolutions.com

Are there people here also with redness above the eyebrow, and if you are flushing/blushing you also feel it in above your eyebrows and it becomes very red

Thanks for the advice!

Skye, are you trying this ointment? I'm skeptical, but curious about it.

Hi Redbrow,

Well, I think that I am going to give the minoxodil a fair shake first and try that for awhile. That way I can tell if it is effective. I am also trying to see a top dermatologist in NYC as recommended by Dr. Epstein in NY and FL, a hair transplant specialist who does eyebrows. I hate to be pesimistic, but I'm not sure that there are any magic cures/lotions out there. The transplant will cost $3-$5,000 but maybe I can convince my family/friends to chip in for the holidays and my birthday. So lame, huh? All I want for Christmas is... eyebrows! I'd like a dermatologist to tell me what the skin problem is, if the hair follicles are alive/dead, and if there is treatment for natural growth. I don't want to get a transplant if I can find another solution, and I certainly need a guarantee that the transplant won't fall out. Boy, this info isn't what you asked for is it? Sorry! I am so annoyed with my eyebrows!!!! And now my arms are a total mess too. Let us know if you have any tips/successes.

Thanks,

Skye

Have you ever tried folligen cream and/or emu oil (for hair)? I don't think I have UG as I don't have red eyebrows, however I do see (in certain light) some small bumps there. Recently I noticed my eyebrows were thinning and researched on line for any treatments. I found these on the Skin Biology site and ordered them. I have only been using them (together) for a short time, but I really think my eyebrows have been filling in a bit and I'm seeing new growth. Again, I probably don't have UG - I'm thinking my problem could be hormonal, but it might be worth a try for you anyway.

Skye, keep it coming, we love the info. You are really going my route. I'm in my 30's and have had UO since elementary school. Funny to go back and look at each year's pictures to see it develop.

I really want to hear what your Derm says about it. I've always thought that the skin is red because it's fighting something...like an itchy rash, and it needs to reach an equalibrium to get normal color. Most scars are white, not red, so why has my brows been red for 23 years??? Still fighting it...I just don't know what, and neither does any Derm I've consulted. If I can bring the skin back to it's normal state, it will be white or normal color, depending on scarring that has taken place.

Anyway, let me know what happens with your visit.

Oh, and a "fair shake" with Minoxidil is 6 months...I could never last that long! Trying to start again tonight and each night...again!

Hi sa0922 and Redbrow,

Ok, here's a really long post for you guys. I think that the hardest thing that we all have in common - is that we don't have any definitive answers from an MD that gives us a diagnosis. Forget about treatment, we can't even understand the actual condition. Like SA, I don't have a ton of redness all the time. I do get irritated and red, but it's usually only when I shower, it's hot, cold, or I'm in the sun. Although those situations happen all the time! I don't have a million little bumps, but I do have a few. The thing that makes me think I have KP or UO is that my brows look like the pics I've seen online. I certainly have KP on my arms and legs, and had KP on face as a kid, so I assume that this is linked to eyebrows. So Redbrow is red all the time, SA is not really that red, and I'm right in the middle. And Redbrow, you're right - it makes absolutely zero sense why the skin is still red, not white like a scar... that's really unbelievable. I really wish dermatologists could help to educate their patients...

So thanks for the treatment suggestion SA, please let us know your success and keep us up to date. I really hope it works for you!!! And Redbrow, it takes six months for minoxodil to work, oh man.... that's a long time. Did you lose any hair first? I read on the warning label that you could lose hair first, so I am not applying to the inner third of my brow where I actually have a few precious strands that I am not willing to lose! They're all I've got! I can count them and I have named each follicle! OK, I'm really just kidding, I'm not as crazy as I sound. However, I don't want to use a treatment that could make me move backwards. Can't afford any loss.... Redbrow, I too can see pics of my younger self and can see the progression of eyebrow loss. I pencil it in because I'm a chick and can get away with it. But over the years my techniques have improved, and I can see that in the pictures too. So funny. My eyebrows change shape every year!

I read online that people with KP can get dry skin on feet that doesn't stay smooth, even with frequent pedicures and moisterizers. Do you guys have that? I'm obsessed with smooth feet. I am very jealous of my husband's feet, but when I read that it's a KP thing - the literature said to use an ointment nightly with Salicylic acid. Sofa, so good.

One last thing - I heard about a product but did not try it. Just putting it out there. Heard from a make-up artist whose mother had cancer and lost eyebrows... Talika.com has an eyebrow treatment...

