POSTED UNDER Brow Lift Reviews
Endoscopic Brow Lift at 37: My Experience, Unexpected Changes, and Revision Surgery.
ORIGINAL POST
Endoscopic Brow Lift at 37: My Experience, Unexpected Changes, and Revision Surgery.
$8,000
I’ve gone back and forth about sharing this for a long time. Partly because it’s embarrassing to admit how much this has affected me, and partly because I keep thinking I should just move on.
But I wish I’d found a story like mine before making the decisions I did. And especially when I was desperately searching for information about reversing a brow lift.
There was so little information from people who had actually been through a reversal that I often felt completely alone trying to figure out what was possible.
So I’m writing this for anyone who might find themselves searching for those same answers someday. And maybe sharing it will help me finally start putting some of this behind me.
I’m 38 years old, a mother and a nurse. In April 2025, at 37, I underwent an elective endoscopic brow lift with Dr. David Sherris in Buffalo, New York.
The part I still struggle with is that I never went in asking for a brow lift. I went in to discuss my eyelids.
At the time, I was coming out of an unhealthy relationship that had slowly chipped away at my confidence and the way I saw myself.
I’ve always been independent. I’d raised my three children on my own, built a nursing career, and worked hard for the life I have. But somehow, I found myself questioning whether I was attractive enough, whether I was getting older, and whether I needed to do something about it.
Looking back at photographs of myself from that time, I can see how much that relationship had affected my self-esteem. I was so focused on the things I thought were wrong with my appearance that I couldn’t see what was already beautiful about me.
During my consultation, Dr. Sherris recommended an endoscopic brow lift for what I understood would be a modest elevation. His practice had an approximately 4.9-star rating when I researched him, which reassured me.
I was hoping for a subtle, refreshed appearance, perhaps even reducing my need for Botox. I never wanted to look like a different person.
I certainly didn’t want a higher hairline, a longer-looking forehead, or changes to my facial expressions.
Something I later found troubling was that my medical records describe my desired result as a “modest” elevation, while the operative documentation also records more than 10 mm of elevation.
I understand that an operative measurement doesn’t necessarily represent the final change in eyebrow height, but I wish I’d understood exactly what was planned and how it could affect the proportions of my face.
I had also specifically requested that no residents participate in my surgery. When I later obtained my records, I discovered that a resident was documented as having assisted.
I don’t know whether that had any bearing on my outcome, and I’m not suggesting it did. But finding that documentation after making my request was upsetting.
I trusted the professional recommendation and went ahead with surgery.
I wish I’d gotten another opinion.
The recovery was nothing like I expected
I’m a nurse. I understand that surgery involves swelling, bruising, and discomfort.
But my original recovery was far more difficult than I’d anticipated.
I went in for surgery that morning, and I didn’t wake up until approximately 4 p.m. When I did, I experienced significant pain, severe nausea, and repeated vomiting despite medication throughout the remaining night at home.
One eye was swollen completely shut.
I’ve included photographs documenting the first eight days of recovery because I think it’s important for people to see what I experienced.
I called the office repeatedly because I felt something wasn’t right. I recall Dr. Sherris later commenting that my swelling might have been among the worst he’d seen, however at first he said everything was just fine.
The swelling continued to affect me for approximately eight months.
I returned to work looking so different that some colleagues who knew me didn’t recognize me.
Every morning, I’d look in the mirror and tell myself it was temporary. Every week, I’d take more photographs, hoping to see improvement.
Some of the swelling gradually resolved, but other changes became increasingly concerning.
My forehead appeared significantly longer. My hairline was elevated, but it also appeared to have been pulled upward and toward the right side, changing its shape and disrupting the symmetry of my upper face, which threw off the way my nose, lips, everything looked.
My eyebrows were asymmetric, and I lost normal movement in my right corrugator muscle, which helps draw the eyebrow inward when you frown.
I also noticed hollowing around my eyes and more pronounced hollowing at my temples. Combined with the elevated hairline and thinning hair, I felt as though the entire upper portion of my face had changed.
