Blepharoplasty
& Brow Lift
Not only are your eyes considered windows to the soul, but they also show your age. The goal of rejuvenating the eye area is to restore a rested, open, and natural appearance. When considering the rejuvenation of the eye area, both the upper and lower eyelids, as well, as the eyebrows should be evaluated.
As part of the aging process, excess upper eyelid skin accumulates, which is often accentuated by a sagging eyebrow or hollows at the top of the cheeks. The aging lower eyelid develops puffy pockets of herniated fat and excess skin. Blepharoplasty, also known as eyelid surgery and an eyelid lift, removes excess eyelid skin and lower eyelid bags (herniated fat). Brow lift surgery repositions the position and contour of the eyebrows, smoothes forehead wrinkles, and minimizes scowl lines between the eyebrows. A Cheek lift can complete the look by refreshing the midface, restoring volume to the area under the eyes, and resolving wrinkling. Together, these surgeries can refresh your look and make you feel more like your younger self.
At Facial Cosmetic Surgery Associates, we serve patients from Sacramento, Tahoe, Modesto, the Bay Area, and many other areas up to the Oregon border and beyond. We take the time to understand each patient and make sure the procedures and treatments that are chosen are the best for the situation. If you are looking for an experienced surgeon to refresh your facial appearance, we would love to schedule a consultation with you.
What Is Blepharoplasty?
Blepharoplasty can help you achieve a refreshed, youthful look by addressing concerns like droopy eyelids or puffiness around the eyes. By refining the contours of your upper and lower eyelids, this surgical option enhances eye appearance with blepharoplasty, creating a more alert and rejuvenated expression. If you want to improve vision impacted by excess skin or simply refine the look of your eyes, this approach focuses on delivering natural, subtle improvements.
What Are Some of the Benefits of Blepharoplasty?
- Treatment for Excess Skin on the Eyelids: Excess skin on the eyelids can make your eyes appear heavy or tired. By removing this skin, we can create a smoother, more lifted look and help your eyes appear more open and refreshed.
- Resolving Drooping Eyelids: Blepharoplasty for droopy eyelids addresses sagging eyelids that can make you look older or obstruct your vision. By tightening and repositioning the skin, we can improve both your appearance and comfort.
- Reducing Puffiness or Bags Under the Eyes: Puffiness and under-eye bags can contribute to a fatigued appearance. This procedure serves as an effective tired-looking eyes solution by removing or redistributing fat beneath the eyes.
- Resolving Impaired Vision Due to Sagging Skin: Improved vision with eyelid surgery is possible for patients with sagging that blocks the upper field of vision. Removing or adjusting the excess skin allows for a clearer, unobstructed view.
- A More Youthful Look: A smoother eyelid contour and refreshed appearance can give you a younger look after eyelid surgery, helping your eyes look brighter and more vibrant without appearing overdone.
Types of Blepharoplasty
Upper Blepharoplasty
This focuses on correcting sagging or drooping upper eyelids. It’s particularly beneficial if you’re experiencing vision obstruction or want to improve the appearance of tired, heavy eyelids.
Lower Blepharoplasty
This targets puffiness, under-eye bags, and sagging skin below the eyes. The procedure involves removing or repositioning fat to smooth the area and reduce shadows.
Combination Blepharoplasty
Combining upper and lower blepharoplasty addresses both areas in a single surgery. This approach can enhance the overall balance of your facial features and streamline your recovery process.
What Is a Brow Lift?
A brow lift elevates the eyebrows to enhance the balance and harmony of your facial features. This procedure addresses signs of aging in the upper face to create a brighter, more youthful, and more relaxed appearance.
What Does a Brow Lift Treat?
- Drooping Eyebrows: A sagging brow can create a tired or heavy look that impacts the overall balance of your face. With eye rejuvenation surgery, the brows are gently lifted without looking overdone.
- Horizontal Forehead Wrinkles: A brow lift helps smooth deep creases across the forehead, reducing the appearance of horizontal lines.
Frown Lines Between the Brows: Prominent vertical lines, often called “11s,” between the eyebrows can make you appear angry or stressed. A brow lift softens these frown lines by addressing the underlying muscles and skin for a more relaxed expression.
What Is a Cheek Lift?
A cheek lift lifts and repositions the midface area to restore volume and contour to the cheeks. This procedure targets sagging tissues caused by aging, creating a more youthful and refreshed appearance. By elevating the cheeks, a cheek lift can soften the look of nasolabial folds, enhance facial symmetry, and improve the overall harmony of your features.
