We know they’re coming. The lines and wrinkles that show the passage of time are going to eventually make their way to our faces. What we may not expect is how they can completely change our appearance, especially in the upper face. These lines combined with a sagging brow area can leave us looking angry or upset when we’re not. If you’re experiencing the negative effects of aging and are ready to restore a younger appearance, call Mountain State Cosmetic Surgery in Beckley, WV and ask about all the benefits of a brow lift.
Why Do Our Brows Sag?
Our eyebrows and other areas of our face sag for the same reasons we develop wrinkles. We’ve lost some major components of youthful skin: collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. When you see young, perfect skin, you’re actually seeing collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid in perfect amounts, doing their jobs.
Collagen
Collagen is a fibrous protein and the most abundant one in our bodies, making up our skin, connective tissues and more. When we’re young, we have plenty of collagen, which means, because it’s so fibrous, that our skin is amazingly strong, thick and resilient. In the middle layer of our skin, called the dermis, the collagen packs tightly together, forming an almost indestructible foundation for our complexion to adhere to.
Because this foundation is so strong, solid and smooth, so is the skin on top. When younger people smile, frown, furrow or laugh, none of those lines stay put because our underlying skin doesn’t weaken with those movements, so there’s no place for our surface skin to fall. This keeps our complexions firm, smooth and wrinkle-free.
Collagen as an Anchor
Collagen also serves as an anchor for both our outermost layer of skin, the epidermis, and the deepest layer of skin, the hypodermis. The epidermis is tightly anchored to the layer below by the volume and strength of the collagen. The same is true below our middle layer of skin. This is where our muscles, fat pads and connective tissues lie.
When muscles and fat pads stay in place, so does our youthful contour and profile. This leaves us with arched eyebrows, open and uplifted eyes and prominent cheeks and cheekbones.
Elastin
Elastin is another protein we have plenty of when we’re young. Its primary role is to keep all of our organs, including our skin, flexible and elastic. When we smile, frown, pull or pinch our skin, it will immediately snap back to its original position. This is all thanks to elastin.
Elastin helps keep our skin from giving in to gravity. As long as it has collagen to hold on to, elastin keeps our skin in place, making sure it clings to our tissues and bone structure, maintaining our youthful profile and lines.
Hyaluronic Acid
Do you know how young skin always looks dewy, supple and moisturized? It could be because someone has a great skincare routine, but it’s due mostly to the production of the natural sugar, hyaluronic acid.
This is a sugar molecule that can hold 1,000 times its weight in water. What’s even better is its ability to not just retain moisture but to attract it. This is why younger people can forget moisturizer and their skin will still look healthy and radiant.
What Happens When We Age?
So, now that you know what makes young skin so great, you might be looking in the mirror thinking, “Ok, what happened?” There are structural changes that take place around the time we turn 20.
Collagen Loss
In our 20s, we lose collagen production by about 1% per year, and that takes an even more dramatic dip of 30% for women after menopause. This changes the landscape of our skin dramatically. Underneath the surface of our skin, that solid foundation weakens. As the collagen fibers become more spread out, movement creates crevices that our skin falls into. This leaves us with lines, wrinkles and folds.
The strength our fat pads and muscles counted on to keep everything in place diminishes. Areas that used to have high structure and prominence on our faces, like our eyebrows and cheekbones, lose their tight grip and can drop and look droopy. This leaves us with an unhappy and even unpleasant expression, even if we’re feeling the exact opposite.
Elastin Loss
When we lose collagen, we lose elastin too. This means our skin can’t hold up under movement or gravity as well as it used to. When collagen breaks down underneath our skin and forms crevices, there’s not enough elastin to fight our repeated expressions and our skin no longer snaps back into place. This adds to the look of deep forehead wrinkles and frown lines between eyebrows.
Once we lose both collagen and elastin, you’ll see sagging skin and drooping features. Not only is there less structure to hang on to, but our skin also has less of the protein that makes snapping back to its original place an option. This leaves us with drooping eyebrows, eyelids, jowls and saggy necks.
Hyaluronic Acid Loss
As this sugar is depleted, you’ll notice you need heavier-duty creams and lotions to make skin look alive and vibrant. It easily becomes dull and dry. This is when knowing your skin type becomes critically important. We can work with you to identify your skin type and the kinds of products you need to restore moisture to your skin.
Without proper moisture, your wrinkles and lines can look even more pronounced, and your complexion can take on a tired and aged appearance. A boost of moisture will only go so far without the necessary proteins to keep everything taut. Natural-looking tight skin just looks healthier, more moisturized and supple.
What Is a Brow Lift?
This may not be the first surgical procedure you think of when you’re considering an anti-aging plan. But we think once people understand all the benefits of this transformative procedure, they may be more inclined to move this to the top of their list.
A brow lift, also known as a forehead lift or browplasty, is designed to refresh the face by getting rid of excess skin and tissue that causes the eyebrows to sag. There are several types available, but the end goal is the same: to lift underlying muscles and forehead tissues so the wrinkles and deep furrows that can cause a person to look older and angry are lessened.
Kinds of Eyebrow Lifts
We’ll discuss your areas of concern and expected results, then go over options with you to address those concerns. There are several lifts available that we may discuss with you during your consultation:
Coronal Lift
This procedure is also known as a forehead lift. The entire forehead area is manually lifted along with the underlying muscles and tissue. Excess skin is removed. This not only pulls the brow area up but also smooths the forehead.