I can’t say with certainty how much of the hollowing was directly related to surgery, but it was something I noticed afterward.
The irony was heartbreaking.
I’d undergone surgery hoping to look a little younger and more refreshed, and I felt that I’d made myself look considerably older.
I kept going back because I wanted answers
I brought old photographs to follow-up appointments and tried explaining the changes I was seeing.
I remember repeatedly being told that it was too early, that everything was fine, and that I needed more time, he wouldn’t consider a reversal until atleast 12 months.
At a little over eleven months I booked to be seen, I recall hearing Dr. Sherris say, “Not even twelve months yet.”
I also remember telling him one of my friends stated they liked my old look, and his response was they better get used to my new look.
But I didn’t want a new look.
That was the entire problem.
During one appointment, when I tried explaining how much longer and completely different my forehead appeared, Dr. Sherris maintained that my forehead hadn’t changed and referred to the fact that he hadn’t changed my bones.
I wasn’t suggesting he’d changed my bones.
I was talking about the proportions of my face.
He took out a ruler and began measuring my forehead in photographs. I remember sitting there feeling humiliated, as though I had to prove what my own face looked like.
At another point, I was offered complimentary Botox to help with the asymmetry and not to worry I was “still beautiful.”
I wasn’t asking whether I was beautiful. I wasn’t asking for free Botox.
I was asking what had happened and whether anything could be done to help.
I would have appreciated an honest explanation, even if there wasn’t an easy solution.
Instead, I left those appointments feeling increasingly unheard.
I began doubting myself, even though I could see the changes in photographs and feel the difference when I tried to move my eyebrow.
Later, I found accounts from other patients who described feeling similarly dismissed when raising concerns. I can’t verify anyone else’s experience, but I wish I’d looked beyond the overall star rating before surgery. At this point I recognized, I was not going to get this resolved with him.
My experience with Sculptra
I also want to mention another cosmetic treatment I received from Dr. Sherris.
I had expressed concerns about my nasolabial folds, the lines running from the sides of the nose toward the corners of the mouth.
I received two vials of Sculptra, 2 months apart, which I recall being injected directly into those folds.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t happy with the result.
I developed areas of lumpiness that I believe are related to the Sculptra, along with additional fullness and heaviness in my lower face.
To me, it actually made my nasolabial folds look more pronounced, the opposite of what I was hoping to achieve.
I later learned more about how important Sculptra placement, injection depth, and technique are, as well as the possibility of developing lumps or nodules.
I understand that Sculptra can appropriately be used to treat nasolabial folds, and I can’t independently determine exactly why I experienced these changes.
But I wish I’d better understood the potential for an outcome that might add heaviness rather than improve the area I was concerned about.
It became another cosmetic issue I was left trying to address.
The emotional toll
This is probably the hardest part to explain.
When you regret something about your face, you can’t really escape it.
You see it every morning when you brush your teeth, get ready for work, take pictures with your children, or catch your reflection somewhere.
I began comparing photographs constantly.
I’d study my forehead, eyebrows, eyes, temples, and the way my hair used to fall naturally around my face.
I tried microblading to help with the asymmetry. I explored Botox. I spent countless hours researching scar tissue, nerve dysfunction, hair loss, and revision surgery.
I hated how much time it consumed.
I have children, a nursing career, people I love, and plans for my future.
Yet I’d find myself looking through pictures from happy moments with my family and studying my face instead of remembering what we were doing that day.
People may look at my before-and-after photographs and think I look fine. Some might even prefer how I look now.
That’s okay.
This was never about whether strangers found me attractive. It was about recognizing myself.
I missed the familiar shape of my forehead, my hairline, and the way my eyebrows moved.
And underneath all of it was the same awful thought:
I chose this.
I paid to change something about myself that I now desperately wished I’d left alone.
Trying to find information about brow lift reversal
For a long time, I held on to the idea that if my brows had been surgically lifted, they could simply be put back.
I learned quickly that revision surgery isn’t that straightforward.
I searched endlessly for information about endoscopic brow lift reversal.
