Surgery · Forehead Lift for Hooded Eyes

Forehead Lift for Hooded Eyes

When the weight on the eyelid starts at the brow

Gangnam, Seoul | Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonghwan Choi
Brow and eyelid assessed separately · KHIDI-registered for international patients

Brow or Eyelid Brow or Eyelid Brow or Eyelid Brow or Eyelid
Hooding

Hooded eyes and the brow

Does a forehead lift fix hooded eyes?

The short answer

A forehead lift helps hooded eyes when the hood is being pushed down from above. As the brow descends, the skin of the upper lid has nowhere to go and folds over the crease. Rewind's endoscopic forehead lift raises the skin and SMAS layer of the forehead and temple together with the brow, and the lid skin hanging from the brow is drawn up with it. When the brow still sits at its proper height and the excess is in the eyelid itself, raising the forehead leaves most of the hood in place, and an eyelid operation is the one to consider.

Basis: Rewind's Korean-language descriptions of the endoscopic forehead lift, the sub-brow lift and upper blepharoplasty, including the patient groups the clinic lists for each.

So is the heavy upper-lid skin coming from the brow or from the eyelid? Often from both, in different proportions, and that proportion decides the plan. A brow that has come down tends to bring forehead lines, a frown and an expression that looks tired or stern. A lid that has stretched on its own tends to hide the crease and crowd the lashes while the brow stays where it always was. The examination at Rewind is built to separate those two sources before any date is set.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi reviewing a patient at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 01 — Brow first, lid second: the order of the assessment
Cases

Case photographs

Two forehead lift cases where the upper-lid hood changed with the brow

Both pairs come from Rewind's own archive and were chosen for one detail: the skin over the upper lid. In the first, the forehead lift was the only operation, so any change in the hood came from raising the brow. The second patient also had lower-face and lower-lid surgery in the same session, and the caption says so, because a reader deserves to know what else was done.

Rewind patients — brow and upper lid

Before a forehead lift for upper-lid hooding, no other operation, at Rewind Plastic Surgery After a forehead lift for upper-lid hooding, no other operation, at Rewind Plastic Surgery BEFOREAFTER
case 01
Forehead lift on its own: the brow raised and the lid skin beneath it drawn up
No other procedure in this session. Individual results may vary.
Before a forehead lift combined with a partial facelift and lower-eyelid fat repositioning at Rewind Plastic Surgery After a forehead lift combined with a partial facelift and lower-eyelid fat repositioning at Rewind Plastic Surgery BEFOREAFTER
case 02
Forehead lift + partial facelift + lower-eyelid fat repositioning, one session
Three operations together. Individual results may vary.

Both patients were operated on and photographed at Rewind, and the pictures appear unretouched with their consent. Backdrop and make-up are not always the same between the two visits, so the fair comparison is a local one: where the brow sits against the lid crease, and how much lid skin folds below it. Individual results may vary. A forehead lift carries risks of its own, among them bleeding, infection, bruising, swelling, uneven brow height, altered sensation across the scalp and a scar inside the hairline.

Sources

Where the hood comes from

Brow or eyelid: four sources of upper-lid hooding and the operation that answers each

The same complaint, a heavy and hooded upper lid, can have four different origins. Rewind performs an operation for each one, and only the first of them is a forehead lift.

source 01
A descended brow
The brow has dropped and pushes the lid skin down onto the crease. Forehead and frown lines, and brows that look tired, gloomy or harsh, often come with it. This is the pattern a forehead lift is designed for.
source 02
Stretched eyelid skin
The brow sits where it should, yet the lid skin has lengthened. The crease disappears, the gap between lashes and brow looks long, and lashes may press toward the eye. Upper blepharoplasty removes that skin through the crease.
source 03
A heavy band under the brow
A thick outer lid and creasing at the outer corner, in someone who wants an existing double-eyelid line left alone. The sub-brow lift takes skin out just beneath the brow hair and anchors the rest to periosteum.
source 04
A lid that opens too little
Sometimes the lid looks heavy because it does not rise fully, whatever the skin is doing. That finding is measured separately, and ptosis correction is added to an eyelid plan when it is present.
Assess

The examination

How Rewind decides whether a forehead lift will open a hooded eye

A heavy lid is examined in a fixed order at Rewind, brow before lid, since what the brow is doing changes how much of the lid needs attention.

01Rest

Brow height is read with the forehead relaxed, before a forehead lift is considered

A heavy lid often recruits the forehead, and brows held up by habit hide how far they have really fallen. Rewind's own description of upper-lid surgery notes the reverse effect: once the lid is lighter, the forehead no longer has to strain. So the brow is judged with the forehead let go.

02Lines

Forehead and frown lines point toward the brow as the cause

Deep horizontal lines and a set frown are on the list of reasons Rewind gives for a forehead lift. Alongside a low brow, they suggest the hood is being driven from above, and they are one of the things the forehead lift itself addresses.

03Support

The brow is supported by hand to preview what a forehead lift would leave

With the brow gently held at the height an operation could keep, the surgeon looks again at the lid. Hooding that clears belongs to the brow. Whatever skin still folds over the crease belongs to the eyelid, and no amount of forehead lifting will remove it.

