It’s a cruel thing that the aging process tends to affect your face earlier and more dramatically than anywhere else on your body. This highly visible area is also the most exposed, which explains why it’s so susceptible to aging.
More specifically, the forehead lines that used to convey an expression are now permanent fixtures and/or your eyebrows are sagging a bit lower and shadowing your eyes. And you want to turn back the clock on these developments.
Your two best options for addressing the areas above your eyes come down to a cosmetic injectable (Botox® or Dysport®) or forehead lift, which is often referred to as a brow lift.
The good news is that we offer both cosmetic injectables and facial surgeries here at McHugh Plastic Surgery. To help you weigh the pros and cons of each approach, we turn to our resident expert Dr. Thomas McHugh, who presents the following points for your consideration.
During a brow lift, Dr. McHiugh accomplishes several objectives, including:
Each year in the United States, nearly 90,000 people opt for a brow lift, sometimes as a standalone procedure or as part of a more extensive facelift surgery.
The primary advantage of addressing the signs of aging on the top half of your face through a brow lift is that your results are both dramatic and long-lasting. Of course, the aging process will continue after your brow lift, but Dr. McHugh has reset the clock and it will be a while before time can catch back up.
The cons of such an approach is that surgery comes with some risks, some discomfort, and there’s downtime after the procedure. You won’t be debuting your new forehead and brows for at least two weeks.
Cosmetic injectables like Botox and Dysport are great solutions for smoothing out horizontal forehead lines as well as vertical frown and brow lines. These injectables work by temporarily paralyzing the muscles that contract to form these wrinkles.
The pros of these injectables are that they take only minutes for us to administer and there's typically only mild discomfort at the site of the injections. There’s no downtime afterward, and you should realize results within a week. Once in place, these results typically last up to four months.
The relatively shorter duration of the results is a downside when compared to a brow lift. With injectables, you have to return every 3-4 months to prevent forehead and brow wrinkles from returning. As well, the injectables can’t reposition your eyebrows. In fact, some brows can fall even further when forehead lines are relaxed.
Our goal here is to present just a few points to consider because, ultimately, the final choice is yours alone to make. For our part, we want to provide you with the information you need to make a decision with which you’re comfortable.
If you’d like some guidance in figuring out whether a brow lift or cosmetic injectables are best for your goals and circumstances, please contact our office in The Woodlands, Texas, to schedule a consultation.
