A question that comes up regularly in facial consultations gets a practical answer from an Irvine surgeon who performs both procedures.
IRVINE, CA / ACCESS Newswire / August 18, 2026 / Patients who book a consultation for tired-looking eyes usually arrive with a procedure already in mind, and it's not always the one that best fits their anatomy. At SoCal Aesthetic Surgery in Irvine, CA, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Homer Hojjat says the choice between treating the eyelid and treating the brow is one of the most common questions raised in his consultations.
"That's a good question, and it commonly comes up a lot in our consults," Dr. Hojjat said in a recent patient education video. "It can be a complicated question to answer."
Eyelid surgery and a brow lift treat heaviness in the same general area of the face, but they work on different tissue and produce different results.
Why the Two Procedures Get Confused
Eyelid surgery, known clinically as blepharoplasty, works on the eyelid itself, trimming excess skin from the lid and, depending on the case, removing fat or tightening muscle. A brow lift works higher up, correcting drooping brows and the horizontal creases across the forehead while changing the position and shape of the eyebrow.
The overlap happens because the brow does not stay put over time. As the forehead relaxes and the brow descends, it pushes tissue down onto the upper lid. From the outside, that looks like an eyelid problem, but the source of it sits higher up, in the brow.
A Test Patients Can Try at Home
Dr. Hojjat offers a self-check that helps patients understand what they are seeing in the mirror before they sit down for an exam.
"A simple test you can do yourself at home is if you lift your brow and the excess skin in the upper eyelid goes away, then it's more of a brow problem," he said. "Versus if you lift your brow and you still have extra skin in that area, then it's more of an upper eyelid problem."
He frames it as a starting point rather than a verdict. "Everybody's different. It depends on their anatomy," he said. He recommends patients see a surgeon who performs both procedures and is comfortable with each.
What Eyelid Surgery Corrects
Upper blepharoplasty addresses skin and muscle that have lost elasticity and begun to sag over the eye. In some patients the concern is cosmetic, and in others the excess skin drops far enough to interfere with the field of vision, which makes the procedure functional as well.
Lower blepharoplasty is a different problem. The fat that cushions the eye shifts position with age and the muscles supporting it weaken, creating the bulges commonly described as under-eye bags. Lower lid surgery repositions or removes that fat and can smooth crepey skin below the eye.
Incisions are placed to disappear into existing anatomy. On the upper lid, the incision follows the natural crease. On the lower lid, it sits just below the lash line or on the inside of the lid.
What a Brow Lift Corrects
A brow lift raises the brow and smooths the forehead, opening up the eye area without touching the lid. Dr. Hojjat uses either the traditional coronal technique, with an incision hidden across the top of the scalp, or an endoscopic approach that uses small incisions inside the hairline and a camera to reposition tissue. The coronal method suits patients with more advanced forehead descent, while the endoscopic method is less invasive and better suited to mild or moderate sagging. On its own, the surgery generally takes about an hour, and results tend to hold for roughly a decade.
Sometimes the Answer Is Both
Neither procedure rules out the other, and combining them is common when the anatomy calls for it. "Sometimes you do the surgeries together, sometimes separate," Dr. Hojjat said. "It really all depends on what you're looking for and what your anatomy is."
Recovery expectations differ as well. After eyelid surgery, Dr. Hojjat tells patients to plan on sutures for about a week along with some bruising and swelling. "I tell patients wear sunglasses when you go outside to protect your skin and also hide some of the bruising," he said. For a combined upper and lower procedure, he advises setting aside seven to ten days. "About 80 to 90 percent of the recovery you're going to notice within that first or second week."
Brow lift recovery follows its own schedule. Most patients return to work in about a week with clearance from their surgeon, resume driving once they are off pain medication, and begin easing back into exercise around the two to four week mark, with strenuous activity waiting on full clearance.
How to Evaluate a Surgeon for Either Procedure
Dr. Hojjat has spoken publicly about what patients should weigh when choosing a facial plastic surgeon. Board certification comes first, since it reflects the training and testing required to perform the procedures being offered. Volume matters next, as a surgeon who performs a specific operation regularly is better positioned to deliver consistent results and handle anything unexpected. He also points patients to before and after photography as the clearest read on a surgeon's aesthetic.
Additional patient education content is published on the practice's Instagram account.
About SoCal Aesthetic Surgery
SoCal Aesthetic Surgery is a facial plastic surgery practice in Irvine, CA, led by Dr. Homer Hojjat, who is double board-certified in facial plastic surgery and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. He completed a fellowship in facelift and cosmetic facial plastic surgery at Premier Image in Atlanta and Emory University. The practice offers surgical and non-surgical facial procedures with an emphasis on individualized planning.
Patients considering eyelid surgery or a brow lift can contact the practice through the online form.
Media Contact
SoCal Aesthetic Surgery
(949) 996-3274
Website: www.socalaestheticsurgery.com
SOURCE: SoCal Aesthetic Surgery
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/eyelid-surgery-or-brow-lift-dr.-homer-hojjat-breaks-down-the-differen-1208117