What Does a Cheek Lift Treat?
- Volume Loss in the Cheeks: As we age, the natural fat pads in the cheeks tend to shift downward, leading to a hollow or sunken appearance. The cheek lift procedure repositions these tissues to restore fullness to the midface area. This can rejuvenate your cheeks and enhance the results of a lower blepharoplasty.
- Nasolabial Folds or Smile Lines: Deep creases running from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth, known as nasolabial folds, are often accentuated by sagging cheek tissues. A midface lift addresses these folds by lifting and supporting the cheek structures, reducing the depth of the lines and creating smoother transitions between the cheeks and surrounding areas.
Hollows Beneath the Eyes: Hollows or dark circles under the eyes can make you look tired or older than you are. Cheek lift surgery elevates the cheeks and supports the under-eye area, reducing hollows and creating a smoother, more youthful contour.
Why Combine These Surgeries?
Combining surgeries like a brow lift, cheek lift, and blepharoplasty allows us to address multiple concerns in a single procedure. Aging often affects multiple areas of the face simultaneously, so treating them together can produce more balanced results. Combining procedures also minimizes overall recovery time compared to scheduling each surgery separately.
Can These Surgeries Be Performed Individually?
Yes, these surgeries can also be performed on their own if your concerns are specific to one area, such as drooping brows or hollowed cheeks. For patients seeking targeted improvements, addressing a single issue can still provide noticeable results. We’ll work with you to determine the best approach based on your goals.
What to Expect From the Process
At your consultation, we will discuss your concerns and examine your eye area. Based on this discussion and examination the best options to rejuvenate the eye area will be recommended.
As part of the aging process, excess upper eyelid skin accumulates, which is often accentuated by a sagging eyebrow. The aging lower eyelid develops puffy pockets of herniated fat and excess skin. Blepharoplasty, also known as eyelid surgery and an eyelid lift, removes excess eyelid skin and lower eyelid bags (herniated fat), while brow lift surgery repositions the position and contour of the eyebrows, smoothes forehead wrinkles, and minimizes scowl lines between the eyebrows.
Excess skin of the upper eyelid is removed through an incision in the natural crease of the upper eyelid. The lower eyelid fat herniation is removed through a skin incision under the eyelash or an incision inside the lower eyelid. Excess lower eyelid skin is removed through an incision in a natural crease just below the eyelashes.
Most brow lift incisions are hidden back in the hairline, with attention to maintaining hair. Through the brow lift incision, the brow is released from its attachments and artistically re-positioned in an elevated position that is natural in appearance giving a subtle, natural refreshed look to the eyes.
Through the cheek lift procedure, incisions are strategically placed either along the lower eyelid or within the hairline near the temple to minimize visible scarring. These entry points allow for the repositioning of the cheek’s underlying fat pads and soft tissues, which may have descended due to aging. By lifting and securing these structures, the cheek lift enhances midface volume, softens the nasolabial folds, and restores a more youthful contour that blends seamlessly with the lower eyelid and surrounding areas. The focus is on achieving a natural, refreshed appearance that complements the results of brow and eyelid surgery.
Recovery from a blepharoplasty, cheek lift, and brow lift is measured in terms of days with minimal pain, swelling, and bruising. Most people return to work after several days. No heavy bending, lifting, or straining is recommended for two weeks.
During the initial recovery period, patients can expect mild swelling and bruising around the eyes and face, which typically subsides within 10 to 14 days. Keeping your head elevated while resting can help reduce swelling and promote healing. Applying cold compresses during the first 48 hours may also provide additional relief.
Dissolvable stitches will naturally disappear over time. You may notice some tightness in the brow or cheek areas, which is normal as the tissues settle into their new position. Most patients feel comfortable resuming light activities, such as walking, within a few days, but it’s essential to follow all aftercare instructions to promote optimal healing.
Makeup can usually be applied to camouflage residual bruising after about a week, and sunscreen should be used diligently to protect healing skin. Full results from these surgeries become more apparent over several weeks to months as swelling continues to diminish and your refreshed appearance emerges. Regular follow-up appointments will allow us to monitor your progress and address any concerns.
Non-Surgical Options for the Brow, Lids, and Cheeks
For patients seeking a less invasive approach, non-surgical treatments can provide noticeable enhancements to the brow, eyelids, and cheeks without the downtime of surgery. These options focus on improving volume, texture, and overall appearance for a refreshed look.
