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All You Wanted to Know about a Non-Surgical Brow Lift

A non-surgical brow lift is an easy, quick, and rewarding procedure.  A subtle lift of the eyebrow can open the eyes, brighten the face, and create a beautiful change.  With the use of fillers and/or Botox, there are many ways I can elevate the eyebrows into a better position in a few minutes in my office in Charlotte, North Carolina.  As a facial plastic surgeon, I will talk about the normal position of the eyebrows, the changes of the eyebrows as we age, and the steps a non-surgical eyebrow lift entails.

What is the Normal Position of the Eyebrow?

The position of the eyebrow is variable.  Men have an eyebrow shape that is lower and less arched.  A man’s eyebrow should be right on the bone above the eye.  A women’s eyebrow should be above the bone above the eye with more arch.  The height of the arch is widely variable between women.  Women of Middle Eastern background tend to have a higher and larger arch.  Caucasian women tend to have less arch and a lower brow.  There is no “ideal” position of the brow, but we can tell when the eyebrow is not in a good position.  A brow that is too arched can make someone looked surprised while low brows can make someone appear sad or fatigued.  During a consultation, the patient and I will have a discussion about what we believe will be the best position of the eyebrow for their face.

What Happens to the Shape of the Eyebrow as We Age?

This question would appear straight forward.  The easy answer is to say the eyebrow descends or sags as we age.  While this may be true for some patients, it is not true for all patients.  There are studies looking at the position of the eyebrow overtime.  The studies examined pictures of the position of the eyebrow in people when they were young and compared the eyebrow position to their pictures when they became older.  Surprisingly, a great deal of patient’s eyebrow positions did not change and some patient’s eyebrows actually became higher.  For this reason, I do not assume that a patient’s eyebrow has changed position overtime.

What should be the Position of the Brow?

When assessing the position of the eyebrow during the consultation, I will evaluate the entire face.  The face is an interlocking jigsaw puzzle as the one area of the face will affect the other areas of the face.  When analyzing the position of the eyebrow these are some of the features I will take note:

  1. The shape and structure of the eyelid. If it appears heavy or narrow then raising the eyebrow maybe of benefit.
  2. The shape of the temple. A hallow temple may predispose patients to a lower brow.
  3. Volume below the brow. The sub eyebrow fat pad maybe full or hallow.  It is preferable to have a full sub brow fat pad.
  4. The arch of the eyebrow. Would a patient benefit from more arching of the eyebrow?  If so, where would apex of the arch lie?

After examining the full face, I will have a discussion with the patient if a non-surgical brow lift would be a good option and the ultimate goals.

Techniques of the Non-Surgical Brow Lift

The brow can be raised in my practice in Charlotte mainly in 3 ways.  They are:

  • Altering the balance of the muscles around the eyebrow with Botox or Dysport
  • Additional volume underneath or above the eyebrow to raise it.
  • A combination of the above 2 options

Botox or Dysport to Raise the Brow

Botox and Dysport are injected directly into muscle to weaken them.  There are muscles that raise the eyebrows and there are muscles that depress the eyebrows.  During the injection of these muscles, you can selectively weaken muscles in a way to raise the eyebrows.  If you preferentially weaken the muscles that depress the eyebrows then the eyebrows will raise.  These muscles that depress the eyebrow are:

  1. Procerus (muscle between the eyes)
  2. Corrugators (another muscle between the eyes)
  3. Orbicularis Oculi (muscle that surround the eye. It is also the muscle that causes crows feet)

The muscle that raises the eyebrow and cause horizontal forehead creases is the frontalis.  If you weaken this muscle in the middle but not as much on the sides, it will cause an increase in the arch of the brows.  This technique to non-surgically raise the brow will last approximately 3 months.  There are patients that the result will last longer.  These are the techniques I use to raise the brow or increase the height of the brow arch by using Botox or Dysport.

Fillers to Raise the Brow

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Fillers can be used to raise the brow.   The loss of volume will cause the face to sag so the addition of volume to the face can create a lift to the face.  If volume is added underneath the brow, slightly above the brow, or in a hallow temple, the brow will rise.  Volume can be added by using a variety of products including hyaluronic acid fillers and Sculptra.  The hyaluronic acid fillers I like to use in this area are:

  • Restylane
  • Juvéderm

When these products are injected the lift in the brow is immediate.  The results will last 6 to 12 months.

Scultpra is a collagen fertilizer.  After it is injected, the body will build collagen.  This new added collagen will add volume to the injected area.  This process will occur over a couple of months but will last for up to 2 years.  Sculptra is typically injected underneath the brow, slightly above the brow, or in the temple to raise it.

Combination of Injectables to Non-Surgically Raise the Brow

There are times when both fillers and Botox are used in combination to raise the brow.  I will typically attempt to raise the brow with one method and have the patients come back in 2 weeks.  At that time if the patient would like additional lift, I will use the other method to give an additional lift.

What is the Recovery from a Non-Surgical Brow Lift?

The recovery from a non-surgical brow lift is minimal.  Patients will have a limitation on exercise for 1 day.  There should not be pain after the completion of the injection but some patients experience a light headache.  There is always a risk of a bruise after any injection but this risk is low and minimized by injecting with a blunt tipped micro cannula.

How do I Schedule an Evaluation for a Non-Surgical Brow Lift in Charlotte?

Carolina Facial Plastics is located in the Southpark area of Charlotte.  An appointment can be made with facial plastic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Kulbersh by calling 704.842.3644 or filling out the online form on this webpage.

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