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Duhan Plastic Surgery Clinic · 두한성형외과 DUHANISM · March 24, 2020
Forehead wrinkles # Forehead lift # Endoscopic forehead lift # Forehead lift # Facial lifting # Forehead wrinkle removal # Wrinkle improvement # Forehead Botox # Forehead and eyebr...
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This page is an English translation of a Korean Naver Blog archive entry. For exact wording and source context, verify against the Korean archive original and the original Naver post.
Clinic: Duhan Plastic Surgery Clinic
Original post date: March 24, 2020
Translated at: April 25, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Medical note: This translation does not guarantee medical accuracy or suitability for treatment decisions.
What is forehead fat grafting?
It aims to correct a flat, depressed, or uneven forehead
into a smooth, naturally voluminous shape.
Sometimes it can also effectively correct deep forehead wrinkles.
What are the indications for forehead fat grafting?
| In cases with depressed areas of the forehead |
|---|
| A forehead that is generally flat |
| In cases with scars on the forehead |
| In cases with deep forehead wrinkles |
What is the tunneling technique?
Rather than injecting a large amount into one area, we perform 3D micro fat grafting with evenly distributed, 100% concentrated fat in multiple layers.
A delicate and meticulous injection method makes customized design possible.
Fat grafting also includes a process called “tunneling,” which allows the grafted fat to make maximum contact with the surrounding abundant blood vessels so that it can receive nutrients continuously.
Tunneling refers to creating a space for the fat just beneath the skin using micro needles. Since space is made as if drilling a tunnel and then the fat is injected afterward, the fat does not sag downward or become lumpy even after all of it has been injected.
Because the tunneling technique includes the dissection process of wrinkles, fat is grafted beneath the dissected wrinkles, so wrinkles improve clearly compared with fat grafting at other clinics.
What is the fat grafting method for forehead contouring?
① Fat is harvested from areas where your own fat is stored in large amounts, such as the lower abdomen, waist, or thighs.
The fat is harvested by first selecting the location the patient wants.
Because local anesthesia (pain-free sleep anesthesia) is used, there is no pain at all.
A thin liposuction cannula is used to collect fat into a syringe.
② The harvested fat is placed in a centrifuge to filter out impurities.
The purpose of centrifugation is to remove impurities contained in the harvested fat and filter out local anesthetic solution, serum, red blood cells, and so on.
This process is intended to reduce side effects and increase the fat survival rate.
③ After centrifugation, the fat goes through a second concentration process to remove water and oil.
The only component needed when grafting fat is fat cells.
If any other components are included, the graft becomes unnecessary and worsens the results.
Therefore, it is important to obtain fat that is as close to 100% as possible, and for this, manual removal of the oil is necessary.
Mechanical methods cannot completely remove the oil, and excessive oil removal can destroy fat cells, so the refining process must remove the oil without damaging the fat cells.
Therefore, manual oil removal is the only method.
By removing water and oil, concentrated fat that is almost 100% is obtained.
The fat is measured into 1 cc syringes as needed.
For forehead contour correction, about 10 to 20 cc of concentrated fat is usually required.
④ The fat is grafted into the forehead area under local anesthesia.
At our clinic, we use a micro needle (micro grafting cannula) developed in-house.
The micro needle is a special grafting cannula used only at our clinic that allows ultra-precise grafting.
For fat grafting, after the tunneling process is completed, space for the fat graft is secured before grafting.
The principle of fat grafting is to distribute the fat evenly over the grafted area so that it does not clump together and to maximize the survival rate as much as possible.
The graft is placed between the bone and muscle layers and within the muscle layer, and if wrinkle correction is needed, it is also placed between the skin and muscle layers.
For contour correction, the injection needle is inserted along the boundary between the hair and the skin so that it is not noticeable.
Therefore, even immediately after forehead fat grafting, needle marks are not visible.
Examples of forehead correction applications with fat grafting
In the case of the forehead, it is effective for a depressed or uneven forehead, a flat forehead, or a forehead with deep wrinkles.
What are the advantages of forehead contouring with fat grafting?
The procedure is simple.
Because no foreign substances such as silicone, Gore-Tex, or AlloDerm are used, there is no concern about side effects.
Because the procedure does not involve skin incisions, there is no concern about scars.
Because it uses the patient’s own tissue, the shape looks natural.
There is almost no swelling or bruising.
You can return to daily life immediately after the procedure.
Because the fat tissue takes root, the effect can be maintained for a long time.
How many times is forehead fat grafting performed?
Because some of the fat is absorbed, if one procedure is not enough, a repeat procedure may be performed between 3 and 10 months later.
