What the Model Face Challenge and Forehead Lift Have in Common: An Elegant Impression

These days, the “Model Face Challenge” is gaining significant popularity on YouTube, TikTok, and short-form social media platforms.

The method is simpler than you might expect.

While maintaining a subtle smile, you slightly raise your eyebrows and then return to a natural expression.

Many people are following along because even a change lasting only a few seconds can make the face look more refined and elegant.

Model Face Challenge. Model face. Elegant face. Source: YouTube

Model-like face. Celebrity face. Model expression. Celebrity expression. Source: YouTube

Why does this change occur?

From a plastic surgery perspective, the reason is not simply the smile.

It is because the overall impression around the eyes changes as the position of the eyebrows changes.

When you slightly raise your eyebrows, the eyes appear more open and refreshed, reducing a stuffy or tired-looking impression.

As the overall balance created by the eyes and eyebrows changes, the face takes on a softer and more relaxed appearance.

In fact, this change is also somewhat similar to the effect expected from a forehead lift.

Of course, it is realistically difficult to maintain an expression with consciously raised eyebrows all day, as in the Model Face Challenge.

Rather, repeatedly using the frontalis muscle to raise the eyebrows can cause repeated tension in the forehead, potentially deepening horizontal wrinkles, and some people may also experience eye fatigue more easily by evening.

That is why, in the clinic, we often meet people who unconsciously tense their foreheads when opening their eyes.

In such cases, considering the positions of the eyebrows and forehead together, rather than simply removing skin from the upper eyelids, can lead to a more natural result.

• Upper Blepharoplasty and Forehead Lift Case: Woman in Her Late 50s -

The patient introduced here is a woman in her late 50s who underwent upper blepharoplasty and a forehead lift together.

Looking at the preoperative photos, the distance between her eyes and eyebrows was considerably short.

Forehead lift review in the 50s. Forehead lift review. Endoscopic forehead lift review. Partial model shown with consent for publication.

In such cases, upper blepharoplasty alone may improve sagging skin, but the distance between the eyes and eyebrows can become even narrower, making the upper eyelid area appear more congested and heavy.

In the end, although the drooping skin of the upper eyelids may be addressed, a heavy impression may remain rather than a refined one.

On the other hand, performing a forehead lift at the same time can restore the position of the eyebrows more naturally, improving the proportions between the eyes and eyebrows and reducing the stuffy appearance of the upper eyelid area.

The before-and-after photos show that the eyes did not simply become larger; the overall appearance became noticeably more elegant and gentle.

Changes in eyebrow position after a forehead lift. Before and after a forehead lift. Before and after an endoscopic forehead lift. Before and after middle-aged eye surgery. Partial model shown with consent for publication.

I believe this is a change that is difficult to achieve with upper blepharoplasty alone.

• Recovery Process After Upper Blepharoplasty + Forehead Lift: Woman in Her Late 50s -

Forehead lift recovery process. Endoscopic forehead lift recovery process. Forehead lift swelling. Endoscopic forehead lift swelling. Forehead lift in the 50s. Forehead lift in the 60s. Partial model shown with consent for publication.

The sutures from the eye surgery are removed around postoperative day 7, and the sutures from the forehead lift are removed around postoperative day 10.

Because the incisions for a forehead lift are located inside the scalp, they are not visible from the outside.

At this stage, swelling and some bruising may still remain, so the appearance may feel somewhat unfamiliar.

However, after about one month, most of the major swelling subsides, leaving only residual swelling, and the appearance begins to look more natural.

By the second month, a substantial amount of the swelling has resolved, allowing a more stable result to be seen.

The facial expression also becomes softer, and as the balance between the eyes and eyebrows settles, the face shows a natural impression.

• The “Overall Impression,” Which Is More Important Than Expected in Middle-Aged Eye Surgery -

The goal of middle-aged eye surgery is not simply to make the eyes look larger.

It is more important to create a soft and elegant impression that harmonizes with the entire face and does not make the person look tired.

Of course, having a forehead lift at the same time may feel burdensome.

However, upper blepharoplasty alone is not the right answer for everyone.

In particular, for people with a short distance between the eyes and eyebrows or a habit of tensing the forehead when opening their eyes,

considering an endoscopic forehead lift together can often produce a much more natural and refined result.

The recently popular Model Face Challenge is a way to create an elegant atmosphere by slightly raising the eyebrows for a few seconds.

However, it is not possible to maintain the same expression continuously in everyday life.

Therefore, in middle-aged eye surgery, rather than simply making the eyes look larger,

an even more important goal is to create a natural and elegant impression, even in a relaxed state.

An appropriate combination of a forehead lift and upper blepharoplasty may help achieve this goal,

and the most important thing is to develop a surgical plan suited to the condition of your eyes and the proportions of your face.

Forehead lift review. Middle-aged eye surgery review. Middle-aged eye surgery. Endoscopic forehead lift review. Effects of a forehead lift. Partial model shown with consent for publication.

If you are concerned about bridge-of-the-nose wrinkles and glabellar wrinkles along with drooping eyelids, please refer to the following blog post.