Brow Lift (Forehead Lift)

First and foremost, knowledge and confidence in the surgeon that you choose is the most important step in achieving your desired goal. When combining upper eyelid surgery with brow lift, it is important to elevate the brows to the desired position and not to remove too much upper eyelid skin, which could impair eyelid closure and/or create a hollowed out look. I feel that a softly arched brow with lateral enhancement along with upper eyelid skin positioned several millimeters above the eyelashes looks the most pleasing. In my experience, I have not had a patient complain of their eyebrows pulled too high. As in any other cosmetic procedure you desire, ask your surgeon to show prior patient before and after pictures.

A brow lift is a procedure that elevates your eyebrows to create more distance between your brows and upper eyelids. There are several ways to perform this procedure (I almost always do endoscopic brow lifts). Blepharoplasty procedures are surgery of the eyelid, either upper or lower, in which unwanted skin and soft tissue is removed or repositioned to give a more rejuvenated appearance. Many times, patients are candidates for both brow lift and blepharoplasty to achieve the desired result.

I almost always perform brow lift surgery via an endoscopic approach through small incisions behind the hairline. The brow and forehead region can remain swollen and bruised for up to three weeks, but most of this can be covered with makeup within ten to fourteen days. Also, hairstyles with bangs help camouflage postoperative changes. If you allow two weeks, I think that is enough time to heal unnoticed.

It is possible to get a browlift at your age, but it is not very common. Persons with a family history of droopy brows usually do request earlier treatment for this condition, and I would consider it in carefully selected patients. Sometimes Botox injection can provide enough brow elevation to avoid surgical intervention for several years.

Many people either sleep on their side or lie flat on their abdomen. After a brow lift procedure, I ask my patients to try their best to keep their head elevated to reduce swelling. It can be a bit difficult trying to sleep with your head elevated. I will sometimes prescribe a sleep aid to help my patients get better rest. I do not recommend sleeping on your stomach after brow lift.

I would definitely tell you to start with botox injections to see if this would soften your medial brow region. This will also give you a “chemical” brow lift. Depending on your age and how your sagging brows affect your upper eyelids and eyes, brow lift (or forehead lift) combined with possible blepharoplasty is always an option at the desired time.

If you are seven weeks postop from your brow lift, you probably still have a bit of edema or fluid retention of the soft tissue of your forehead. This does impart a small amount of stretch on the forehead skin, which can give it a smooth, shiny look. It often takes about three months for this to completely subside, especially if you had other facial cosmetic procedures performed simultaneously.

I personally do not use the endotines when performing brow lifts. If it has been 4 months since your procedure, chances are the soft tissue of your brow and forehead has healed so that the endotine can be removed without affecting you cosmetic result. Endotines are absorbable, so if given enough time, this issue could resolve itself.

If you have a significant amount of brow ptosis or sagging of the brows, this can impart extra skin that hangs down onto the eyelid platform. When this occurs more in the lateral brow over the outside corners of you eyes, this is called hooding. A brow lift can elevate either the medial brow, the lateral brow, or both depending on the patient. When the brows are too low, this causes the eyes to look smaller. A brow lift can enhance your eyes by elevating the sagging soft tissue off of your eyes and making them look larger, refreshed, and well-rested. More often, brow lifts are performed in conjunction with upper eyelid blepharoplasty.

Patients need to be counseled about the changes of the brow and hairline with brow lift procedures. I perform endoscopic brow lifts in most cases. In my experience, I have not had any patients report to me that they feel like their eyebrows are too high. There have been instances where the concern is more of the hairline shift. Although there can be no certain guarantees, in virtually all patients once swelling has subsided and the brow skin has relaxed a bit, there is no concern of being “overdone.”