Eyebrow lift
Sunken eyebrows and eyelids can make the eyes look tired and exhausted, and sagging skin makes the face look older. If the area around the eyes is particularly affected, an eyebrow lift can have significant positive effects: an open look, more freshness and youthfulness.
Various methods can be used not only to lift the eyebrows, but also to tighten the eyelids and smooth the forehead. Plastic-aesthetic surgery helps to correct the eye area by means of an operation, thus making the face look younger as a whole.
Possibilities of the eyebrow lift
• Pure eyebrow lifting
• Eyebrow lift with forehead lift
• Thread Lifting
What is a brow lift?
A brow lift, also known as brow lifting or eyebrow raising, is an aesthetic surgery procedure that can lift sagging eyebrows and give new freshness to the face. As the skin loses its elasticity with age, it can sag and make the face look older. Especially in the area of the eyes and eyebrows, this has a great influence on the overall appearance of the face. The features can appear tired and sad. An eyebrow lift lifts the sagging skin, opens the eyes and thus has a clear rejuvenating effect.
There are various methods that can lift and tighten eyebrows and eyelids as well as the forehead, depending on the extent and strength of the correction required. For this purpose, small incisions are made in the area of the eyebrows or the hairline, excess skin is removed and the facial skin is pulled back. In this way the face is tightened and the brows are raised.
The eyebrow lift can be performed under local or general anesthesia. The procedure is usually performed on an outpatient basis and requires no further hospitalization. The course of the operation depends on the type of method chosen to lift the eyebrows.
Pure eyebrow lifting
If only a brow lift without an additional forehead lift is desired, there are different methods of implementation. One possibility is to make an incision at the upper edge of the eyebrow, remove a narrow strip of skin and sew the skin back together. In this way, the eyebrow is raised and the gaze opens. This procedure is especially suitable for people with thick, bushy eyebrows, which can easily hide later scars.
For people with finer eyebrows, it is recommended to make the incision at the hairline on the scalp, which is necessary for lifting. The rather laterally placed, short incision enables the brows to be lifted from above. Here too, excess skin is removed and the skin is pulled back. This automatically results in a slight tightening of the temples.
Eyebrow lift with additional forehead lift
Another possibility to lift the eyebrows is the combination of brow lift and forehead lift. This is usually done endoscopically, i.e. only minimal incisions are necessary to perform the operation. In this form of eyebrow lifting, the incisions are also placed in the hairline of the scalp. The skin of the face is detached from the forehead, pulled back and fixed in its entirety. Excess skin is removed, tightening and smoothing the forehead. The eyebrows are also raised, which lifts them and opens the view. With the additional forehead lift, this method has a clear rejuvenating effect.
Thread Lifting
A newer method of wrinkle treatment within plastic aesthetic surgery is the thread lift. It can also be used for an eyebrow lift. Through tiny incisions in the upper part of the eyebrows, fine sutures with barbs are inserted. They pull the skin upwards and hold it tight. This lifts and fixes the eyebrows without having to remove excess skin. The threads dissolve by themselves over time, but newly formed connective tissue ensures that the eyebrow lift is permanent.
What criteria must be met in order for a patient to be suitable for a brow lift?
Basically there are hardly any criteria that can exclude a patient from an eyebrow lift. However, care should be taken that blood-thinning medication is discontinued a few weeks before the operation. This should be discussed in detail with the treating doctor. If there are circumstances that do not allow a general anaesthetic, it must be clarified in advance whether the desired operation can also be performed under local anaesthetic. It should also be taken into account that the consumption of nicotine can have a negative influence on the healing process. Smoking should therefore be avoided a few weeks before and after the operation.
What are the advantages of an eyebrow lift?
Although eyebrow lifting is a relatively minor operation within aesthetic surgery, it has a strong influence on the overall appearance of the face. A change in the eye area, which can express a large part of our emotions, has a great effect. Drooping eyelids and brows make the gaze look tired, it can also look sad. The eyes appear older. Raising the eyebrows opens the view and the face immediately gets more freshness. The eyes appear more lively, more alert and clearly rejuvenated. An additional forehead lift, which smoothes horizontal wrinkles on the forehead, makes the face appear more youthful overall. Thus, a single procedure can have a great effect.
Another advantage of eyebrow raising is the hidden cut. The incisions at the hairline or at the edge of the eyebrows allow scars that later develop to be well concealed. The endoscopic execution of the operation also ensures that later scars are only very small. Thus, they are hardly visible after complete healing. In men with very pronounced forehead wrinkles, it is also possible to place the incisions in the transverse wrinkles in a pure eyebrow lift. This makes it difficult to detect later scars.
