Browlift: The Eye Opening Truth

The next time you’re flipping through the cable channels on TV or the pages of your favorite fashion magazine, take a closer look at the celebrities’ eyebrows.   Eyebrows and eyelids are very closely related. In fact, the position of your eyebrow directly affects where the skin lies on your lid.  If you think you need upper eyelid surgery, it may be the case that the more youthful eye you’re after is only a simple browlift away.  

“When you look at a woman’s eyebrows in her 30’s, it’s very natural to have a youthful, arched appearance,” says Dr. Shaun Parson, board certified plastic surgeon in Scottsdale, Arizona.  “People don’t come in asking me, “Hey, do I need a browlift?”  They’re asking me other questions.  They feel like their eyes look heavy.  When the brow is down too far, it gives that very heavy lid.”

by Anne Meyer 
and Shaun Parson, MD

Types of Browlifts

A traditional browlift is done through an incision that is hidden in the hair-bearing part of your scalp.  If you have thin hair or are unable to hide the traditional incision in your scalp, you may be a candidate for an endoscopic browlift.  Initial recovery time or downtime expected after browlift surgery is less than a week, with most of the swelling resolved and a refreshed look appearing by about day ten.

Rule of Thirds

The browlift is a procedure that requires both a skilled surgeon and an understanding of facial proportions.  Dr. Parson explains, “A natural, aesthetically pleasing eyelid has a peak at about the one-third two-third junction.”  To find the one-third, two third junction, divide your eyebrow into three equal sections.  The junction lies where the third furthest from your nose meets the two thirds that sit closest to your nose.  

The shape of our brow lifts gently at the outside portion in youth and tends to flatten out over time as we age. “A browlift is not trying to lift in the central portion, it’s really trying to lift in the lateral (outside) portion, and recreate that peak,” says Parson.  “When done correctly, it’s a very gradual, lateral lift to the eye.”

Natural, Not Overdone, is Key

You don’t want to raise any eyebrows except your own when you’ve undergone a browlift.  This makes choosing the surgeon who will do your browlift as important as the decision to undergo the procedure.   “Browlift is one of the most commonly mis-done plastic surgery procedures,” warns Dr. Parson.  It’s very easy to spot a bad browlift.  If the arch of the brow is exaggerated, lifted too high or arched in the wrong portion of the brow, the result is impossible to hide.

“If a browlift has been done incorrectly, they end up looking scared or they look surprised.  It’s what often gives plastic surgery a bad name,” says Parson.  Rest assured, in the hands of a well trained, board certified plastic surgeon you can achieve the look you’re after undetected.  “When an eyebrow is done correctly, it’s very natural.  It comes across like nothing has been done,” emphasizes Parson. “That’s really the hallmark of great plastic surgery: they look great, and you can’t tell they’ve had surgery.”