As we age, we experience a loss of volume and tightness in the skin which is why we feel our skin sagging, making it look less radiant and glowy. The forehead is one part of our face that begins to form wrinkles as time passes, often making a person look sad or exhausted.
In some severe cases, it can even result in droopy eyebrows that can negatively impact one’s vision.
A forehead lift is considered an effective way to lift the forehead and eyebrow, eliminating wrinkles for a smoother, more youthful look. However, many who are interested in this surgical procedure are curious about what to do after a forehead lift surgery and what the recovery process looks like. Keep reading to get all the details.
Forehead Lift: What Happens Before and After?
One of the main reasons people opt for forehead lift surgery is to get rid of frown lines, and wrinkles from the forehead skin as well as any looseness in the eyebrow skin and upper eyelids. Hence the ideal candidates for this procedure are individuals over the age of 40.
What To Expect Ahead of the Procedure?
Before a forehead lift, your qualified surgeon will carry out a thorough evaluation of your face and explain to you exactly what results you should expect from this surgery, the healing process after the procedure, and the risks involved. The surgeon will also want to know your medical history and any conditions you might have as well as answer any questions that come to your mind.
What Happens in the Procedure
To be more precise, the forehead lift procedure involves the excision, or if need be, the manipulation of the forehead muscles or skin to take away any appearance of aging. However, the patient won’t feel any pain as anesthesia is used.
The hair will be tied up before the procedure starts. This is done to keep it away from the face and some hair may even need to be trimmed.
What are the Types of Forehead Lifts?
There are three types of forehead lifts. Your surgeon will recommend one that is best suited for you and that will help achieve your goal. This includes the classic lift, the thread forehead lift, and the endoscopic lift.
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The Classic Forehead Lift
The Classic Forehead Lift involves the surgeon making an incision at the back of the hairline so that when the incision heals, the scar isn’t visible. This incision is made on top of the forehead and goes from ear to ear, almost similar to a headphone pattern.
The surgeon then lifts the skin to eliminate extra tissue and repositions the muscles as well as gets rid of loose skin. Hence, giving the patient a smoother, more lifted forehead.
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The Endoscopic Forehead Lift
Instead of involving one long incision, this technique requires multiple but very short incisions on the patient’s scalp, one of which the surgeon will use to put in a thin camera called an endoscope to get a detailed look at the tissues and muscles.
The surgeon will then use another incision to insert an instrument to reposition the muscles, lift the skin, and get rid of extra fat underneath the skin as well as excess tissue.
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The Thread Lift
This procedure is the least invasive out of all three and is considered non-surgical. It involves the surgeon using medical-grade threads underneath the skin to pull the skin, giving it much more lift and boosting collagen in the skin by stimulating healing.
The cat eye and the eyebrow thread lift types have gained significant popularity lately. The cat eye thread lift, also called the fox eye lift, includes pulling the eyebrows in the direction of the temples to achieve fox-like eyes while the eyebrow thread life involves tightening the eyebrow skin to achieve a lifted look.
Forehead Lift Recovery
The after-surgery period of a Classic Forehead Lift may involve a little swelling which will take a week or slightly more to die down. The doctor will recommend you keep your head elevated for a few days to minimize swelling and accelerate healing. There will also be some mild discomfort in the area of the incision for which your doctor will prescribe medication. Moreover, the doctor will remove the stitches in about a week or so.
On the other hand, apart from a little swelling and discomfort in the location of the incision, the Endoscopic Forehead Lift also has a quick healing time. After the procedure, the patient can return to their routine in about 10 days.
Finally, a thread lift produces mild bruising and swelling that will take a couple of days to subside.
Forehead Lift Results
You can expect a reduction in your forehead wrinkles and lines and an overall rejuvenated look as a result of getting a Forehead Lift.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Go through our frequently asked questions to find out more about this procedure.
Q1. Can a Forehead Lift help individuals with hooded eyes?
A forehead lift can definitely help with hooded eyes by making the eyelid tighter and even result in helping with better vision.
Q2. Will I have to quit smoking before the surgery?
Quitting smoking is one of the few instructions your doctor will give you to ensure a fast and smooth recovery. Others include avoiding certain medications, as well as giving up alcohol.
Q3. Which one of the Classic and Endoscopic Forehead Lift types mentioned above has the least scarring?
The endoscopic forehead lift surgery produces the least scarring out of both types as this procedure involves only about 3-5 incisions on the scalp, each of which is shorter than an inch.
Q4. Is a Brow Lift and a Forehead Lift the same thing?
These two procedures have two different purposes. A Forehead Lift aims to reduce or eliminate frown lines and forehead wrinkles and might even alter the positioning of the brows.
On the other hand, a Brow Lift is specifically done to raise droopy eyebrows and tighten the eyelid skin.