I wanted to find people who’d actually undergone corrective surgery. I wanted to see photographs, understand recovery timelines, and learn whether an overly elevated hairline could be lowered again.
I wanted to know whether facial symmetry could improve and whether it was possible to feel like yourself again.
But I found very little.
There were plenty of before-and-after photographs of brow lifts and information about getting the procedure done. There was much less about what happens when you regret the outcome and want to reverse it.
I contacted surgeons and researched specialists. Many were reluctant to attempt a revision because of scar tissue, altered anatomy, and the complexity of operating on an area that had already undergone surgery.
It was frightening to realize that something I’d chosen voluntarily might not be easily undone.
Thankfully, by this point, I had an incredible boyfriend who saw how much I was struggling.
He supported me emotionally and financially, stood beside me through appointments and uncertainty, and helped me pursue corrective surgery.
He never made me feel that I needed to change my appearance. He just wanted me to feel like myself again.
I know how fortunate I am. Not everyone has the resources or support to travel across the country for another surgery.
Eventually, I found Dr. Gal in Beverly Hills.
Finding a surgeon who understood
I want to make something very clear.
I am incredibly grateful for everything Dr. Gal has done to help me.
From the beginning, he was honest and realistic. He never promised perfection or suggested he could simply undo everything that had happened.
He explained that while we might not be able to restore my face exactly to its original appearance, we could work toward getting it much closer.
After everything I’d been through, that honesty meant a lot.
What stood out to me most was that he acknowledged the changes I had spent so long trying to explain.
He recognized that my hairline was overly elevated and that it wasn’t simply higher than before. It had also been pulled upward and toward the right side, disrupting the balance and symmetry of my upper face.
For months, I’d struggled to explain why my forehead and the entire upper portion of my face looked so different.
Having a surgeon recognize those changes and explain what could realistically be improved was an enormous relief.
What meant so much to me wasn’t being promised my old face back. It was finally having someone acknowledge what had changed and be honest about what could be done.
On July 16, 2026, I underwent brow lift reversal/revision surgery with Dr. Gal.
My recovery was considerably easier than the first surgery, no nausea, no pain, and the improvements have been meaningful. He addressed the abnormal positioning of my hairline and helped restore a more balanced appearance. Bruising was minimal, and the swelling cleared up for the most part within the month.
I’m genuinely grateful for his skill, his honesty, and the effort he put into helping me.
The revision cost approximately twice as much as my original surgery, before accounting for travel, lodging, consultations, and other expenses.
I’ve also spent money on treatments for thinning hair around my temples.
I never imagined I’d be spending so much money trying to recover features I’d already had.
Eighteen months later: Where I am in my recovery
I’m now approximately 18 months out from my original brow lift and three months out from my reversal.
My face is substantially better than it was before the revision, and I cannot express how grateful I am to Dr. Gal for helping me get this far.
I knew going into the procedure that perfection wasn’t the goal. We were trying to get as close as reasonably possible to my original appearance.
And I’m grateful for the progress we’ve made.
At the same time, some concerns remain unresolved.
My hairline is still elevated in certain areas. I’ve experienced thinning and hair loss around my temples, and my hair doesn’t naturally frame my face the way it did before surgery.
The hollowing around my eyes and temples remains another concern, but is better than before.
My right corrugator muscle still doesn’t function normally. I have numbness, raised tissue and scarring around my brow, and intense, persistent itching that has become one of the most frustrating parts of this experience.
I’m currently waiting to see a facial nerve specialist and a dermatologist to better understand the remaining symptoms and what treatment options might help.
As a nurse, I understand that healing takes time and that nerve-related symptoms can be complicated.
But understanding that doesn’t make living with them any easier.
I still miss my old face.
I miss looking in the mirror and seeing the person I recognized for 37 years.
That doesn’t mean I’m unhappy with what Dr. Gal accomplished. Quite the opposite. I’m incredibly thankful that he was willing to help me when finding someone to attempt a reversal was so difficult.
I’m only three months into recovery from the reversal, and I’m trying to give myself the same patience I would encourage any patient to have.
My face isn’t completely back to what it was before, but it is substantially better.
