Brow and Forehead Lift
Oasis Eye Face and Skin | Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass, Oregon and Northern California.
The goal of facial expressions is to communicate how we truly feel, not to misconstrue our true feelings. However, age, genetics, and repetitive facial expressions can alter your appearance and leave you with loose, saggy skin above the eye area. Forehead sagging and brow ptosis can make you look tired, sad, or even angry. A brow lift, also known as a forehead lift, improves the area above the eyes by lifting it and reducing wrinkles. This gives patients an alert and youthful look.
Lift and Tighten the Forehead with a Brow Lift
A brow lift is most commonly performed to eliminate deep wrinkles that form across your forehead known as worry lines. This procedure is also effective for the angry 11s (those wrinkles that form between your eyes). Similar to lifting weights at the gym, overworking the muscles between the eyes makes them hypertrophy and cause the wrinkles. Brow sagging doesn’t just affect your overall appearance; in severe cases, it can actually impair your vision. People’s eyebrow tissue naturally begins to droop with age, and if this tissue falls well below the brow bone it can cause visual impairment. A brow lift raises this tissue, lifting the skin that is covering the eye area and giving your vision a boost. The procedure also tightens the skin along the forehead reducing the appearance of vertical creases along the forehead and between the eyebrows.
Benefits of a brow lift
- Makes the eyes look more alert and open
- Restores the natural shape and curve of the eyebrows
- Creates a smoother forehead and reduces creases
- Improves impaired vision due to droopy eyebrows
- Softens lines between the eyes
- Reduces eye fatigue and heavy feeling on the eyes
Does Insurance Cover Brow Lift/Forehead Lift?
Severe brow drooping may sometimes be covered by insurance. An in-office test called a visual field can be performed to demonstrate the degree of visual blockage. A series of photographs are taken to document how the droopy brow is covering the eyes and pupils. If an argument can be made that the brow sagging is impairing your vision, insurance may assist in financing your brow lift.
Upper eyelid surgery usually complements a brow lift to achieve even better vision results. Upper eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, removes excess skin and fat from the eyelids that may be weighing your eyes down. Board-certified oculofacial plastic surgeon Dr. Vivian Schiedler is highly trained in eyes and brows surgery, and she can customize your treatment to help you achieve your goals.
The Brow Lift and Forehead Lift Procedure
Forehead sagging and brow ptosis can be repaired in a number of ways, depending on skin quality, hairline, and personal preference. Every procedure is customized to fit the patient’s needs and aesthetic goals with the two most common surgical types being endoscopic brow lifts and hairline brow lifts.
Endoscopic brow lifts
Endoscopic brow lifts are good for patients with short foreheads and thick hair. This procedure uses incisions that are short and hidden behind the hairline. Using long instruments, all the soft tissues across the forehead are released. This allows the brows to lift to a natural and pleasing shape. In women, a soft arch in the brow is feminine. In men, a flatter brow is masculine. Endoscopic brow lifts are done in a surgery center under moderate sedation.
Hairline brow lifts
Hairline brow lifts are good for patients with long foreheads. A long irregular and angled incision is made just behind the hairline to allow the hair to grow back and hide the incision. The forehead skin is lifted off the muscle, which reduces a lot of the horizontal forehead wrinkles and helps smooth out worry lines. Trimming of any extra forehead skin takes place at the hairline. This approach has the advantage of being very long-lasting and has excellent control of the lift and shape of each brow. Hairline brow lifts are also done in a surgery center under moderate sedation.
Dr. Schiedler can also camouflage the incisions in a deep wrinkle or just above the brow hair. These techniques are sometimes required for patients desiring a smaller procedure and faster recovery, or for bald patients. These variations of the brow lift can be done in the office using local numbing injections.
What to Expect After a Brow Lift and Forehead Lift
Brow Lift Recovery
Some bruising and swelling should be expected following your brow lift. To help minimize symptoms, it is recommended that you stay home two to three days post-surgery and frequently apply soft, lightweight, cold compresses to the treatment area. It is not uncommon for your incisions to feel sensitive or even numb for one to two weeks following surgery. It may take three to six months for the fine skin nerve endings to recover fully.
You should sleep with your head elevated, either on several pillows or in a recliner chair, to help prevent additional swelling. It usually takes one to two weeks for bruising to disappear completely, although, for some patients on blood thinners, it may take longer. Strenuous physical activity and hot showers should also be avoided for the first week in order to prevent bleeding.
Brow Lift Results
After a week post-surgery, your sutures or scalp staples will be removed. It is very important to avoid direct sun exposure on the incisions until all redness has faded in order to prevent darkening of the skin, or hyperpigmentation. Once your bruising and swelling subside, you will be left with a more appealing and sculpted forehead with an evenly contoured brow area.
Final results can be seen as early as three to four weeks, but in some patients, it may take three to four months. Your results will be long-lasting; however, there is no way to stop the aging process, so you should always seek proper precaution to prevent future signs of aging from developing. This includes limiting your sun exposure and always wearing adequate sunscreen for protection. Some people will benefit from Botox injections to keep the brow muscles from pulling down again and help maintain their results long term.
Contact Oasis Eye Face And Skin To Learn More
If droopy brows and a sagging forehead are affecting your vision, causing you to look older than you actually are, or even to look mad when you are otherwise happy, contact board-certified oculofacial plastic surgeon Dr. Vivian Schiedler at Oasis Eye Face and Skin and find out what a brow lift, or forehead lift, can do for you. Look happy and refreshed! Call (541) 449-9555 or contact us online today.