As you get older, the dreaded signs of ageing start to appear and take hold of your body. On the face, it’s often around the eyes and forehead that will start to show first (and this causes a lot of confidence issues for a lot of people around the world). On your forehead, any lines and wrinkles seem to feel like they appear overnight and only get worse as time goes by, whereas drooping eyelids and sagging bags below the eyes seem to be all the more noticeable as your eyes are one of the main focal points of your face.
If either of these things are a cause of concern to you as you read, you might want to start thinking about going under the knife for a brow or eyelid lift (and both of these are incredible choices for anyone who is looking to fight off the signs of ageing). The downside is that these two procedures are both designed to target different issue areas and although they can both be combined to achieve stronger results, it’s incredibly important to know what each procedure will accomplish so that your results are the best that they can possibly be.
We’ll start with eyelid lift surgery, also known as blepharoplasty surgery, which is specifically designed to target the ageing skin on and around the upper and lower eyelids. Because your eyes are one of the first things that somebody will notice when they see your face, this is one of the biggest problem areas that people tend to have when it comes to ageing.
The eyelid lift procedure itself is perfect if your upper eyelids are starting to become increasingly more hooded or the bags below your eyes are forming and starting to sag. For the upper eyelids, this is performed by a surgeon making several miniscule incisions in the natural creases of the eyelid to remove or tighten the excess skin which, in turn, stops the upper eyelid from sagging and drooping whilst simultaneously hiding any scarring. For the lower eyelid, the procedure is designed to be used to target the fatty deposits that are starting to pool below the eyes. The incision for this often tends to be performed just below the eyelashes, but sometimes can be performed on the inside of the eyelid instead. The result of both versions of a blepharoplasty procedure is to give a renewed appearance around the eyes, fighting the signs of both tiredness and ageing in one move.
An eyebrow lift, also known as a forehead lift, is designed to target everything above this (with some slight crossover too). Rather than targeting heavy skin around the eyes, the aim of a brow lift procedure is to get rid of any worrying lines and wrinkles that have begun to appear between the brows and your hairline by repositioning the underlying tissue.
This form of surgery differs from many other facial cosmetic surgeries as there are multiple different methods that can be used to achieve similar results. The first of these is performed by making an incision in the hairline so that the underlying muscle and tissues can be repositioned, allowing the skin to be tightened and eliminating the appearance of any troublesome lines and wrinkles. This method of eyebrow lift surgery often ends with the necessity to reposition the eyebrows since the underlying tissues have been repositioned but results in a more youthful appearance and hides any scarring within the hairline. The second method is to perform a few smaller “keyhole” incisions rather than using a larger incision, but ultimately offers very similar results.
It is also possible to treat sagging skin on the upper eyelid by lifting it with a blepharoplasty surgery, as tightening the skin above the brows will also have a smaller effect on the skin above the eyes as well. Whilst this works in one way, it cannot be performed as a fix for heavy and drooping eyelids by itself and an eyelid lift may still be necessary.
So how do I determine which procedure I need?
The easiest and best way to determine which procedure you require is via a consultation and it is imperative that the consultant makes the correct diagnosis. Although your upper eyelid may be beginning to droop, it’s possible that it can be resolved by performing a brow lift surgery whereas in other cases, it may not be possible to help without a blepharoplasty surgery. The most important thing is figuring out and deciding which method will provide the best cosmetic outcome and, in some cases, it may be necessary to perform both procedures (which is possible as they are complementary towards each other and work hand in hand).
The ideal position of the brows is the main thing that will help to decide which is required. For women, the normal position of the brow is roughly one centimetre above the bony ridge of the eye socket, whereas for men the ideal eyebrow position is right along the bony ridge instead.
By using this as a base point, we can start to figure out which surgery is required, and this is something that you can do without the need for a consultant (although you will always need to speak with a consultant first). The tests to figure it out yourself are;
- If your eyebrow is in the right position but there is still excess skin on the upper eyelid, then an upper eyelid blepharoplasty surgery will be the only requirement.
- If you can raise your eyebrows to their natural position (either by using your hands or your brow muscles) and there is no excess skin on the upper eyelid, then a brow lift is the only required surgery.
- If you raise your eyebrows to their natural position and there is still excess skin, then both procedures are necessary to resolve the issue.
So there you have it, the difference between the two surgeries is simply the areas in which they target (even if both can be used to target similar, or in some cases the same, areas). A brow lift surgery is mainly used to give a younger appearance to the area above the brows by repositioning the underlying tissue, although it can also have a positive effect on the upper eyelids as well. An eyelid lift (or blepharoplasty) surgery is used to remove excess skin and fatty tissue above and below the eyelids, resulting in a younger and less weighted look to your eyes.