Solutions to Correct Droopy Eyes and Hooded Eyelids

Your eyelids do more than protect your eyes from dust, wind, and sunlight. They give your eyes their shape and appearance and can affect how your face looks. Droopy upper eyelids can give your eyes a hooded appearance and make you look worn out, sleepy, and older than you really are. Hooded Eyelids can be saggy from birth, or they can droop as a result of ageing, eye injury, or an underlying medical condition.

There are several ways to improve the aesthetic appearance of hooded eyelids. Injectables, upper blepharoplasty, or a brow lift surgery can help lift your upper eyelids and help make your eyes look bigger and brighter.

If your hooded eyelid restricts your vision you may be able to claim a Medicare subsidy for eyelid surgery if you meet the strict criteria.

Dr Hunt and Dr Maryam perform surgical and non-surgical eyelid lifting procedures in Sydney NSW. They aim to bring out the eyes, make you look less tired and restore your appearance.

What Are Hooded Eyelids?

Hooded eyelids, or ptotic eyelids, are eyelids that have extra folds of skin sagging on the eyes. This can give the eyes a droopy appearance and makes them look sleepy and tired. As a result, your entire face can look exhausted and older than it really is. Droopy upper eyelids can also obscure your eyesight. If your eyelid skin sags all the way down and covers the pupils, it can make your eyes narrower and block your peripheral vision.

What Causes Hooded Eyelids?

The cause of hooded upper eyelids can include:

Ageing: this is the most common cause of eyelid ptosis and hooded eyelid appearance. Your eyelids are constantly exposed to the effects of gravity, sun rays, and the constant movement of the eye blinking. That’s why, as you age, your eyelid skin starts to stretch and the muscles supporting it become weaker
Congenital (since birth): babies can be born with one or two droopy eyelids. This happens when the levator muscle that’s supposed to hold the eyelid up doesn’t develop properly
Eye injury: the nerves in the eye can become damaged if you get hit in the eye or if you wear eye contact for a long time
Eye surgery: you may get hooded eyelids after LASIK, cataract, or glaucoma eye surgery. But it’s usually temporary
Anti-wrinkle injections: it’s possible to get droopy eyelids as a consequence of anti-wrinkle injections if some of it affects the muscles that control your upper eyelids – a temporary complication called “Dropped Brow”
Underlying medical conditions: some of the common medical conditions that can cause droopy eyelids are: Myasthenia Gravis, eyelid tumour, eye infection, stroke, or a brain tumour

When Should Hooded Eyelids Be Treated?

Some people find the sagginess of their eyelids barely noticeable and it is not bothering them.

For other people, saggy upper eyelids can become troublesome when they cause the following problems:

Aesthetic problems: drooping eyelids can make your eyes look puffy and uneven. Also, squinting too much makes your eyes look smaller and more wrinkled. Moreover, a lot of people with hooded eyelids tilt their heads back while they’re speaking so they can see better. They do this even when having a conversation, which can make the face look weird and off-putting
Vision problems: if the eyelid drops too much, it can obstruct the pupils, block the vision, and make things look blurry
Dry eyes: saggy eyelids can’t keep your eyes as moist as they should be. This can make the eyes become dry and irritated
Headaches: eyelids that obstruct your vision can make you squint to see better. Squinting for a long period of time can strain the muscles around your eyes which can lead to headaches

Your surgeon will investigate if your sleepy eyes have an underlying problem especially if you noticed other symptoms like migraines and headaches since the drooping started.

How Do You Fix Hooded Eyelids?

Sometimes, the droopiness of hooded eyelids resolves naturally on its own. Other times, it may need intervention.

There are surgical and non-surgical options to treat the undesirable look of the eyes depending on how severe the eye drooping is. Dr Hunt and Dr Maryam will assess the optimal treatment option that will give you good results.

