All About Brow Lifts

Many of us will develop a good many lines on our foreheads over the years. Raising our eyebrows, scowling and the effects of gravity all play a large part in this. And these will be the two main ways in which this all manifests itself on our brows; an accumulation of wrinkles and a repositioning of our eyebrows. Wrinkles will also become much deeper over time and this is normally down to repeated facial expressions and an exposure to strong sunlight.

There are several levels of treatment for the forehead and the first of these is 'injectables'. Restylane and Collagen are commonly used as fillers on the brow, whilst Botox (a muscle paralyser) may also be employed. These treatments both work in a completely different way.

Fillers will puff out the patient's skin at the site of a wrinkle and Botox will paralyse the underlying muscles (preventing furrowing). However, both of these treatments only offer the patient a short term solution and they will stop working within a matter of months. Anyone who is seeking a permanent solution will need to consider a surgical procedure; namely a 'forehead lift' or 'brow lift'.

Brow lifts will normally involve the removal of certain muscles and the smoothing out of skin in the affected area. The procedure may also incorporate Laser Skin Resurfacing. This helps to erase lines from the patient's brow as it causes the body to produce fresh collagen.

Gravity has a lot to answer for and it is the main reason why eyebrows will move downwards over the years. A brow lift will restore a patient's eyebrows to their natural position which is just above the bony outer part of the eye socket. As you can appreciate, this will remove the 'tired' or 'aged' appearance that so many people are unhappy with.

There are a number of surgical procedures that can be used to obtain this result, but they will all require a certain degree of upward pulling on the soft tissues in the forehead. When carrying out a standard forehead lift, any incisions will be well hidden amongst the hair on the patient's scalp.

Plastic surgeons that specialise in this area have some very skilful techniques, which provide a thoroughly natural and harmonious look about the patient's appearance. There will be no obvious signs that any type of surgery has been carried out so the patient's friends or family are likely to assume that he/she is on some new kind of miracle health plan!

Brow lifts will normally be performed under a general anaesthetic on an outpatient basis and the recovery period will usually be complete within two weeks. During this time, patients are advised to avoid any strenuous activities such as heavy lifting, bending or exercise.

Whilst a brow lift is considered to be a safe procedure, it is still a form of surgery and there will always be a small number of risks attached. These can include; infection, bleeding, muscle paralysis, skin damage and an adverse reaction to the general anaesthetic. However, any plastic surgeon will take every possible precaution and keep each of these risks to an absolute minimum.

This procedure is an excellent way of regaining a more youthful appearance, but it is also worth considering other types of facial surgery. Face lifts, laser skin resurfacing and laser eye lid surgery also offer patients some very impressive results.