What Is an Eye Lift?
We all want to retain the vigor and vitality of youth, and most of us want our appearance to do the same. It’s no surprise, then, that many of the most popular plastic surgery procedures focus on “lifting” and restoring a younger, rejuvenated look. You’ve heard of a facelift, neck lift, brow lift, breast lift, and possibly even a body lift. There’s another procedure, though, that is more popular than you might realize: an eye lift.
As a double board-certified plastic surgeon who has specialized in facial rejuvenation for over 25 years, I am proud to provide an inside look at eye lifts including what they are, why they’re performed, and how you can make yours minimally invasive.
What Is an Eye Lift?
An eye lift, simply put, is a plastic surgery that revitalizes the area around the eyes. It may involve removing excess sagging skin and swollen fat and repositioning other tissue, but the ultimate goal is to make your eyes look younger and brighter and to align with your desired results.
Eye lifts go by several different names. You may hear this surgery referred to as cosmetic eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty, eyelid lift, or possibly an “eye job.” By any name, though, there are two types of eye lifts. Upper eyelid surgery focuses on the area above your eyes, namely the space between your eyebrow and your upper eyelid. Lower eyelid surgery focuses on the area below the eyes. Some people want to reduce aging both above and below their eyes, so it’s common to perform upper and lower eyelid surgery in the same procedure.
What Cosmetic Issues Does an Eye Lift Address?
Everyone experiences facial aging in different ways and at different paces, but there are certain common aesthetic frustrations that upper and lower eyelid surgeries aim to address. An upper eye lift is meant to reduce sagging skin above the upper eyelids. That sagging skin (and sometimes fat), whether genetic or age-related, gives you “hooded eyelids” or puffy eyelids and makes your eyes appear more tired.
A lower eye lift, on the other hand, is meant to address “bags under the eyes.” Under-eye bags can be caused by protruding pads of fat under your eyes, sagging skin below your eyes, or both, so a lower eyelid surgery will address one or both of these issues to give you a revitalized and well-rested look.
How Common Are Eye Lifts?
You may not hear about eye lifts as often as facelifts, but they’re actually highly common. In fact, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, eyelid surgery was the second most popular cosmetic surgery in 2020, with over 325,000 of these procedures performed in the US that year.
How Long Does an Eye Lift Last?
No surgery or treatment can stop your skin from aging in the future, so for any age-correcting procedure, your results will seem to fade as you develop new aging over the coming years. That is why many of these procedures like facelifts are typically repeated after about ten years to treat these new signs of aging. The good news with an eye lift, however, is that my patients rarely experience enough new aging in this area after surgery to warrant a new surgery, so most eye lift patients only have the procedure once.
Keep in mind, though, that you will still want to take steps to maintain your results for as long as possible. This includes healthy skin care, daily sun protection, and potentially non-surgical skin treatments like laser treatments to reduce mild aging.
How to Get a Minimally Invasive Eye Lift
If you want to give your eyes a brighter, younger appearance without extensive surgery, you’re in luck. I offer my own type of eye lift called Band Aid Eyelid Surgery. This is a minimally invasive variation of the eye lift which I perform in my safe and well-equipped office with the use of gentle numbing instead of general anesthesia. Your Band Aid Eyelid Surgery will be customized to fit your needs, providing natural-looking results with less recovery time than a traditional eyelid surgery.
If you would like to find out if my Band Aid Eyelid Surgery can help you refresh your appearance, schedule a plastic surgery consultation with me, Dr. John LeRoy, today. Follow me on Facebook for more cosmetic surgery tips and insights.