Forehead Lift Cost, Side Effects, and Recovery Process

Hello, this is Park Seong-hyeok from Eye Level.

Although endoscopic forehead lifts have become much more common,

it seems that cases of disappointment due to surgical results

that fall short of expectations are also increasing.

Therefore, in this article,

I will introduce in detail from a professional perspective

forehead lift surgery costs,

discomfort during recovery, and

factors that affect surgical results.

2 weeks after eye correction + forehead lift

Learn more through this article about

the incision site and dissection range of forehead lift surgery,

forehead lift side effects, and how to avoid revision surgery.

1. Forehead lift surgery price

Unlike the past, when a long incision was made along the scalp,

in the past 10 years or so, endoscopes have been used

so that only a small incision of about 2 cm is needed.

Forehead lift incision location

Because expensive endoscopic equipment is used,

it tends to be more costly than a typical eyelid procedure...

However, from my personal review of surgical results,

I think recovery back to daily life is faster than with double eyelid surgery.

In addition, unlike double eyelid surgery,

the material cost used in the procedure is also relatively high,

so compared with simple eyelid surgery,

it is inevitably more expensive.

Endotine fixation vs. thread fixation

Schematic diagram of thread fixation and Endotine fixation

I cannot know every forehead lift cost at all Gangnam plastic surgery clinics,

and because plastic surgery depends more on the surgeon’s skill

than on equipment or materials,

some clinics are cheaper and some are more expensive...

but as someone working in the field, as of 2024, forehead lift costs are

estimated to be roughly in the 2 to 4 million KRW range.

2. Recovery process after endoscopic forehead lift

If the doctor is experienced,

forehead lift side effects do not really occur,

but during the healing process after surgery,

the following phenomena may happen.

1. Early stage (6–9 months)

a) Altered sensation

In patients’ own words,

“It itches.”

“It feels like it’s not my skin.”

“Sometimes it tingles.”

These are the most common comments...

The reason is that, as shown in the figure below,

the nerves run complexly between the muscles.

Sensory nerves passing between the glabellar muscles (blue and red)

In order to create good surgical results,

the muscles between the nerves must be cut.

In other words,

the key to a good result is

to sufficiently resect the procerus muscle while

avoiding nerve injury.

In this process, even if the nerves are not completely severed,

they are pulled and compressed by the surrounding tissues,

so sensory changes in the forehead and scalp are inevitably likely to occur.

For more details, please refer to the video at the very bottom👇👇.

b) Temporary hair loss

Sometimes hair does not grow at the incision site...

This is related to the hair growth process.

In most cases, hair grows back after 6 months.

A case where hair loss after forehead lift healed naturally

c) Foreign body sensation

After the lift, threads or Endotine may be felt.

Endotine fixation appearance

In particular, Endotine or FixTain tends to cause foreign body sensation more often,

but since it naturally dissolves after 6–9 months,

removal surgery is unnecessary.

d) Scar

If there is plenty of hair,

the wound heals so well that it is difficult to find the incision site even at 2 months...

Case 2 months after Eye Level

If the client is experiencing hair loss,

even if the scar is noticeable at first,

it becomes much less visible after 5 months.

Progression of scar changes after forehead lift

2. Late stage

a) The forehead does not lift

If, even 12 months after surgery,

the eyebrows do not move upward when making facial expressions,

one should consider possible motor nerve damage in the temple area.

In fact, this nerve is not easily injured by a board-certified plastic surgeon who has been sufficiently trained in forehead anatomy.

Right temple area - as in textbooks, the number of nerves and blood vessels is not the same in every person

Below is the process of dissecting the right temple area,

showing the forehead nerve being well preserved.

If the forehead does not move after surgery,

it may have been a situation in which the blood vessel shown in the video above ruptured during the forehead lift procedure,

requiring significant hemostasis.

3. How to avoid revision forehead lift surgery

1. What effect does a forehead thread lift have?

Procerus muscle located between the eyebrows

As shown in the figure above, the muscle pulls the eyebrows and forehead downward...

A forehead thread lift cannot manipulate this muscle as intended by the operator,

so logically, the lifting effect cannot last long.

On the other hand, if a forehead lift still has no effect,

it may mean the muscles were not cut sufficiently,

or that the skin can no longer be stretched any further.

The glabellar area has a complex course of muscles and nerves

2. What is the secret of a place that does forehead lift surgery well?

To create proper forehead lift results,

the muscles must be cut sufficiently

while avoiding nerve injury.

Below is a video performed at Eye Level Plastic Surgery,

showing sufficient dissection of the left glabellar muscle

while preserving the nerves.

3. Will a forehead lift make your facial expression look unnatural?

This was a question a certain celebrity asked me

before receiving a forehead lift....

In conclusion, cutting the glabellar muscles

does not make your face expressionless or unnatural.

Comparison of frowning before and after surgery

Top = neutral expression, bottom = frowning expression

You can think of it as the effect of getting glabellar Botox,

but lasting semi-permanently.

4. What about swelling after a forehead lift?

If important blood vessels are well preserved as in the video above,

the swelling is not that severe.

Would you like to check the following forehead lift review?

Appearance on day 3 and day 8

Appearance on day 1 and day 9

Appearance at 1 week

Whether a drain is used or whether compression bandaging is applied depends on the surgical process,

but at Eye Level, drains are not used,

and compression bandaging is recommended for 3 days.

Was this article helpful in understanding endoscopic forehead lift surgery?

If you have additional questions after reading this article,

We will provide detailed guidance through Eye Level Kakao inquiry (link).