- Neuromodulators (Botox®, Dysport®): Neuromodulators relax the muscles responsible for wrinkles and fine lines around the forehead, brows, and eyes. They can subtly lift the brow, smooth frown lines, and create a more open, refreshed eye area.
- Dermal Fillers: Dermal fillers can be used as a non-surgical cheek lift or to enhance volume in areas such as the tear troughs and temples. By restoring lost volume, fillers can soften deep lines and improve facial contours, giving the appearance of a cheek lift treatment without surgery.
- Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Laser Treatments: IPL and laser therapies target discoloration, sun damage, and fine lines, improving the overall tone and texture of the skin. These treatments can enhance the brightness of the eyelid area and reduce signs of aging around the cheeks and brow.
- Microneedling: Microneedling prompts collagen production and skin proliferation by creating microchannels in the skin. This treatment helps tighten and smooth the skin around the eyes, brow, and cheeks, enhancing elasticity and promoting a more youthful appearance.
Skincare: A skincare regimen with medical-grade products can maintain and improve the results of non-surgical treatments. Retinoids, antioxidants, and peptides support skin health and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, keeping the brow, lids, and cheeks looking vibrant and youthful.
Blepharoplasty & Brow Lift FAQs
Good upper eyelid surgery candidates have excess skin hiding the natural crease of the upper eyelid. Good lower eyelid surgery candidates have puffy eye bags, which are fat and skin. If you wake up and the puffiness under the eye remains after a good night’s sleep you are a good candidate for lower eyelid blepharoplasty. Good brow lift candidates have sagging eyebrows. If you like what you see when you raise your brow then you may be a candidate for brow lift surgery. Often just a little elevation of the outer brow is all the brow lift needed.
There are several different options available to reposition the sagging eyebrow. Often a temple lift is recommended to lift just the outer portion of the eyebrow. In men with a receding hairline, a mid-forehead brow lift may be recommended. During your consultation, we will recommend the best brow lift technique depending on your situation.
The cost of rejuvenating the eye area depends on what combination of upper eyelid blepharoplasty, lower eyelid blepharoplasty, cheek lift, and brow lift is recommended. A detailed quote will be given to you at your consultation.
Facial plastic surgery can enhance your natural features by lifting and tightening areas such as the brow, cheeks, and eyelids. Results include a more youthful, refreshed appearance, with smoother skin and improved facial contours. While individual outcomes vary, the goal is to achieve a balanced, natural look that aligns with your aesthetic preferences.
The longevity of your results depends on the procedure and your skin’s natural aging process. Surgeries like a brow lift or cheek lift often provide long-lasting results, with noticeable improvements for five to ten years or more. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and using quality skincare products can help extend the benefits of your procedures.
The right procedures depend on your specific concerns and desired outcomes. During your consultation, we’ll evaluate areas like your brow, eyelids, and cheeks, and recommend options based on your anatomy and goals. Whether surgical or non-surgical treatments are best, we’ll create a plan tailored to achieve natural, harmonious results.
Incisions are carefully placed in discreet locations, such as the hairline, natural eyelid creases, or beneath the lashes. These areas help minimize visible scarring. Over time, scars typically fade and become barely noticeable with proper care and sun protection.
Initial improvements are often visible within a few weeks as swelling subsides. However, it can take several months for the final results to fully develop as tissues heal and settle. Patience is essential as swelling can take up to a year after surgery to completely resolve.
Why Have a Blepharoplasty At Facial Cosmetic Surgery Associates?
Specialized training, expertise, and attention to detail are why patients trust Dr. Kaniff and Facial Cosmetic Surgery Associates to produce a rested, natural-appearing blepharoplasty and brow lift result. Dr. Kaniff’s extensive training includes a facial plastic surgery fellowship and board certification from the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS). With a focus on both surgical and non-surgical treatments for the face and neck, Dr. Kaniff combines anatomical precision with an artistic approach to achieve balanced, natural results.
Patients also benefit from the convenience of an AAAHC-accredited facility, where consultations, treatments, and surgeries are performed under one roof. Designed with patient privacy and comfort in mind, the clinic features a VIP entrance and private recovery areas for a seamless and relaxing experience for every individual.
Schedule Your Consultation for Facial Surgery in Sacramento Today
Facial surgery offers a transformative way to address signs of aging and enhance your natural features with lasting results. At Facial Cosmetic Surgery Associates, we serve patients in Sacramento, CA, and surrounding areas, providing expert care to help you achieve a refreshed and youthful appearance. To learn more or schedule a consultation, please contact us or call us at (916) 480-9080.