THE PERFECT EYEBROWS
NEW YORK, NY:
The perfect brow is club-shaped centrally then tapers along the tail with the center portion beginning at a vertical line drawn upward from the edge of the nostril. The tail extends to a line that runs from the corner of the nose through the corner of the eye. The height of the brow should be equal at both ends; typically at or just above the rim of the eye socket. Generally, in women, the brow should arc delicately with the highest peak between the corner of the iris and the corner of the eye. The male brow should rest on or at the rim of the eye socket and is more horizontal in shape. Aestheticians commonly use the “pencil trick”* to guide them in eye shaping. The skin portion between the brow and the eye should be smooth and have a youthful fullness, with little excess skin and no over-hang of the skin. This leaves a nice platform to apply eye shadow without flaking or cracking.
All the above is well and good for teens and models, but as we age, the brow may flatten and droop as well as deflate. There are a number of non-surgical as well as surgical techniques to rejuvenate an aging eyebrow. Eyebrows can be elevated non-surgically by the use of expertly placed Botox. Not only can brows be lifted, but shaped as well. Crow’s feet can also be smoothed. Sometimes it’s more a deflation of the eyebrow instead of drooping. In that case, fillers such as Restylane or Juvederm can be used to restore youthful fullness that mimics a browlift but actually doesn’t lift the brow.
When is surgery necessary? When there is significant wrinkling and redundancy of the eyelid skin, which may be due to excess skin or drooping of the eyebrows. If the brows are in good position and the overhanging skin doesn’t extend far beyond the corner of the eye, a blepharoplasty is the best solution. When the excess skin goes well past the eye, that means that the brow has dropped; a browlift is more helpful. Another way to tell if it is the brows or eyelids that are the problem: if you look worried, sad or angry it’s more likely due to a brow problem. If you look tired it’s usually more from the eyelids. Another way is to pull out photos of yourself from your mid 20’s, and check where your eyebrows once were.