The second procedure is performed 3 to 10 months after the first, and when repeating the procedure, the fat that was stored and frozen at the time of the first fat grafting is thawed and used.
The second procedure is not mandatory; it is decided after observing the result of the first procedure for 3 to 4 months.
Whether a second procedure is needed depends on the degree of forehead depression, the depth of the wrinkles, and the fat survival rate, and this is decided by the patient.
What should I be careful about after forehead fat grafting?
◇ Since no bandage or dressing is applied to the forehead immediately after the procedure, you can resume daily life right away.
◇ Do not press on or massage the forehead immediately after fat grafting, and wearing a brimmed hat is also not allowed.
◇ From 2 to 3 days after the procedure, swelling in the forehead may move down to the eyelids or bridge of the nose, but it will mostly subside after about 7 days.
◇ Running exercise has a negative effect on fat survival, so avoid running for about a month, but walking, stretching, and weight training may be resumed after 1 to 2 weeks.
◇ You should avoid alcohol and smoking for about a week, and alcohol may cause inflammation at the graft site, so it should be restrained. Excessive smoking negatively affects fat survival.
What are the effects of correcting forehead depressions and wrinkles with fat grafting?
For forehead depressions and wrinkles, satisfactory results can generally be obtained with one treatment, and at most two treatments.
When correcting forehead wrinkles, it is applied in cases where the wrinkles are deeply etched.
If forehead depression and deep wrinkles are present together, fat grafting can be even more effective.
This is because both forehead depression and wrinkles are corrected at the same time.
Fine lines can be corrected with fillers (Juvederm, Restylane, etc.) or Botox, but deeply etched wrinkles have limitations with these procedures, so fat grafting can be said to be more effective for deep wrinkles.
Sometimes Juvederm filler is also used together with fat grafting.
How long does the effect of fat grafting last?
Some people say fat grafting has no effect because much of the fat is absorbed, but this applies to cases where fat grafting was performed poorly at a clinic with somewhat limited experience.
If fat grafting is done accurately, a satisfying result can be obtained, and once the grafted fat takes root, it is no longer absorbed and remains as your own fat tissue for life, so fat grafting is the safest and most effective method.
On average, after 1 to 2 fat grafting sessions, a permanent and satisfying facial contour correction effect can be obtained.
What are the side effects of forehead fat grafting?
In principle, if fat grafting is performed correctly, there are almost no side effects.
However, if the practitioner lacks experience or if the patient receives incorrect fat grafting that goes against the principles, uneven contouring may appear on the forehead, the fat may be absorbed too much and produce no effect at all, or the patient may suffer from severe swelling caused by excessive treatment.
Only accurate and principled fat grafting can produce satisfying results.
As a rule, you should not receive treatment from someone with little fat grafting experience or from a non-specialist in plastic surgery.
What are the other treatment methods using implants?
In addition to fat grafting, artificial dermis AlloDerm or implants may also be inserted, but in the case of AlloDerm, it is expensive and has a weak contour-correction effect. Since a large incision must be made in the scalp and the forehead muscle layer lifted for insertion, postoperative swelling is very severe and a bandage must be worn for about 4 to 5 days.
In the case of silicone implants, a 5 cm incision must also be made in the scalp before the implant is inserted. Swelling is severe, fluid may accumulate in the forehead as a side effect, and a bandage must be worn for about 4 to 5 days.
In the future, the contour of the silicone may become visible, or over time it may no longer match the contour of the bone and become misshapen.
Also, implants have almost no wrinkle-correcting effect in the case of deep forehead wrinkles.
Comparison of various procedures for forehead augmentation
| Filler injection | Alloderm (liquid artificial dermis) | AlloDerm (solid artificial dermis) | Silicone implant | Fat grafting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Need for incision | Not needed | Not needed | 4–5 cm on the scalp | 4–5 cm on the scalp | Not needed |
| Procedure time | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 1 hour | 1 hour | 1 hour |
| Wrinkle improvement effect | Effective for fine wrinkles | Almost none | Almost none | Weak | Effective for thick, deep wrinkles |
| Forehead augmentation effect | Almost none | Very weak | Weak | Large | Average or above |
| Return to daily life | You can return to daily life immediately, but red bruising from the injection mark lasts 1–2 weeks. | You can return to daily life immediately, but red bruising from the injection mark lasts 1–2 weeks. | Severe swelling and pain occur, and a bandage must be worn for about 4 to 5 days. | Severe swelling and pain occur, and a bandage must be worn for about 4 to 5 days. | You can return to daily life immediately, but swelling may occur in the eyelids for about 7 days. |
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