04Lid

Crease, lashes and lid thickness are checked once the brow question is settled

A crease buried under skin, lashes turned toward the eye, a thick outer lid and a lid that does not rise fully are each noted. These findings lead toward upper blepharoplasty, a sub-brow lift or ptosis correction, sometimes in addition to the brow.

05Plan

A forehead lift alone, an eyelid operation alone, or both

Where both sources are present, Dr. Jonghwan Choi explains which one dominates and what a single operation would leave behind. Whether two operations share a date or are staged is agreed with him, and each appears as its own line on the quote.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi performing surgery at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 02 — The operation that follows once the brow is confirmed as the cause
Rewind

Why here

Why Rewind weighs the forehead lift against eyelid surgery for hooded eyes

Hooding is one of the few complaints where three quite separate operations compete for the same patient. The clinic's approach is to perform all three and let the examination choose.

01Range

Forehead lift, sub-brow lift and upper blepharoplasty on the same list

Because each of them is performed at Rewind, the recommendation can follow the finding. A patient whose hood lies mostly in the lid is told so, and the forehead lift is kept for those whose brow is doing the pushing.

02Mechanism

What the forehead lift physically does to a hooded lid

Through a long hairline incision, forehead and temple are released as far as the brow, skin and SMAS layer together, under a Full HD endoscope, then raised, trimmed and held with Endotine, a fixation device the clinic describes as approved in Korea and by the US FDA and absorbed over about nine months. The lid skin rises because the brow does. None of it is cut away.

03One surgeon

The surgeon who separates brow from lid performs the forehead lift

Rewind's medical director, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Jonghwan Choi, holds the assessment, operates and sees each review. Patients are seen by appointment from 10:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (until 19:00) and on Saturday (until 16:00), and the clinic is registered with KHIDI for patients travelling to Korea.

Consultation room at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 03 — Where brow height and lid skin are compared face to face
Visit

The visit

What a hooded-eye consultation and forehead lift involve in Apgujeong

Preparation in the operating theatre at Rewind Plastic Surgery

Fig. 04 — Theatre preparation on the day of a forehead lift

Waiting lounge at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong

Fig. 05 — The lounge on the fourth floor of the Richro Building

Rewind is on the fourth and fifth floors of the Richro Building in Apgujeong, Gangnam. A visitor who arrives unsure whether the problem is brow or lid leaves the consultation with an answer and, where surgery fits, with the operation named and priced. If a forehead lift is chosen, the same building handles the operation, the dressing days and the reviews. Consultations can be held with interpreting support for patients who need it.

Assessed: brow at rest, forehead lines, lid skin, crease, lid opening
Forehead lift access: incision along the hairline
Fixation: absorbable Endotine device
Eyelid: not incised in a forehead lift
Hours from 10:00: to 19:00 Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri · to 16:00 Sat
No appointments: Thursday or Sunday
Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeon

Board-certified plastic surgeon

Dr. Jonghwan Choi carries Korean specialist certification in plastic surgery and ten peer-reviewed publications, and he performs the forehead, sub-brow and upper-lid operations at Rewind himself. The clinic's KHIDI registration for international patients is M-2025-01-08-09288.

Cost

Pricing

Forehead lift and eyelid surgery prices for hooded eyes at Rewind

Since the cause decides the operation, the figure that applies to a hooded lid is known only after the examination. These are the four lines it usually lands on.

Endoscopic forehead lift with Endotine fixationFor hooding driven by a descended brow; lifts brow, forehead and the lid skin hanging from them
₩4,500,000
Upper blepharoplastyFor surplus skin in the lid itself, removed through the crease
₩3,900,000
Sub-brow liftFor a heavy band beneath the brow, keeping an existing double-eyelid line untouched
₩2,900,000
Ptosis correction, added to an eyelid operationWhen the lid does not open fully, listed as an addition to eyelid surgery
₩1,200,000

Each figure already contains the anaesthetic fee; VAT is added when you pay. If the brow and the lid both need surgery, the quote shows two lines, and the forehead lift line stays the same whether it is booked alone or beside an eyelid operation.

Fit

Suitability

Who a forehead lift suits for hooded eyes, and who is directed to eyelid surgery

A forehead lift is worth planning when

  • The brow sits visibly lower than it once did, and the hood lies directly beneath it
  • Holding the brow up by hand clears most of the fold over the lid
  • Forehead and frown lines have deepened along with the heavier lids
  • The brows give the face a tired, downcast or harsh look you want to soften
  • A scar within the hairline, a day or two in a dressing and up to a fortnight of bruising fit your plans

The plan moves to the eyelid, or waits, when

  • The brow is already at a good height and the fold remains when it is supported: an eyelid operation is the answer
  • You want a thick outer lid reduced without disturbing your current crease: the sub-brow lift is compared
  • The lid does not open fully: eye-opening is assessed before any skin is planned
  • The forehead is tall with the brow in place: forehead reduction is assessed alongside or on its own
  • Blood-thinning medication, a bleeding disorder, pregnancy or an active scalp infection is present, which postpones or changes the plan
After

After the operation

Recovery after a forehead lift for hooded eyes, and when the lid can be judged

A lid that was hooded can only be judged fairly once the forehead has settled. Early swelling can make the upper face look fuller than it will, so the first two weeks are for healing and not for verdicts.