I continue to miss the way I used to look, and some days that’s still emotionally difficult.
But I’m hopeful that with more recovery time, continued healing, and treatment for the remaining symptoms, I’ll gradually look and feel more like myself again.
Maybe I’ll never look exactly as I did before. I’m learning to accept that possibility without giving up hope.
I don’t consider my reversal a failure because I haven’t returned to exactly how I looked before. Dr. Gal was upfront about those limitations, and he has helped me tremendously.
I can be deeply grateful to him, appreciative of the boyfriend who helped make the revision possible, and still wish I’d never needed corrective surgery in the first place.
All of those things are true.
What I wish someone had told me
I’m not against cosmetic surgery.
I know many people have wonderful outcomes, and I understand that wanting to change something about your appearance doesn’t automatically mean you’re insecure.
But I think the reason you’re considering surgery matters.
I wish someone had asked me what was happening in my life when I started worrying about my appearance.
I wish I’d recognized how much my previous relationship had affected my confidence.
Because I wasn’t really trying to fix my eyebrows.
I was trying to feel better about myself.
And I made a permanent decision while dealing with feelings that weren’t permanent.
If you’re considering cosmetic surgery, especially after a breakup, an unhealthy relationship, or a period when your confidence has been shaken, please give yourself time.
If you go into a consultation for one procedure and another is recommended, get a second opinion.
Read the critical reviews, not just the star rating.
Ask exactly who will participate in your surgery.
Ask how your hairline, facial proportions, and expressions might change. Ask about asymmetry, prolonged symptoms, and what happens if you don’t like the outcome.
If you’re considering injectables such as Sculptra, ask where the product will be placed, what the expected result should look like, and what complications might occur.
And understand that corrective surgery can be more complicated, more expensive, and less predictable than the original procedure.
I wish I’d understood all of that.
Most of all, I wish I’d been kinder to myself.
Why I’m finally sharing this
For a long time, I’ve felt embarrassed that I made this decision.
I’m a nurse. I consider myself intelligent and capable. I research things. I ask questions. I advocate for patients.
So how did I end up making a decision I regret this deeply?
But continuing to punish myself isn’t going to change what happened.
I trusted a professional recommendation. I wanted a modest improvement. I didn’t anticipate the outcome or how difficult it could be to address my concerns afterward.
And when things didn’t go as I’d hoped, I did what I could to find help.
I’m still doing that.
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to write this post is because when I was desperately searching for information about brow lift reversal, I couldn’t find much from people who had actually experienced it.
I want someone searching for answers to know that revision or reversal may be possible, although it isn’t straightforward, results vary, and finding an experienced surgeon matters enormously.
I also want them to know that recovery doesn’t necessarily end after a few weeks or months.
I’m still in the middle of mine.
I don’t want this experience to take any more of my life than it already has.
I want to enjoy my children without studying my forehead in every family photograph.
I want to enjoy my relationship, keep building my future, and look in the mirror without immediately searching for something that’s different.
Maybe being able to tell this story openly is part of getting there.
If I could sit beside the woman I was at 37, I’d tell her she was beautiful.
I’d tell her she wasn’t old.
I’d tell her that someone else’s inability to appreciate her didn’t mean there was something wrong with her face.
I’d tell her that she didn’t need to make herself younger or prettier to deserve love.
And I’d tell her to go home.
To hug her children. To enjoy her life.
To stop examining every little thing about herself that she thought needed fixing.
Because those were the very things I’d eventually miss.
For 37 years, I looked in the mirror and recognized the person staring back at me.
I never thought about how much I loved the familiar way my eyebrows moved, the shape of my forehead, or the way my hair naturally framed my face.
I didn’t appreciate those things because I never imagined losing them.
I was so afraid of getting older that I changed my face. Now I’d give anything to have the face I was afraid wasn’t good enough.
I’m 38 now, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my thirties grieving the way I looked at 37.
I want to learn from what happened. I want to heal, physically and emotionally. And I want to help someone else make a decision with more information than I had.
And if you’re reading this while looking in the mirror and wondering whether you need to change something about yourself, please give yourself a little grace.