Advantages of the eyebrow lift
• Rejuvenated eye area
• Open, fresh view
• Additional tightening forehead lift possible
• Small, low-risk procedure
• Barely visible scars due to concealed incision
What are the risks with an eyebrow lift?
The eyebrow lift is one of the safest procedures in aesthetic surgery. However, as with any operation, complications can occur. For example, bleeding, bruising and swelling can occur after the brow lift. However, these should disappear of their own accord after a few days. Pain may also occur, but this can be reduced by medication. The risk of infection can be reduced to a minimum by strictly observing all hygiene regulations.
In some cases, the skin may feel numb, which usually subsides quickly. In addition, it is less likely that nerves are damaged and the activity of the facial muscles is limited if the operation is performed unprofessionally.
How do I choose the right clinic?
A brow lift should only be performed by an experienced specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery. For this reason, great importance should be attached to quality when choosing the right clinic for a brow lift. However, the large number of clinics that offer the various procedures of eyebrow lifting makes it difficult to find the right clinic.
What are the costs for an eyebrow lift?
Since the various methods of eyebrow lifting differ in both their scope and effort, the costs also vary. In addition, the wishes of the patient also play a role in pricing. For example, an eyebrow lift can cost between 1,200 and 4,500 $. An exact price can only be determined during a personal consultation between doctor and patient.
Reasons to consider eyebrow lift surgery
The main reason is the natural aging process combined with the gravitational effect, where the eyebrows descend as the years go by. There are also other reasons, such as eyebrows stuck to the frame of the eyes or eyebrows with unattractive shapes or low arches. However, the main purpose is to raise the eyebrows to an optimal place and in proportion to the rest of the face.
In the case of men, the eyebrows are raised subtly in a single unit and avoid raising them too much on the outside of the corner to maintain naturalness.
This surgery also helps to loosen the muscles between the eyebrows, which are the ones that cause the famous number eleven, which makes the person look angry.
Types of treatments
1) Neuromodulators
An alternative is injections of neuromodulators. These consist of injecting micro-doses of botulism toxins into the forehead area, between the eyebrows and around the eyes.
This technique seeks to provoke a temporary relaxation of the muscles that affect the forehead and lateral area of the eyes. Obtaining a less wrinkled forehead and more arched eyebrows. It is important to mention that this type of treatment only slightly modifies the shape of the eyebrows, but does not lift them.
Although this is a temporary result, it allows the person to visualize how they would look if they chose to have surgery.
People who have very low eyebrows should be careful, since in some cases the patient, who undergoes the treatment, may feel that their eyebrows are heavier. The effect of these injections lasts from three to four months.
2) Open or traditional brow lift
The open brow lift consists of making an incision from one side of the forehead to the other, near the natural hairline. Through this incision, the surgeon has direct access to the tissues of the forehead and eyebrow area allowing for the elevation and repositioning of the eyebrows.
A disadvantage of this procedure is that it leaves a visible scar near the patient’s hairline. The surgery takes one to two hours and requires two weeks of recovery. The results of this procedure last approximately fifteen years.
3) Endoscopic brow lift
This is the most modern technique and the procedure is less invasive than the traditional one. The use of endoscopic technology allows a series of small incisions to be made inside the scalp. It is through these incisions that the surgeon can enter with a very thin instrument and a camera and work on the tissues that need to be lifted and anchored. Once the tissues are lifted, the forehead area is rejuvenated and the position of the eyebrows is restored.
One of the greatest advantages is the achievement of an aesthetic result with minimal incisions. The patient needs only seven to ten days of recovery.
Another advantage is that it is a procedure of about forty-five minutes and can be performed under local anesthesia and sedation. The results are also permanent.
Both traditional and endoscopic browlifts can be combined with cosmetic procedures such as upper and lower eyelid surgery, forehead reduction and face and neck lift surgery. Only after a thorough evaluation can the specialist recommend which type of surgery is appropriate and with which other procedures can be combined.
Who should not undergo a brow lift?
• Those with dry eye problems, as the procedure may aggravate or cause other discomfort in the condition.
• People with eyebrows tattooed too high or above the eyebrow bone, as it would be difficult to find an appropriate height with the operation. In these cases, the use of neuromodulators is recommended.
• Patients who have had eyelid correction surgeries, in which too much skin was removed and the eyebrows cannot be elevated to an optimal location.
As always, it is important to select a professional who specializes in all the types of procedures mentioned above. Do not make decisions lightly and evaluate who can give you the best results.
