Sometimes caused by genetics and sometimes by aging, hooded eyes happen when the skin below the eyebrow overlaps the skin of the upper eyelid. While hooded eyelids are quite common and perfectly natural, some people wish to correct them to achieve a more open and awake appearance.
Are you searching for how to fix hooded eyes? Our Chicago team offers some advice on 5 surgical and nonsurgical options worth trying, from brow lifts to BOTOX® Cosmetic.
Brow Lift
Also called a forehead lift, a brow lift subtly raises the tissues of the brow and forehead upward. This opens up the area above the eyes, reducing hooding or sagging. Board-certified plastic surgeons Dr. Thomas Mustoe and Dr. Sammy Sinno are careful only to lift the brows to a natural-looking degree, resolving hooded eyelids without compromising your natural appearance.
The surgeons commonly perform the signature brow lift technique Dr. Mustoe developed, an endoscopic in-office procedure using local anesthesia with sedation. The incisions are less than an inch long, placed behind the hairline, and leave minimal scarring.
See results our surgeons have created for real patients in our brow lift before-and-after photo gallery.
Upper Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery)
Dr. Mustoe and Dr. Sinno often recommend combining a brow lift with an upper blepharoplasty to correct drooping above the eyes. Upper blepharoplasty incisions are hidden along natural creases in the eyelid, leaving little to no noticeable scarring.
In this procedure, the surgeons remove excess skin and fat above the eyes and subtly tighten the tissues, giving you a more refreshed expression. While the natural aging process may still cause some hooding over the years, eyelid surgery results are generally long-lasting.
See examples of results in our eyelid surgery before-and-after gallery.
BOTOX Brow Lift
If you only have slight hooding, or if you aren’t ready to commit to surgery, you may want to start with a BOTOX brow lift. Injections of BOTOX in the brow and forehead relax the muscles pulling them downward. This allows the brows to naturally lift upward, making the tissues above the eyes a bit tauter.
BOTOX injections are minimally invasive and involve little to no recovery time. However, the results are temporary, typically lasting 3 to 4 months.
Dermal Fillers in Brows & Temples
In some cases, decreasing volume in the temples and brow is to blame for eyelid hooding. In these cases, adding dermal fillers in these areas may give the upper eye a bit of a lift. This can be a great maintenance option for people who have had a brow or eyelid lift in the past and want to maintain their results over the years.
Like BOTOX, dermal filler injections are minimally invasive and involve little to no recovery time. The results typically last between 6 and 18 months.
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Laser skin resurfacing stimulates collagen production in the skin, which has a tightening and rejuvenating effect. With laser skin treatments approved for use around the eyes, you can nonsurgically resolve some skin laxity that may be contributing to hooding.
Recovery time varies depending on the type and intensity of the treatment. You may need multiple sessions to see your best results.
If you would like to learn more about brow lift surgery, blepharoplasty, and other options for fixing hooded eyes, please get in touch with one of our board-certified plastic surgeons in Chicago. Give us a call at (312) 788-2560 or request a consultation online to get started.
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