You may be looking at the very face you’ll someday wish you could have back.
If sharing this helps even one person feel less alone, ask better questions, or make a more informed decision, then telling my story will have been worth it.
But I wish I’d found a story like mine before making the decisions I did. And especially when I was desperately searching for information about reversing a brow lift.
There was so little information from people who had actually been through a reversal that I often felt completely alone trying to figure out what was possible.
So I’m writing this for anyone who might find themselves searching for those same answers someday. And maybe sharing it will help me finally start putting some of this behind me.
I’m 38 years old, a mother and a nurse. In April 2025, at 37, I underwent an elective endoscopic brow lift with Dr. David Sherris in Buffalo, New York.
The part I still struggle with is that I never went in asking for a brow lift. I went in to discuss my eyelids.
At the time, I was coming out of an unhealthy relationship that had slowly chipped away at my confidence and the way I saw myself.
I’ve always been independent. I’d raised my three children on my own, built a nursing career, and worked hard for the life I have. But somehow, I found myself questioning whether I was attractive enough, whether I was getting older, and whether I needed to do something about it.
Looking back at photographs of myself from that time, I can see how much that relationship had affected my self-esteem. I was so focused on the things I thought were wrong with my appearance that I couldn’t see what was already beautiful about me.
During my consultation, Dr. Sherris recommended an endoscopic brow lift for what I understood would be a modest elevation. His practice had an approximately 4.9-star rating when I researched him, which reassured me.
I was hoping for a subtle, refreshed appearance, perhaps even reducing my need for Botox. I never wanted to look like a different person.
I certainly didn’t want a higher hairline, a longer-looking forehead, or changes to my facial expressions.
Something I later found troubling was that my medical records describe my desired result as a “modest” elevation, while the operative documentation also records more than 10 mm of elevation.
I understand that an operative measurement doesn’t necessarily represent the final change in eyebrow height, but I wish I’d understood exactly what was planned and how it could affect the proportions of my face.
I had also specifically requested that no residents participate in my surgery. When I later obtained my records, I discovered that a resident was documented as having assisted.
I don’t know whether that had any bearing on my outcome, and I’m not suggesting it did. But finding that documentation after making my request was upsetting.
I trusted the professional recommendation and went ahead with surgery.
I wish I’d gotten another opinion.
The recovery was nothing like I expected
I’m a nurse. I understand that surgery involves swelling, bruising, and discomfort.
But my original recovery was far more difficult than I’d anticipated.
I went in for surgery that morning, and I didn’t wake up until approximately 4 p.m. When I did, I experienced significant pain, severe nausea, and repeated vomiting despite medication throughout the remaining night at home.
One eye was swollen completely shut.
I’ve included photographs documenting the first eight days of recovery because I think it’s important for people to see what I experienced.
I called the office repeatedly because I felt something wasn’t right. I recall Dr. Sherris later commenting that my swelling might have been among the worst he’d seen, however at first he said everything was just fine.
The swelling continued to affect me for approximately eight months.
I returned to work looking so different that some colleagues who knew me didn’t recognize me.
Every morning, I’d look in the mirror and tell myself it was temporary. Every week, I’d take more photographs, hoping to see improvement.
Some of the swelling gradually resolved, but other changes became increasingly concerning.
My forehead appeared significantly longer. My hairline was elevated, but it also appeared to have been pulled upward and toward the right side, changing its shape and disrupting the symmetry of my upper face, which threw off the way my nose, lips, everything looked.
My eyebrows were asymmetric, and I lost normal movement in my right corrugator muscle, which helps draw the eyebrow inward when you frown.
I also noticed hollowing around my eyes and more pronounced hollowing at my temples. Combined with the elevated hairline and thinning hair, I felt as though the entire upper portion of my face had changed.
I can’t say with certainty how much of the hollowing was directly related to surgery, but it was something I noticed afterward.
The irony was heartbreaking.
I’d undergone surgery hoping to look a little younger and more refreshed, and I felt that I’d made myself look considerably older.
