Heavy Forehead/Brow in Phoenix
The eyebrows are one of the most prominent features on your face: not only do they help frame your eyes, but they also move to convey your facial expressions. However, you may find your eyebrows droop lower on your face as you get older, which can make your face seem perpetually angry and tired. This is known as having a “heavy brow.”
By elevating your eyebrows, you can restore a youthful, refreshed appearance. Dr. Ghafouri is Scottsdale’s premier facial and oculoplastic surgeon. With both surgical and non-surgical treatments, he can eliminate the heaviness on your forehead, while also removing sagging skin and deep wrinkles in the process.
How Your Brow Changes with Age
Heavy brows are an inevitability of aging. The facial muscles in your forehead gradually become weaker, while the skin loses elasticity due to a drop in collagen and elastin production. Consequently, your eyebrows appear to fall closer to the eyes, losing their youthful arch. The excess skin, fat and tissue that amasses on your lower brow can then push down on your upper eyelids, creating a hooding effect that makes it difficult to open your eyes completely. Furthermore, the horizontal lines that form when you make facial expressions can become semi-permanent or even permanent due to skin laxity.
Treatments for a Heavy Brow
Non-Surgical
The easiest procedure for forehead rejuvenation is Botox. With strategically placed injections of this neuromodulator, Dr. Ghafouri’s Aesthetic Nurse Injectors can lift your eyebrows and restore arches. By relaxing the muscles around the eyebrows, your skin just above the brows becomes smoother and the muscles shift upwards, which relieves some of the pressure from tissue that pushes down on the upper eyelids. Botox can also help to smooth the horizontal forehead lines that age your face.
Botox appointments are typically completed in under half an hour and are essentially painless. Because there is no downtime associated with Botox, you are free to immediately leave the office and resume all normal activities, including work. The lifting effect lasts about three to four months before subsequent injections are necessary to maintain the results.
Surgical
For longer-lasting, more dramatic results, brow lift is the most popular surgery for addressing a heavy brow. With traditional (or coronal) brow lift surgery, Dr. Ghafouri removes some of the excess skin, fat and tissue that weighs down your forehead. Once your muscles and skin have been tightened, you should see a smoother forehead and lifted brows.
Dr. Ghafouri recommends endoscopic brow lift, which is a significantly less invasive alternative to the traditional approach, to many of his patients. Here, Dr. Ghafouri uses an endoscope to manipulate the musculature without having to pull or remove the skin. If your signs of aging are mild to moderate and you would prefer an easier recovery, you may be a good candidate for this procedure.
However, if your primary cosmetic concern is how heavy your upper eyelids have become, you may want to discuss upper blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) to tighten the eyelid muscles and remove excess tissue so that your eyes may open more fully once again. You may also choose to maximize eye and forehead rejuvenation by combining blepharoplasty with brow lift.
Speak to an Expert
If you have become increasingly dissatisfied with the appearance of your forehead when you look in the mirror, Arizona Oculoplastic Specialists is happy to discuss all your options for elevating your eyebrows and easing the weight from your eyelids. To schedule a consultation, please call (480) 905-1010 today.
