It depends on where your eyebrow sits above your eye

It depends on where your eyebrow sits above your eye. Your eyebrow should sit above your eyelid margin about the size of the width of your iris. So depending on where your eyebrow sits, you will be a better candidate for an eyebrow lift or just an eyelift.

If your eyebrow sits below the distance of the width of your iris, you could benefit from an eyebrow lift. If it sits above this distance, an eyebrow lift could make you look surprised. That distance determines whether you look suprised or maybe more stern-looking or tired-looking.

If you elevate the eyebrow much more than the width of the iris you could have that surprised look. A little more than that distance is okay, but once you start approaching 1 1/2 times the distance of the iris, the suprised look takes on more prominence. After elevating your eyebrows, you are then more able to determine how much skin to take.

Hope that helps.

This is a key decision and one that you should consider carefully before proceeding ahead. The fact is that most people with heavy eyelids have a combination of droopy brows and excess eyelid skin. The important thing is to decide whether it is a brow lift or an upper eye lift that gives you the best cosmetic outcome. In some individuals, both procedures may be necessary to get the best possible outcome.

First, let's take a look at the ideal brow position in a woman. The inside corner of the brow begins at the root of the nose, and gently climbs to higher level, reaching its peak typically somewhere half way between the pupil of the eye and the outside corner of the eye, and then dropping down at the temple. While in a woman the brow is ideally above the level of the bone and curves upward on the side, in a man, the brow is typically at the level of the bone and tends to be more horizontal.

Now that we have an idea of the ideal brow position, a rather simple test can be performed to see whether you are a good candidate for a brow lift:

• Stand in front of a mirror and look straight ahead.
• Make sure that you are not intentionally lifting up your brow.
• Place the index and middle fingers of both hands, half way between the brow and the hairline, one aligned with the center of the brow and the other at the outer corner of the brow.
• Gently lift and glide the forehead skin up toward your scalp. Go back and forth a few times, seeing the effect of the simulated brow lift on the shape of your eyes.
• Try turning your head away from the brow, toward your nose, and again glide the forehead skin up toward your scalp, seeing the effect of the lift on the side of your brow.
• If you like the look of your eyes with this maneuver and if the crease of your eye becomes more visible and the eye appears more alert and youthful, then you may be a good candidate for a brow lift.

If your brow is resting in a good position but there seems to be excess fullness and folded skin obscuring the crease of your eye, then you may be a better candidate for an upper eye lift. Results of an upper eye lift are more difficult to simulate than a brow lift. An eyelift can typically improve the excess droopy skin that covers the cease of the upper eyelids and in some people can even rest on the upper eyelashes. Eye lifts do not elevate the brow position, and, in fact, can sometimes slightly lower brow position. Lower blepharoplasty or lower eye lift can improve bagginess of the lower eyelids and the excessive wrinkling that some of us get on the skin of the lower eyelids.

For more information visit http://www.seattlefacialsurgery.com/html/index.php

17 of 19 found this helpful

Helpful?

Contact the doctor

I think this is a great question because the answer really depends on your individual anatomy.  Most of my patients who see me for eyelid or brow rejuvenation do so because they feel they have a very "tired" appearance.  When I evaluate a patient for eyelid rejuvenation, I'm first looking at the position and shape of the eyebrow, then the quality and amount of eyelid skin, and finally the presence or absence of fat around the eyes.  This will dictate what operation will give the patient the most natural result. 

In general, I like the brows on women to arc as they move from the center of the face to the side of the face, and this is widely considered the aesthetic ideal (in men, it's a bit different-- we want the brow to be a bit flatter).  Also, the position of the brow should be slightly higher in women than in men, sitting above the bony rim of the orbit.  If your brow already is at the proper height and  shape, then I'll evaluate the eyelids themselves. 

This evaluation will allow me to recommend either a browlift (and there are several different types of browlifts which can be performed based on what will give you the best result), a blepharoplasty, or both.  But the key is to give each patient the right operation or operations in order to best attain a natural, refreshed look. 

8 of 8 found this helpful

Helpful?

Contact the doctor

If indeed it is only the eyelids that are sagging, then an upper blepharoplasty is the appropriate procedure for correction. The surgeon will determine the distance between the eyebrows to the eyelashes, and if that distance is adequate, just an upper blepharoplasty is performed.

If the distance is short and the brows are quite low, consideration should be given to a forehead lift or a browlift. A brow-lift is an operation that is used for someone who has very low set eyebrows. The procedure softens frown lines and horizontal lines of the forehead and can be done through an endoscopic approach or through the coronal approach.

2 of 3 found this helpful

Helpful?

Contact the doctor