My Eyebrow Journey: Everything I Tried After Losing My Brows

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know my brows and I have been on a journey. Like, a full decade of trial and error, wins and fails, and a lot of creative problem-solving.

I get SO many questions about my brows. And the most common question is “why haven’t you tried [insert something I have already tried] before?” hehe 🙈 So, I thought it was time I shared it all with you. The good, the bad and the ugly 😅

My Brow Era

Let’s start at the beginning.

I used to have full, normal brows. Never thought twice about them. I mean, I was already 100% bald, I thought my brows were safe 👀 I spent most of my childhood and teen years trying to figure out the whole bald girl thing. The wigs, the hairstyles, and how to navigate the conversations around having alopecia. I wasn't thinking about whether my hair loss would progress.

So, I was just living my best brow life from birth to around 22 years old. TBH, I probably took those little brows for granted 🥲

The Brow Breakup 💔

The most difficult breakup of my life was with my brows and lashes. One day they were there, the next... falling out. This was in my early twenties. At the time, I was working super demanding job and the stress triggered them to fall out (super common with alopecia).

You don’t understand how important brows are to your appearance until you lose them. I was just starting to feel confident in handling my alopecia and now it had thrown a whole new level at me (rude!!!)

It was difficult seeing myself without brows and lashes. I found it hard to even see myself in the mirror.

I began drawing my brows on everyday.

It was fine… until it wasn’t. They’d smudge, fade, or melt off halfway through the day. It worked, but it was exhausting.

Steroid injections

Soon after my brows fell out, I tried steroid injections.

Basically, alopecia happens because your immune system attacks your hair follicles. Steroid injections calm things down. They use an anti-inflammatory medicine that helps your follicles chill out so they can wake back up and (hopefully) start growing again. It’s not forcing your hair to grow, it’s just stopping your body from attacking the follicles so the hair can do its thing.

The dermatologist uses a super fine needle to inject tiny amounts of the steroid just under the skin, usually a few dots across the brows or the bald patch. It’s quick, not exactly fun, but over fast.

You normally go back every 4–6 weeks to see if there’s any regrowth. If your follicles are still healthy, you can start to see baby hairs coming through after a month or two.

It’s not a guaranteed fix, and it’s not permanent. Once the injections stop, the immune system can pick back up again and the new hairs might fall out. But for some people, it gives a really nice temporary boost that helps get things ‘growing’ again.

And for me, it did actually work! I had brows again.

Or…so I thought. After 6 months, the side effects began 🙄

The skin around my brows developed tiny dents (dimples) from the injections. It looked worse than when I was drawing on my brows. So, I had to stop the injections, and when I did, it was bye-bye brows again.

That one hurt. After getting a glimpse of my old brows again, losing them a second time felt even heavier.

A more permanent solution

After the whole injection saga, I went back to drawing them on for a while until I moved on to microblading. It felt like the next logical step. sSemi-permanent brows that actually stayed on my face? Sign me up.

The process itself is kind of wild if you’ve never seen it. It’s basically tiny tattoo strokes drawn into your skin to mimic brow hairs. They numb the area first (thank god), then use a small blade to make super-fine cuts where the pigment goes in. It sounds scarier than it is, more scratchy than painful, and it takes about two hours start to finish.

The ‘during’ shots are terrifying hahaha.

I had brows!!! Well…kinda.

Were they my perfect solution? No.

They looked a bit too “2D” for me and not super realistic. I felt self-conscious and ended up filling them in every day with pencil.

And within less than a year, they had nearly completely faded away.

Have you ever heard of eyebrow wigs?

Well, you have now!! A few years later, an alopecia friend recommended brow wigs. And you know what? They kinda slayed.

Brow wigs have a silicone or lace base with little ‘hairs’ attached. They look pretty realistic because they are actually hair! But, when someone is looking at you from the side, they can sometimes look a little funky because they are a bit thick. You glue them onto your brow area and have to reglue them about once a week.