Days one and two
Compression on the forehead
Rewind applies a compression dressing for one to two days. Sleeping and resting with the head raised helps keep swelling down.
Through the second week
Bruising fades
Rewind's notes put the settling of early bruising and swelling at one to two weeks for most patients. The lid's new position is read after that.
If eyelid surgery is added
A second, shorter timeline
After upper blepharoplasty Rewind removes stitches at around five to seven days, and asks that the area not be pulled hard for about a month.
The weeks that follow
Heat, pressure and pulling avoided
Sauna, strong massage, alcohol, smoking, hair dye and any pull against the lifted direction are put aside for a period the clinic specifies.

Rewind records the forehead lift result as usually holding for five years or more, depending on tissue elasticity and how much was lifted; the clinic gives a similar span for upper-lid and sub-brow surgery. Complications to know by name include bleeding, infection, prolonged swelling, bruising, uneven brow height, scalp numbness or changed sensation, a scar within the hairline, and hooding that persists in the lid and later needs its own operation. Increasing pain, fever or spreading redness means contacting the clinic promptly.

Doctor

Professional

At Rewind, one board-certified plastic surgeon carries every case — from the first consultation to the final follow-up. Because a face is a story, and a story deserves a single author.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeonRewind,
Dr. Jonghwan Choi presenting at an academic session
Fig. 06 — Academic presentation, lifting session

Rewind's Doctor

Dr. Jonghwan Choi Medical Director

One surgeon, from the first
consultation to the last follow-up.

A board-certified plastic surgeon devoted to anti-aging lifting, with the precision and restraint built through years of craniofacial practice.

Board-certified plastic surgeon (Plastic Surgery)
10 peer-reviewed publications
Medical Director, Rewind Plastic Surgery
Korean Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons
Former chief director, Apgujeong Y&T Plastic Surgery
Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
J Craniofac Surg · JKMS · Arch Craniofac Surg
Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
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Ask

Questions

Forehead lift for hooded eyes: what patients ask at the examination

Will raising my brow take away the hood over my upper eyelids?
It will reduce the part of the hood that the brow is causing. Rewind's forehead lift moves the forehead skin and SMAS layer upward with the brow, and the lid skin hanging from it follows. Skin that has stretched within the lid stays, and it is treated with an eyelid operation if it bothers you.
How is it decided whether the heaviness comes from my brow or from the lid skin?
The brow is examined first, with the forehead relaxed. The surgeon then supports the brow by hand at a height an operation could hold and looks at the lid again. What disappears is brow-driven; what remains belongs to the eyelid. Crease, lashes and lid opening are checked last.
Why have my forehead lines deepened along with the hooding?
A heavy lid tends to make the forehead work, raising the brows to clear the view, and a descended brow adds creasing of its own. Rewind lists deep forehead and frown lines among the reasons for a forehead lift. Lines that come mainly from muscle movement are assessed separately at the consultation.
Is the eyelid itself cut during a forehead lift?
No. The incision runs along the hairline, and the dissection is carried down to the brow under endoscopic view. The lid is lifted indirectly, through the brow. An eyelid incision belongs to upper blepharoplasty, and a line just below the brow belongs to the sub-brow lift.
Can a forehead lift bring back a double-eyelid crease that the hood has covered?
When the crease is hidden mainly because the brow has pushed skin over it, lifting the brow can let that crease show again. When the lid skin itself has lengthened, the fold may still cover part of it. Which of the two applies is visible when the brow is held up at the examination.
What happens if some hooding is left after the forehead lift?
Remaining lid skin can be treated later with upper blepharoplasty or a sub-brow lift, planned once the forehead has healed. If the examination predicts it in advance, Dr. Jonghwan Choi says so beforehand, and the two operations can be priced together from the start.
Can a forehead lift and an eyelid operation be planned together?
Yes. Rewind's case archive includes sessions in which the forehead lift was combined with other operations. The forehead lift is listed at ₩4,500,000 and upper blepharoplasty at ₩3,900,000, both before VAT. Whether they share a date or are staged is decided with the surgeon.
Is a hood that blocks the top of my vision treated any differently?
Rewind lists drooping lids that cover the field of vision among the reasons for upper blepharoplasty. When the brow is pulling that lid down, a forehead lift can help as well. The same brow-then-lid examination applies, and the operation is chosen from what it shows.
Booking

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Scientific evidence

Published research on sub-brow excision, Endotine brow fixation and interpreted consultations

The first study treats hooding that sits in the upper-lid skin through an incision below the brow, the eyelid-side answer weighed on this page. The second examines the absorbable device used to hold the brow after an endoscopic lift. The third reviews how professional interpreting affects care for patients consulting in a second language. They describe the wider literature, involve no Rewind patients and cannot forecast any one person's result.