I kept going back because I wanted answers
I brought old photographs to follow-up appointments and tried explaining the changes I was seeing.
I remember repeatedly being told that it was too early, that everything was fine, and that I needed more time, he wouldn’t consider a reversal until atleast 12 months.
At a little over eleven months I booked to be seen, I recall hearing Dr. Sherris say, “Not even twelve months yet.”
I also remember telling him one of my friends stated they liked my old look, and his response was they better get used to my new look.
But I didn’t want a new look.
That was the entire problem.
During one appointment, when I tried explaining how much longer and completely different my forehead appeared, Dr. Sherris maintained that my forehead hadn’t changed and referred to the fact that he hadn’t changed my bones.
I wasn’t suggesting he’d changed my bones.
I was talking about the proportions of my face.
He took out a ruler and began measuring my forehead in photographs. I remember sitting there feeling humiliated, as though I had to prove what my own face looked like.
At another point, I was offered complimentary Botox to help with the asymmetry and not to worry I was “still beautiful.”
I wasn’t asking whether I was beautiful. I wasn’t asking for free Botox.
I was asking what had happened and whether anything could be done to help.
I would have appreciated an honest explanation, even if there wasn’t an easy solution.
Instead, I left those appointments feeling increasingly unheard.
I began doubting myself, even though I could see the changes in photographs and feel the difference when I tried to move my eyebrow.
Later, I found accounts from other patients who described feeling similarly dismissed when raising concerns. I can’t verify anyone else’s experience, but I wish I’d looked beyond the overall star rating before surgery. At this point I recognized, I was not going to get this resolved with him.
My experience with Sculptra
I also want to mention another cosmetic treatment I received from Dr. Sherris.
I had expressed concerns about my nasolabial folds, the lines running from the sides of the nose toward the corners of the mouth.
I received two vials of Sculptra, 2 months apart, which I recall being injected directly into those folds.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t happy with the result.
I developed areas of lumpiness that I believe are related to the Sculptra, along with additional fullness and heaviness in my lower face.
To me, it actually made my nasolabial folds look more pronounced, the opposite of what I was hoping to achieve.
I later learned more about how important Sculptra placement, injection depth, and technique are, as well as the possibility of developing lumps or nodules.
I understand that Sculptra can appropriately be used to treat nasolabial folds, and I can’t independently determine exactly why I experienced these changes.
But I wish I’d better understood the potential for an outcome that might add heaviness rather than improve the area I was concerned about.
It became another cosmetic issue I was left trying to address.
The emotional toll
This is probably the hardest part to explain.
When you regret something about your face, you can’t really escape it.
You see it every morning when you brush your teeth, get ready for work, take pictures with your children, or catch your reflection somewhere.
I began comparing photographs constantly.
I’d study my forehead, eyebrows, eyes, temples, and the way my hair used to fall naturally around my face.
I tried microblading to help with the asymmetry. I explored Botox. I spent countless hours researching scar tissue, nerve dysfunction, hair loss, and revision surgery.
I hated how much time it consumed.
I have children, a nursing career, people I love, and plans for my future.
Yet I’d find myself looking through pictures from happy moments with my family and studying my face instead of remembering what we were doing that day.
People may look at my before-and-after photographs and think I look fine. Some might even prefer how I look now.
That’s okay.
This was never about whether strangers found me attractive. It was about recognizing myself.
I missed the familiar shape of my forehead, my hairline, and the way my eyebrows moved.
And underneath all of it was the same awful thought:
I chose this.
I paid to change something about myself that I now desperately wished I’d left alone.
Trying to find information about brow lift reversal
For a long time, I held on to the idea that if my brows had been surgically lifted, they could simply be put back.
I learned quickly that revision surgery isn’t that straightforward.
I searched endlessly for information about endoscopic brow lift reversal.
I wanted to find people who’d actually undergone corrective surgery. I wanted to see photographs, understand recovery timelines, and learn whether an overly elevated hairline could be lowered again.
I wanted to know whether facial symmetry could improve and whether it was possible to feel like yourself again.
But I found very little.
