Blepharoplasty or Brow Lift for Female Patient in Early 20s? (photo)

Interesting opinions by some other responders.  The question that must be answered before considering any procedure is, "What anatomic feature is causing the appearance of heaviness that I do not like?". When the responsible feature is known, then it becomes clear where to address surgical treatment efforts, or non-surgical possibilities.  

Brow shaping and upper blepharoplasty may help, and I would open the upper eyelid slightly by levator advancement because of your low marginal reflex distance.  Would consider lateral canthopexy as well to slightly raise lower lid margin.  Would defer brow or forehead procedure unless eyelid procedure incompletely successful.

Of course, this is only a guess based upon submitted photos.  Personal evaluation must precede formulation of surgical plans.

You have a straight brow and a naturally hooded eyelid, and your temples and brows do not have much fat. There are multiple attractive celebrities and other young people with this anatomy, but it makes it diffucult to wear many eye shadow styles and requires careful grooming of brows. If you've decided you want to pursue plastic surgery, then brow lift, volumizing, and upper blepharoplasty are all options, but I'd start with minimally invasive procedures and go from there. At your age, volumizing the temples and upper brows with fillers will provide more skin exposure for eye shadows and will look more natural than a brow lift. If this isn't enough for you, a small amount of skin removal from the upper lid would also help. Do realize, though, that you will be getting an improved version of your current lid shape, not a different shape over all. 

It appears that you have a familial type problem that I see in my office relatively frequently. Although you have features that could be improved by both an upper blepharoplasty (eyelid) and brow lift, I would recommend just doing an upper eyelid procedure at this time to remove the heaviness and skin redundancy (skin rests on your lashes in some of the photos) and at the same time shorten your muscle (levator muscle) so that it opens a bit more. The brow lift can be saved for years later.

Your eyebrow is DEFLATED, meaning it is relatively hollow.  Do NOT do brow lift.  Although conservative upper blepharoplasty can help with the appearance of the upper eyelid, a better option might be filler/fat injection into your eyebrows.  See an oculoplastic or facial plastic surgeon for proper evaluation and treatment options.

  I think you will get different opinions on this question and none of them are wrong.  But personally, I'd advocate upper blepharoplasty instead of browlift since it is a less invasive procedure.

Thanks for the pictures.  Your photos suggest that a browlift would be my first recommendation to elevate the lateral brow position.  This will make the lateral upper lids appear less heavy and correct the concerns for a masculine appearance.  For optimal support of future skin aging, the upper lid blepharoplasty should also be considered to anchor the upper lid folds in a more open position as well.  So, I would recommend you consider both procedures for best balance.

An upper eyelid blepharoplasty is used to remove the excess skin of the upper eyelid.  This should be done in a conservative way so that the function of the lid is maintained. Overzealous excision of fat and muscle can actually cause the eyes to look hollow and older. Simple removal of excess skin can be achieved, leaving the eyes looking natural. If their is hooding of the corners of the eyelid, a lateral brow lift can be very helpful and often needed.  However, the lateral brow lift can change the appearance, so it is important to evaluate this before deciding to proceed. The good news is, the change is often very subtle and elegant. It only effects the tail of the brow and not the entire brow, so the dreaded "surprised" look is avoided.  Depending on the particular case, these procedures can be indicated individually or in combination. A consultation is needed to determine the best approach. 

Your photos are not great and with better ones I could give you a definitive answer.  If you totally relax your brows looking in the mirror and gently lift your mid forehead skin and you like what YOU see --browlift.  Otherwise blepharoplasty.  In 35 years of doing thisost Caucasian patients need a browlift to kill 2 birds with 1stone. 

There is essentially two ways to achieve what you are looking for.  Overall for brow shaping, the endoscopic forehead lift is the best option.  If cleaning up the eyelids are your objective and brow shaping what not an issue, a upper microblepharoplasty with very conservative excision of upper eyelid with the goal of showing enough upper eyelid platform so you can apply make up.  Do not let anyone perform over aggressive upper eyelid surgery.  The American Society for Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery maintain a geographic directory on their site to help you find a well qualified oculoplastic surgeon.

Based on your photographs, you appear to be a candidate for an upper blepharoplasty. To confirm, consult with 3 - 4 experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeons.