Expert: Michael S. Fisher, <B>Ph.D., M.D.</B> - 10/10/2006

Question
this past week i went to the dermatologist.  he did a microscopic examination and said that my eyebrow loss is caused by dry skin sticking to my dry hairs at the base.  he gave me this ointment to put on and its been working ok so far but what do you think is causing this mechanism to occur

Answer
The most common reason for hair loss in the eyebrows is a skin condition called Alopecia Areata which is an auto immune disease that resolves with time. Rubbing the eyebrows will also cause hair loss, trauma to the eyebrows will also cause hair loss, pulling on the hair will also cause hair loss.  The only true way to determine the cause of hair loss is a biopsy of the hairs to see what is going on but this can cause scaring.  Since the ointment is working to resolve your eyebrow hair then I would not worry.