Dr. David Newman answers the most frequently answered questions about the brow lift procedure.
Why does someone need a brow lift?
Patients almost never consider that they might “need”, or benefit from a brow lift. But the results from this procedure can give great improvement, can bring harmony and beauty to the facial form and even help improve vision. Those who might benefit from a brow lift generally note hooding, or excess skin of the upper lid. Patients with hooding are usually treated by removing this skin excess with upper eyelid surgery but there are some patients whose brows are so low that they are better candidates for a brow lift. The brow is so low in these patients that it literally pushes the skin of the upper lid downward and over the eye resulting in blocked vision. So one reason to do a brow lift is to improve vision. Though brow lifts are done to improve a patient’s ability to see, they are mostly done for cosmetic reasons. The aging process can result in the brows falling and becoming loose. And not only do the brows move lower but also the shape can change from the aesthetically pleasing arch to more flattened and this can make the patient appear sad or pensive. A brow lift both raise the level of the brow to minimize hooding but also changes the shape back to its natural arch like curve. The result of the lift adds a calm and pleasant appearance to the face. There are other cosmetic issues within the forehead that might steer someone away from simply having upper lid surgery and get more benefit from a brow lift. When the brow is raised, the patient no longer needs to raise their drooping brows and so the horizontal forehead wrinkles can also fade. The most common facial issue that botox addresses is corrugator over activity. These small muscles are located between the brows and cause the skin between the brow to fold and botox causes their paralysis when it is injected into this area. Botox lasts for three months. The corrugator muscles are removed during a brow lift and the resultant loss of corrugator muscle function is permanent! Another benefit of brow lifting is that raising the brow smoothes out the area outside the eye called the Crow’s foot area. Botox is also used to treat fine lines in the crow’s foot area but when the wrinkles become deep or even folds appear, a brow lift can give great improvement by smoothing out this area. Sometimes patients also have laser treatment for wrinkles in the Crow’s foot area in conjunction with a brow lift for added improvement in this area. The most important cosmetic reason for a patient to have a brow lift is that it restores proportionality of to the face. When looking at the brow lift before and after photos in the gallery, one can see on preoperative view that there is a very narrow space between the eye and the brow. After a brow lift, this space is expanded and the space between the eye and the upper lid can be seen. This not only restores this space to give a more natural appearance but also brings facial harmony by restoring proportion with the other parts of the face. A more proportional face is felt by most, to be more beautiful.
How Can One Avoid Have an Over Pulled look from Brow Lift Surgery?
There are two ways to perform a brow lift. One way is to make a space under the skin and when this is done the brows can be lifted too high. The other way to make a space not only under the skin but rather to keep the skin attached to the muscle layer and therefore raises both together. This not only prevents the brows from being raised too high but also preserves the patient’s ability to raise their own brow when animating. This movement is very important in getting the best cosmetic results from a brow lift.
What kind of anesthesia is used for a brow lift?
Brow lifts are usually performed under general anesthesia. They are often combined with a face lift and a neck lift to achieve the most harmonious result but it depends upon where a patient might have facial laxity. Some patients only develop laxity over the forehead and brow region and so only require a brow lift.
Dr. David Newman is a board certified facial plastic surgeon. Want to find out if your doctor is board certified? Go to CertificationMatters.org.