I would probably still be wearing eyebrow wigs and would have settled for this solution if I didn’t end up developing an allergy to the glue 🙃 LITERALLY out of nowhere, I started having an allergic reaction. So yeah, cya later eyebrows wigs.

Finally, I found my solution!

Okay. Let’s talk about the thing that finally changed the game for me: temporary brow tattoos.

After years of drawing, gluing, shading, and microblading, I stumbled across these as a recommendation from another alopecia friend and honestly… where were they all my life?! I can’t believe I was in my LATE TWENTIES when I found these babies.

They’re basically like the same concept as those little water-transfer tattoos you used to get as a kid, but for brows. You cut out the shape you want, press it onto clean skin, hold a damp cloth over it for 30 seconds, and boom….brows. No artistic skills required, no shaky hand stress, no “one’s higher than the other” situation.

The first time I tried them, I actually gasped because they looked so real. The shape, the ‘texture’, the colour, it just worked. To this day, people are SHOCKED when I say my brows aren’t real. They literally look like 3D hairs.

And the best part? They last about a week. Through showers, sleep, sweat, and everyday life. I’ll usually swap them out every 5–7 days when they start to peel off a little, but it’s so quick that I don’t even mind doing it. When I’m ready to remove them, I use my skin cleanser to rub them off.

For me, this has been the easiest, most realistic, and least stressful brow solution I’ve found, and I’ve tried everything.

It’s honestly such a relief to wake up, look in the mirror, and just see brows. I don’t have to think about drawing, matching, or hiding anything. They’re just there.

For me, they’ve hit the perfect balance: natural-looking, low-maintenance, and no irritation.

My Honest Review: Every Brow Solution I’ve Tried

Because I’ve pretty much tried everything, here’s the rundown — pros, cons, who it might actually work for, and my totally unscientific rating out of 10.

Drawing Them On

Pros: Cheap, easy to switch up, no appointments needed. You’re in full control of shape and colour.
Cons: Takes forever, smudges easily, and there’s a 50/50 chance you’ll nail the symmetry.
Who it’s for: If you still have some natural brow hair to fill in, or if you’ve got the time (and patience) to perfect them every day.
Rating: 3/10. Effective for some, but time-consuming and high-maintenance.

Steroid Injections

Pros: If it works, you get your REAL brows back.
Cons: Painful, temporary results, and not guaranteed to work (especially for people with alopecia). Also, potential side effects like skin dimples.
Who it’s for: Best for small patches of brow loss where follicles might still be active.
Rating: 4/10. Worked briefly, but not a long-term or reliable solution for most of us.

Microblading

Pros: Semi-permanent, super convenient, can look super real on some people.
Cons: Expensive, can look flat if you don’t have any real brow hair, and fades over time.
Who it’s for: If you still have some brows and just need a little help filling in the gaps.
Rating: 6/10. Great in theory, but a bit too 2D on bare skin.

Eyebrow Wigs

Pros: Look realistic, reusable, and easy to apply once you get the hang of it.
Cons: The silicone base can feel heavy and look thick and the glue can irritate sensitive skin.
Who it’s for: Anyone without natural brow hair and without sensitive skin, could be a great option if adhesives don’t bother you.
Rating: 7/10. Not bad at all! Just not ideal for my sensitive skin.

Temporary Brow Tattoos

Pros: Look super realistic, quick to apply, stay put for about a week, and removes easily. No irritation, no effort.
Cons: You have to reapply weekly (but honestly, it’s so easy it barely counts).
Who it’s for: Anyone with no brow hair who wants something fast, natural, and low-effort.
Rating: 10/10. tThe easiest, most natural, most “me” solution I’ve ever found.

Bottom line: Everyone’s skin, comfort level, and routine are different. What didn’t work for me might be perfect for you. The best brow solution is the one that makes you feel like yourself, whether that’s a full glam brow or no brow at all 👩🏻‍🦲 There’s no one right solution. What works for someone else might not work for you, and that’s okay. Your skin, your routine, your comfort level… they all matter.