There were plenty of before-and-after photographs of brow lifts and information about getting the procedure done. There was much less about what happens when you regret the outcome and want to reverse it.
I contacted surgeons and researched specialists. Many were reluctant to attempt a revision because of scar tissue, altered anatomy, and the complexity of operating on an area that had already undergone surgery.
It was frightening to realize that something I’d chosen voluntarily might not be easily undone.
Thankfully, by this point, I had an incredible boyfriend who saw how much I was struggling.
He supported me emotionally and financially, stood beside me through appointments and uncertainty, and helped me pursue corrective surgery.
He never made me feel that I needed to change my appearance. He just wanted me to feel like myself again.
I know how fortunate I am. Not everyone has the resources or support to travel across the country for another surgery.
Eventually, I found Dr. Gal in Beverly Hills.
Finding a surgeon who understood
I want to make something very clear.
I am incredibly grateful for everything Dr. Gal has done to help me.
From the beginning, he was honest and realistic. He never promised perfection or suggested he could simply undo everything that had happened.
He explained that while we might not be able to restore my face exactly to its original appearance, we could work toward getting it much closer.
After everything I’d been through, that honesty meant a lot.
What stood out to me most was that he acknowledged the changes I had spent so long trying to explain.
He recognized that my hairline was overly elevated and that it wasn’t simply higher than before. It had also been pulled upward and toward the right side, disrupting the balance and symmetry of my upper face.
For months, I’d struggled to explain why my forehead and the entire upper portion of my face looked so different.
Having a surgeon recognize those changes and explain what could realistically be improved was an enormous relief.
What meant so much to me wasn’t being promised my old face back. It was finally having someone acknowledge what had changed and be honest about what could be done.
On July 16, 2026, I underwent brow lift reversal/revision surgery with Dr. Gal.
My recovery was considerably easier than the first surgery, no nausea, no pain, and the improvements have been meaningful. He addressed the abnormal positioning of my hairline and helped restore a more balanced appearance. Bruising was minimal, and the swelling cleared up for the most part within the month.
I’m genuinely grateful for his skill, his honesty, and the effort he put into helping me.
The revision cost approximately twice as much as my original surgery, before accounting for travel, lodging, consultations, and other expenses.
I’ve also spent money on treatments for thinning hair around my temples.
I never imagined I’d be spending so much money trying to recover features I’d already had.
Eighteen months later: Where I am in my recovery
I’m now approximately 18 months out from my original brow lift and three months out from my reversal.
My face is substantially better than it was before the revision, and I cannot express how grateful I am to Dr. Gal for helping me get this far.
I knew going into the procedure that perfection wasn’t the goal. We were trying to get as close as reasonably possible to my original appearance.
And I’m grateful for the progress we’ve made.
At the same time, some concerns remain unresolved.
My hairline is still elevated in certain areas. I’ve experienced thinning and hair loss around my temples, and my hair doesn’t naturally frame my face the way it did before surgery.
The hollowing around my eyes and temples remains another concern, but is better than before.
My right corrugator muscle still doesn’t function normally. I have numbness, raised tissue and scarring around my brow, and intense, persistent itching that has become one of the most frustrating parts of this experience.
I’m currently waiting to see a facial nerve specialist and a dermatologist to better understand the remaining symptoms and what treatment options might help.
As a nurse, I understand that healing takes time and that nerve-related symptoms can be complicated.
But understanding that doesn’t make living with them any easier.
I still miss my old face.
I miss looking in the mirror and seeing the person I recognized for 37 years.
That doesn’t mean I’m unhappy with what Dr. Gal accomplished. Quite the opposite. I’m incredibly thankful that he was willing to help me when finding someone to attempt a reversal was so difficult.
I’m only three months into recovery from the reversal, and I’m trying to give myself the same patience I would encourage any patient to have.
My face isn’t completely back to what it was before, but it is substantially better.
I continue to miss the way I used to look, and some days that’s still emotionally difficult.
But I’m hopeful that with more recovery time, continued healing, and treatment for the remaining symptoms, I’ll gradually look and feel more like myself again.
