Brow Lift
A brow lift, sometimes called a forehead lift, raises a heavy or drooping brow back toward the position it held in earlier years, and it can soften the lines that form across the forehead.
What a Brow Lift Can Do
A brow lift corrects the position of the brow and smooths the forehead skin above it. With age, the soft tissues of the forehead lose support and migrate downward, a condition called brow ptosis. That descent hoods the tissue above the eye, especially along the outer brow.
Lifting the brow back to its previous position corrects the problem. A brow lift can also reduce wrinkles, improve frown lines, and return the brows to a youthful position.
Lifts a Heavy Brow
Returns a descended brow toward the position it held in earlier years.
Softens Forehead Lines
Eases the horizontal lines across the forehead and the frown lines between the brows.
Opens the Eye Area
Relieves the hooding that a low brow creates above the upper lid.
Are You a Candidate?
Your surgeon will examine your brow position, your forehead, and your eyelids during your consultation. You may be a good candidate if:
- The outer corners of your brows sit lower than the inner corners
- Deep horizontal lines run across your forehead even when your face is relaxed
- Frown lines have formed between your brows
- Your brows rest at or below the brow bone rather than gently above it
- People often tell you that you look tired or stern when you feel neither
- Lifting the skin above your brows with your fingertips produces the change you are looking for
Open and Endoscopic Approaches
Brow ptosis is corrected through either an open brow lift or an endoscopic lift, depending on the patient. Your surgeon will recommend one based on your anatomy, your hairline, and the degree of laxity present.
Open Approach
An incision is placed along or just behind the hairline, giving your surgeon direct access to the forehead tissues and to the muscles responsible for deep frown lines. This approach suits patients with more significant brow descent.
Endoscopic Approach
Several small incisions are made within the hair-bearing scalp. A thin camera gives your surgeon a magnified view on a monitor, and the tissues are lifted and secured without the longer incision of the open technique.
The Brow Lift Procedure
Brow lift surgery is performed under general anesthesia or sedation. How long it takes depends on the approach chosen and on whether other procedures are performed at the same time.
Once the forehead tissues are lifted and secured in their new position, the incisions are closed with sutures.
Brow Lift and Eyelid Surgery Together
The brow and the upper eyelid sit next to each other, and both can create the same heaviness around the eye. What looks like excess upper lid skin is sometimes a descended brow pushing tissue down onto the lid. In other patients, the lid itself carries excess skin.
Your surgeon evaluates the brow and the eyelids together so that the structure actually causing the concern is the one treated. An eyelid lift is frequently performed alongside a brow lift when the exam supports it.
Results and Next Steps
A brow lift is designed to give you a more rested, open expression, and the results can be long lasting. If a heavy or drooping brow has been bothering you, a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons is the best next step.
What Recovery Looks Like
Keep your head elevated for at least the first few days, including while you sleep.
Some swelling and bruising across the forehead and around the eyes is expected. Both settle gradually over time.
Take it easy for the first week or two. After that, most patients can return to normal activities.
Avoid strenuous activity and exposure to sun and wind for at least six weeks after surgery.