A forehead lift or a brow lift is a plastic surgical procedure that helps correct drooping brows, minimizing the furrows and frown lines on the forehead and reducing some of the upper eyelid excesses.

Brow lift vs upper blepharoplasty

Patients frequently misunderstand one thing: When they demonstrate what they want from an upper eyelid operation, they frequently lift up their brow. Well, upper blepharoplasty does not change the brow position! To elevate the brow, a forehead lift (or brow lift) is required and that requires some kind of incision above the brow.

Ideal Brow Aesthetics – Lateral brow lift.

When we get older the outer halves or our eyebrows tend to droop. In the ideal, aesthetically pleasing brow, the outer tail of the brow is at the same height as the inner corner (or even higher is some young women). So, any brow lift must almost always lift the outer portion of the brow MORE than it lifts the inner corner. In other words, it is brow shape that is more important than brow height. Twenty years ago brow lift procedures aimed to lift the entire brow but in recent years the focus has been on lifting only the outer or lateral brow. Hence, the term lateral brow lift which for many surgeons is the only brow lift they will currently perform.

Approaches to brow lifting

There a number of different types of brow lift depending on the patient’s gender, hairline, hair density, and the geometry of the desired brow change:

• Coronal lift (incision across the top of the head)
• Endoscopic brow lift (small incisions in the scalp)
• Hairline brow lift (incision at the hairline)
• Direct brow lift (skin excised from the forehead just above the brow)

In addition, the procedure can be performed at different levels within the scalp or forehead:

• On the bone
• Deep to the galea (scalp)
• Just under the skin

Other procedures at the same time as a forehead lift

A brow lift can be performed as an isolated procedure or in combination with other procedures It is common to perform an upper blepharoplasty at the same time but any other aesthetic surgical procedure of the face can be performed at the same time such as facelift, lower blepharoplasty, etc.

Forehead/Brow Lift Risks

All surgical procedures entail risks, and a forehead or brow lift is no exception. However, complications are rare and usually minor.

Some of the more common complications include:

• Damage to nerves and muscles controlling eyebrow movement
• Hair loss along the edges of the surgical incisions
• Loss of sensation in parts of the scalp

A forehead or brow lift is ideally performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon with specialized expertise in cosmetic surgical procedures of the face.

Dr. Charles Thorne is a plastic surgeon in NYC with over thirty years of experience. Schedule an online appointment with Dr. Thorne to discuss your candidacy for the forehead lift surgery.