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How do you know if you need a brow lift? Well, a brow lift is one of the easiest surgical outcomes to simulate. You sit in front of a mirror, pull up on the skin of your forehead, and see what you think. When I assess patients in the office, we do this together.
And I think the most important question is this. "Does elevation of the brow make the patient look better, or does it just make the patient look different?" Different is not an aesthetic outcome that I endeavor to achieve. We're looking to create a more youthful appearance. If the elevation of the brow doesn't quite do that, then you shouldn't have a brow lift.
Now brow lifts can be done through many different techniques, and there are many considerations to think about when you're planning a brow lift surgery for a patient. One is the incisional approach. Should it be at the hairline or above the hairline? Another question is what happens to the upper lid when the brow is elevated. Is it rejuvenated or is their upper lid skin excess that needs to be removed?
Another very important consideration is soft tissue volume. Many patients who need a brow lift also need the skin and soft tissues of the brow area supplemented with structural fat, particularly in the interval below the brow which I refer to as the brow upper lid junction. What nobody needs though is an overly elevated brow. An overly done brow lift makes the patient look startled and immediately look like a surgical patient. And once it's done, the game is up. You have that appearance, and it's difficult to change.
Make sure that the surgeon you see can carefully evaluate all of these issues with you, the brow position, the condition of the upper lid skin, the need for the additional volume to restore more soft tissue fullness around your eye area. And you'll be more likely to come out with the outcome that you have in mind.