Endoscopic Lift
Small incisions hidden on the scalp allow our surgeon to see muscles and tissue via an endoscope with a camera attached. These tiny incisions allow enough space for the muscles to be moved and manipulated in a way that provides a brow and forehead lift. Fat and tissue can also be removed during this procedure. This is one of the most popular forms of lifts offered.
Direct Brow Lift
This isn’t as common as it once was because the incisions are made directly above the brows to be hidden by the eyebrow hairs. This is now mainly performed on older patients, men with thick bushy eyebrows or those patients with specific corrections in the functionality of their brow areas.
This lift offers a superior level of control to reverse drooping eyebrows and is an excellent choice for brow height asymmetry issues. It may be the perfect choice for bald men and those with high hairlines.
There are a few, less common lifts we can discuss with you if Dr. Paine thinks they may be a good solution for you.
The Unexpected Benefits of Getting a Brow Lift
At first glance, you may think you’ll just be getting your high arches back making the brow area less heavy. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here are the many benefits of a brow lift:
You Won’t Look Tired or Angry
Once your procedure is complete, you won’t believe the difference in your expression. You may not even realize how tired and unhappy you look until you get your brow lift. Those lines between your eyebrows and etched on your forehead combined with sagging brows can make you seem less approachable, no matter how outgoing or happy you are.
Your Forehead Lines Diminish
As you can imagine, by lifting muscles and tissue and removing excess skin, your forehead lines are going to be smoothed out. That sagging caused by loss of collagen and elastin being unable to fight gravity will be replaced with a taut upper face. You’ll be able to make natural expressions and still look years younger.
It Opens Your Eyes
In many cases, the look of a sagging brow brings a heaviness to the eye area, making you look even more tired and making makeup application difficult and frustrating. This lift will pull your eyebrows up to a more naturally youthful position. The result is a more rested, happier and younger appearance.
Note—this is not an eyelid surgery. Eyelid surgery removes excess fat from the upper and lower lids. Sometimes eyelids can become so hooded they can obstruct a patient’s vision. Eyelid surgery will raise sagging eyelids, reduce the appearance of deep tear troughs under the eyes and remove “bags” under the bottom lid. Talk to Dr. Paine about combining this with a brow lift.
You Can Tailor to Fit Your Needs
We never treat any procedure or treatment as a one-size-fits-all solution, and this is no different. During your consultation, Dr. Paine takes his time getting to know you, what your areas of concern are and what expectations of results you have. He’ll then examine the area to decide which treatment or combination will best suit your needs. You’ll have a customized plan to fit your specific concerns and achieve the best possible outcome.
The Results Are Long-Lasting and Transformative
Unlike other treatments using injectables, these results can last up to twelve years depending on the starting point of the patient, their age, the quality of their skin and how they treat their skin afterward.
Nothing will stop the aging process, but you will start from this new baseline. If you take great care of your skin, you can maximize the length of your results. Here are some things to consider so you can maintain results for as long as possible:
- Avoid prolonged and unprotected exposure to the sun
- Don’t smoke
- Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol
- Get enough sleep
- Manage stress
- Each a healthy and natural diet, avoiding sugar and processed foods
- Follow our recommended skincare routine
- Stay hydrated
What to Expect
The first step to any of our treatments or procedures is a consultation with Dr. Paine. He’ll examine the area you’d like addressed and discuss the best lift option for you. You can also talk through other concerns to see if there are procedures he could safely combine to address multiple needs in one visit.
Once you’ve decided on the right brow lift for you, you’ll have some pre-operative testing done and will be given a few pre-op instructions. Some will be exclusive to you, so it’s important to follow each instruction carefully.
Appointment Day
You will have already decided on the surgery you’ll have and the anesthesia that will be used. Dr. Paine will ask if there are any last-minute questions, and then your procedure will begin.
When it’s over, you’ll be given post-op instructions and we’ll schedule a follow-up appointment date. All you have to do now is rest! This is an outpatient procedure, so whoever drove you to your appointment can take you home.
Results
You’ll see results as soon as your skin’s healing process takes over. Because incisions are so small, often the results are immediate. Once your full results are optimized based on your healing time and process, you’ll have a brighter, happier and younger appearance.
People will notice you have a youthful arch to your brow and your eyes look awake, alert and happy. If your forehead was etched with moderate-to-severe lines and your brows furrowed, you’ll now experience a smoother, younger-looking appearance.
Confidence Boost
So often, physical benefits are the only ones discussed, but the real results come in the form of confidence, self-assurance and improved self-esteem. Our patients report feeling more confident to speak out at work, have attention called to them in social situations and just feel better in their own skin. This is where the real transformation takes place.
Call for Your Life-Changing Appointment
If you’re struggling with the appearance of heavy and furrowed brows along with a wrinkled and lined forehead, you don’t have to just live with it. There are great options available to you that offer tremendous results. Just be sure to visit a highly experienced and talented surgeon like Dr. Paine.
Call our office at Mountain State Cosmetic Surgery in Beckley, WV to schedule your consultation. It’s the first step to getting back the youthful appearance you miss. We take pride in giving all our patients exceptional care and consideration while meeting all their aesthetic needs.
