Mini-brow Lift Vs. Full Face Lift?

A 33 year old who is asked for identification when buying alcohol is probably the definition of someone who is not a Facelift candidate. However, you might indeed be a brow lift candidate. Given the high hairline described, I would suggest a Trichophytic brow lift, which will allow for tailoring of the corrugator muscles (which produce the 11's), raising the brows, and stabilizing or lowering the hairline.

Each surgeon's definition of a mini brow lift and various face lifting techniques is going to vary. In general, a true face lift does not address the brows and is designed to address the cheeks and neck, which would be an uncommon area to address in the early 30's. Brow lifting and/or eyelid surgery in the 30's would be much more common than a face lift. An in-person exam and consultation would be needed to determine which procedures would be beneficial and to review them in detail.Find a surgeon that you trust and are comfortable with and have them explain all the different options.All the best,

You’re probably not a good
candidate for a facelift since your still getting carded when buying
alcohol.  Despite this, there is
the possibility that you might benefit from a browlift since you look
tired.  The fact that upward pull
on your lateral brow improves your appearance, suggest
that a lateral browlift might be helpful.

Without a consultation and physical
exam it’s hard to know what option is best for you.  Any type of browlift should be approached with caution
because of your high hairline. 
When browlifts are performed with hairline incisions there’s the potential
for scarring as well.  Based on
these considerations, it would appear that a lateral brow lift would be the
best option for you. 

It’s important to consult a board
certified plastic surgeon before making any decision regarding facial
rejuvenation surgery.  This surgeon
will be able to help you make the most appropriate decision for yourself.

Be very careful when asking for a brow lift, you might get it.  If you look up brow lift results in published papers and before and afters you will see that many surgeons successfully lift the brow.  Unfortunately a true brow lift makes patients look scared or surprised!  It is almost never necessary to elevate the medial third of the brow.  Many women actually benefit aesthetically from a slight lowering of the medial third.  On the contrary, there are few women even at your age that would not benefit from elevation of their lateral brow.  The reason for this is probably not what you think.  Much more important than the brow positionand shape is the infra brow skin.  If you look at yourself in the mirror you will see some bunching of skin under the brow next to your eye and a flat shape.  I call this the lateral hood.  The only kind of brow lift that I typically perform in women of your age I call a lateral hood lift.  If you gently pull up on your forehead skin above the lateral brow, you will see that a very subtle elevation makes you look younger.  This is mostly because it cleans up the lateral hood.  It is usually necessary to also restore brow volume at the same time as a lateral hood lift to create a beautiful rejuvenated shape.  I hope this helps!

 

All the best,

 

 

Rian A. Maercks M.D.

A 33-year old woman with a sad tired look around the eyes is actually a common complaint of patients in my practice. This is related to brow muscle action and genetics. A full Facelift or even a mini lift of the face is unnecessary and would not solve the problem. You are most probably a good candidate for a minimally-invasive Modified Browlift and possibly upper Blepharoplasty as well. The good news is that results with these procedures in young people last a long time and look natural. 

Most browlift procedures elevate, to various degrees, the hairline. There are several execeptions: one is the midforehead browlift, which I only perform on men due to the fine line scar; one is the lateral hairline browlift that results in a fine line barely if at all detectable incision scar along the hairline that if performed properly will have hair growing through it; and lastly is the combined browlift with hairline advancement procedure- which not only allows for brow sculpting as you desire but also can bring forward the hairline by as much as 1 inch in many patients. You can see many examples of these procedure results online, but you need to be evaluated by an experienced surgeon.