OK, so SA and Redbrow keep checking in on your progress. I will too. Redbrow, how about we apply the minoxodil twice a day, AM and PM for a long time and see how it goes? My Dr. (who has no clue what I have) said to try it twice a day with the men's version of 5% concentration. I will also let you know what happens when I see the dermatologist specialist.

Thanks and goodnight! Sorry for the long post!

Skye

This was on ABC News. No clue if it works, just passing it along...

Brow Gain from Damone Roberts, $45
This product helps to create healthier looking, fuller eyebrows by stimulating the surrounding hair follicles and is perfect for those who have over-plucked. It takes six to eight weeks to see results, but in the meantime, Brow Gain doubles as eyebrow wax to keep wayward hairs in place. Visit damoneroberts.com.

I'm new to this site after just receiving this diagnosis from my derm. Never heard of it and didn't know anyone else had this: thinning eyebrows, redness that looks like scars! I've had cortisone shots (painful) on both brows - nothing happened. Tried cortizone, tea tree oil, allergy testing...nothing worked. I have had red bumps on arms and thighs my entire life. Seems to decrease with sun. My eyebrows have been affected for 6 years!! and I've just lived with it. Cosmetically I dry off the area with toner and cover with a Bobbi Brown product - a coverage stick used for blemishes. Works better than a plain concealer. I want to get some hair growth, however. Minoxidil?? Does it make the redness worse? Any one with experience with this product, please help me out.
Also, my derm has given me protopic to use 2x daily to see if anything happens. After reading about trent's experience with lasers, I don't think I'd do that....
Advice?

Hi SUEC, have just recovered from laser treatment to eyebrows and cheeks (I have UO and also another variant called atrophoderma vermiculata which relates to the cheeks). It has reduced the redness in that area but not totally. I am pleased I had the treatment though as it means I have to use less concealer in the morning to even out my skin tone.

This is my second treatment and i imagine it will take at least a couple more for the colour there to be normal again (but then again it may not as everyone reacts slightly different to laser treatment).

Interesting about your family background being Scottish. My derm told me that this condition often appears in those with Celtic backgrounds. I believe I inherited the KP and its variants from my Dad who was born in another group of Scottish Islands (The Shetland Islands).

I appreciate you guys posting as sometimes it seems you are the only one who has this. I am still hanging out to find someone on this board who has Atrophoderma Vermiculata - I am sure I mustn't be the only living person around with that. I think half the trouble is that people with these rarer KP variants don't get diagnosed and end up spending half their life wondering what is wrong with them. It took me 21 years and six different dermatologists in 4 different cities before I finally got diagnosed.

I too am in the same boat as you guys. I have KPRF on my cheeks which seem to worsen during a type of hot flash, but for the most part they are red all the time. I use the Eucerin Redness Relief to cover them. But as bad as my cheeks are my main concern is my lack of eyebrows that i have suffered my whole life. I was born this way missing the outer 2/3rds of my brows, as i can tell from old photos. I have discovered i have UO.



My question for you Anne is about Dr. Epstein. I really am considering doing the eyebrow transplant, but since I suffer from UO am worried the hair transplants will fall out over time. This is a costly procedure and would very much like it to be worth my while.



The lack of eyebrows has caused me to become a very shy and introverted person. I never go anywhere without wearing a hat low over my forehead. It has gotten to the point where i am extremely uncomfortable not wearing a hat in public, i just can't do it. If that bee the case i become very self conscious and become red in the cheeks.



So what are your thoughts on the hair transplant?



-Kirk

Kirk - I really feel for you being a guy because it is not so easy to camoflauge your red eyebrows and pencil in your eyebrows as a female can. I have done this every day of my life for the last 30 years.

I am sorry I know nothing about hair transplants - there is not a lot written about UO fullstop - the only article that ever mentioned an effective treatment for redness was the way by Professor Cunliffe talking about Isotretinoin.

I have never read anything over the years about anyone with UO getting a hair transplant however that does not mean it can't be done. Obviously they can do it for guys that are going bald but like you said if the KP/UO bumps are still red and inflamed on your eyebrows they may destroy this new hair.

If it is of any help the inflamatory stage of my UO eased off in my late twenties but I still get the odd bump in the eyebrow area and sometimes the outer part of my eyebrow really itches which makes me think the area is still not 100% dormant.

As mentioned before laser treatment has toned down the redness but as regards to hair transplants I really don't know much.

I encourage you to look into though as it may be a viable option for not only you but others on this board also. Wishing you all the best.

Anne

Anne

Thanks for the reply. I would say my UO at this point isnt all together that bad. My eyebrows are not nearly as red as my cheeks and they never itch. But i am 23 years old and hopefully it will only get better. Thanks for your input and i will be looking for more information concerning this.

kirk