Maybe I’ll never look exactly as I did before. I’m learning to accept that possibility without giving up hope.
I don’t consider my reversal a failure because I haven’t returned to exactly how I looked before. Dr. Gal was upfront about those limitations, and he has helped me tremendously.
I can be deeply grateful to him, appreciative of the boyfriend who helped make the revision possible, and still wish I’d never needed corrective surgery in the first place.
All of those things are true.
What I wish someone had told me
I’m not against cosmetic surgery.
I know many people have wonderful outcomes, and I understand that wanting to change something about your appearance doesn’t automatically mean you’re insecure.
But I think the reason you’re considering surgery matters.
I wish someone had asked me what was happening in my life when I started worrying about my appearance.
I wish I’d recognized how much my previous relationship had affected my confidence.
Because I wasn’t really trying to fix my eyebrows.
I was trying to feel better about myself.
And I made a permanent decision while dealing with feelings that weren’t permanent.
If you’re considering cosmetic surgery, especially after a breakup, an unhealthy relationship, or a period when your confidence has been shaken, please give yourself time.
If you go into a consultation for one procedure and another is recommended, get a second opinion.
Read the critical reviews, not just the star rating.
Ask exactly who will participate in your surgery.
Ask how your hairline, facial proportions, and expressions might change. Ask about asymmetry, prolonged symptoms, and what happens if you don’t like the outcome.
If you’re considering injectables such as Sculptra, ask where the product will be placed, what the expected result should look like, and what complications might occur.
And understand that corrective surgery can be more complicated, more expensive, and less predictable than the original procedure.
I wish I’d understood all of that.
Most of all, I wish I’d been kinder to myself.
Why I’m finally sharing this
For a long time, I’ve felt embarrassed that I made this decision.
I’m a nurse. I consider myself intelligent and capable. I research things. I ask questions. I advocate for patients.
So how did I end up making a decision I regret this deeply?
But continuing to punish myself isn’t going to change what happened.
I trusted a professional recommendation. I wanted a modest improvement. I didn’t anticipate the outcome or how difficult it could be to address my concerns afterward.
And when things didn’t go as I’d hoped, I did what I could to find help.
I’m still doing that.
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to write this post is because when I was desperately searching for information about brow lift reversal, I couldn’t find much from people who had actually experienced it.
I want someone searching for answers to know that revision or reversal may be possible, although it isn’t straightforward, results vary, and finding an experienced surgeon matters enormously.
I also want them to know that recovery doesn’t necessarily end after a few weeks or months.
I’m still in the middle of mine.
I don’t want this experience to take any more of my life than it already has.
I want to enjoy my children without studying my forehead in every family photograph.
I want to enjoy my relationship, keep building my future, and look in the mirror without immediately searching for something that’s different.
Maybe being able to tell this story openly is part of getting there.
If I could sit beside the woman I was at 37, I’d tell her she was beautiful.
I’d tell her she wasn’t old.
I’d tell her that someone else’s inability to appreciate her didn’t mean there was something wrong with her face.
I’d tell her that she didn’t need to make herself younger or prettier to deserve love.
And I’d tell her to go home.
To hug her children. To enjoy her life.
To stop examining every little thing about herself that she thought needed fixing.
Because those were the very things I’d eventually miss.
For 37 years, I looked in the mirror and recognized the person staring back at me.
I never thought about how much I loved the familiar way my eyebrows moved, the shape of my forehead, or the way my hair naturally framed my face.
I didn’t appreciate those things because I never imagined losing them.
I was so afraid of getting older that I changed my face. Now I’d give anything to have the face I was afraid wasn’t good enough.
I’m 38 now, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my thirties grieving the way I looked at 37.
I want to learn from what happened. I want to heal, physically and emotionally. And I want to help someone else make a decision with more information than I had.
And if you’re reading this while looking in the mirror and wondering whether you need to change something about yourself, please give yourself a little grace.
You may be looking at the very face you’ll someday wish you could have back.
If sharing this helps even one person feel less alone, ask better questions, or make a more informed decision, then telling my story will have been worth it.
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