Definition
The eyebrow lift is a cosmetic surgery operation used to change the appearance of the eyebrows, correct eyebrow asymmetries, lift eyelids or reduce excess skin on the forehead and eliminate wrinkles.
General information
With the eyelashes, the eyebrows have the purpose of protecting our eyes. They protect against raindrops, foreign bodies and strong sunlight. But eyebrows also support our facial expressions.
With their help we can express many different emotions, from fear, to aggression, to amazement. With the years, however, the skin loses its firmness, it becomes wrinkled and saggy. This can lead to asymmetries or changes in facial expressions. Many patients feel disturbed by drooping eyelids and the so-called anger or forehead wrinkles and therefore decide to have an eyebrow lift. The eyebrow lift is considered a purely cosmetic procedure and is therefore not covered by health insurance.
Possible operations
Three different surgical techniques are used:
- The classic eyebrow lift. This is only a correction of the eyebrows, wrinkles are not affected. – It is possible to include the forehead in order to eliminate any existing wrinkles.
There is also a classic method here, which is older, but also better established. Here a large incision is made above the hairline, and then the skin in the forehead area is “pulled up”. – The third method is the newest and requires only a few small incisions at the hairline. The operation works by the so-called keyhole method, in which instruments are inserted through the small haircuts.
Can we do this without an OR?
An eyebrow lift without an operation requires the injection of botulinum toxin (Botox®) into the eyebrow-lowering muscles. As described in the section “Can an eyebrow lift also be performed with Botox? “, Botox® weakens the affected muscles in such a way that the muscle fibre pull on the eyebrows is reduced.
On the other hand, the lifting muscles of the forehead muscles to the ends of the eyebrows are strengthened by injecting Botox into the middle area of the eyebrows to reduce the forehead muscle tension. To support this effect, hyaluronic acid can also be injected. Hyualuronic acid binds water molecules in the connective tissue and leads to a padding effect of the skin above the eyebrows.
As a result of both steps, the eyebrows are raised by 2-4 millimeters and drooping eyelids are reduced. Lifting the eyebrows with botulinum toxin (Botox®) is also possible. For this purpose, the doctor injects a certain amount of Botox® into the mimic muscles around the eyes.
This leads to the slackening of those, which makes the eyes appear larger and raises the eyebrows because the muscle fibre pull of the eyebrow-lowering muscles is weakened. Thus the eyebrows are raised by a few millimeters and drooping eyelids are reduced. This effect lasts for about 4- 6 months, but is very individual.
Normally, hyaluronic acid is used as a support after treatment of the mimic eye muscles with Botox®. Hyaluronic acid is injected via the eyebrows onto the orbital bone and together with the Botox effect can achieve a fresher, younger and more alert facial expression. In the connective tissue, hyaluronic acid, with its water-binding effect, ensures that the skin is padded and thus appears smoother.