Gravity is a tireless working, never taking a day off and never letting up. The downward pull affects our bodies in many ways, but maybe none more so than the skin and support tissues on our forehead and the brows above our eyes.
As we age, our brows descend. In more minor situations, this can make a person appear tired or even a little angry. More involved sagging can actually create hooded brows.
To reverse these effects, Dr. Lee performs brow lifts, but he does them with a different technique than you’ve likely heard about.
A brow lift targets the upper third of the face, gently tightening the entire area and adjusting underlying muscle to give the entire forehead and brow area a younger, fresher look. Patients often assume their droopy eyelids require eyelid surgery when a brow lift would be a better option to remedy the real cause, descending brows.
Most brow lift patients are between the ages of 40 and 60 and feature lined or inelastic skin on their foreheads. Some people are more genetically prone to a sagging forehead, although the pull of gravity has an effect on everyone.
If you’d like to see if a brow lift could help you, here’s an easy test. Stand in front of the mirror and place the palms of your hands to the sides of your eyes above the eyebrows. Now pull the skin back from the eyes. This raising of the forehead is what the brow lift will do.
The method Dr. Lee prefers is described below. It is a great method for addressing a moderate amount of lateral brow drooping, but it is not dramatic enough for patients who desire to have their entire forehead lifted.
Dr. Lee is known for his “suture brow lift” that he invented about a decade ago. He sought to have an alternative to the typical brow lift methods, where the brow is completely dissected and deplaned, taking the forehead skin off the bone. Working with Bell’s Palsy and stroke patients, he developed his suture brow lift.
A suture is passed from the scalp to the lateral brow and back to the scalp where it is then tacked to the fascia tissue right under the muscle. This method achieves a natural lateral brow lift or arch. This lifts the brow tissue that is commonly associated with brow heaviness, especially on the outer sides of the upper eyelids. Dr. Lee’s suture brow lifts take approximately one hour and are typically done in our offices with the patient only needing local anesthetic. Recovery is much easier than a typical brow lift, usually only involving one to two weeks of swelling, numbness, and discomfort.
Interested in losing that tired countenance? Contact Dr. Lee’s office or call us at [flc-phone] to set up a consultation for a brow lift.