Surgical Options for Hooded Eyelids

The surgical treatments for hooded eyelids can offer a more permanent solution for the sagging skin and weary look of the upper eyelid. Surgical eye lifting is considered the standard treatment for hooded eyelids. It offers more durable results. The options include:

1. Upper Blepharoplasty surgery

To fix the sleepy eye appearance caused by droopy upper lids, Dr Hunt and Dr Maryam perform a plastic surgery called upper blepharoplasty. Blepharoplasty is an efficient and durable solution for hooded eyelids. It provides more permanent results and an improvement in appearance and vision.

During an upper eyelid lift, the levator muscle controlling the upper lid is tightened and the eyelid is lifted into a more desirable position. You surgeon also can remove excess skin and fat from your upper eyelid to make your eyes look bigger and wider. As a result, your eyes regain their energetic appearance.

Lifting the saggy skin of the eyes can also improve your vision and restore your eyesight. Blepharoplasty surgery can also be done in children with droopy eyelids to prevent lazy eyes.

2. Brow Lift surgery

An upper facelift, also called a forehead lift or brow lift, is another surgical treatment that can lift droopy eyelids. Similar to an upper blepharoplasty, a brow lift makes your eyes look more alert.

A brow lift involves lifting the deep forehead muscles and overlying skin to bring the whole upper face up. It can be done alone or in combination with a blepharoplasty to lift the eyelids and forehead together. This is usually done using an endoscopic technique through the same small incision above the eyelids. By lifting the forehead muscles, your surgeon can pull the eyelids up making your eyes appear larger. A brow lift can also get rid of eye wrinkles and smoothen the skin around your eyes.

The eyes are very delicate organs and the skin around them is one of the thinnest skin areas in your body. Dr Maryam and Dr Hunt have the training and experience in eyelid surgery that enables them to fix your hooded eyelid problems.

Non-Surgical Methods to help fix Hooded Eyelids

If the eye sagginess is minimal, non-surgical treatments can give you good results by smoothing eye wrinkles and tightening the eyelids. Treating saggy upper eyelids without surgery can be done using:

1. Injectables – Anti-wrinkle Injections

An anti-wrinkle injections brow lift can be done by injecting products containing botulinum toxin into the skin surrounding your eyes. The substance relaxes the muscle that’s pulling your eyelids down. This relieves the heaviness from the eyes and allows your upper eyelid to lift back up. Anti-wrinkle injections can lift some of the sagging skin and flatten wrinkles around your eyes giving your face a different look especially when you smile.

2. Injectables – Dermal Fillers

Eyelid fillers are another droopy eyelids non-surgical treatment that can give you fast results. It involves small injections of dermal fillers, like Hyaluronic acid, into the upper eyelids or brow. The fillers will give your eyelids more volume and plump up their appearance. Hyaluronic acid and other eye fillers can help rejuvenate your eyes. However, their results aren’t permanent and you might need repeated injections to maintain the desired results.

3. Special Eye Glasses

Your doctor may recommend that you wear glasses with special crutches to deal with eyelid ptosis. The crutches can lift your eyelids to help you see and read better if you want to avoid eyelid surgery. Eyelid crutches are effective for temporary hooded eyelids that don’t droop too much.

4. Home remedies for Hooded Eyes

There are a few temporary home remedies you can try such as:

Teabags: chamomile tea bags are suggested as a common hooded eyelid natural remedy. The chamomile can reduce the inflammation around the eyes giving them a brighter appearance
Chilled cucumbers: the cooling effect of the cucumber can make your eyes look refreshed and energetic. Cucumbers also contain vitamin C and folic acid that can stimulate cell growth and help get rid of puffy and tired eyes naturally.
Iced water: the cold temperature can tighten the skin and effortlessly treat mild eyelid sagging

What’s the Optimal Solution for Hooded Eyelids?

There isn’t one standard treatment for hooded eyelids. The best treatment for saggy eyelids will depend on how droopy your upper eyelids are, if they’re causing you any vision problems, and what aesthetic goal you hope to achieve. If your upper eyelids sag only a little, anti-wrinkle injections or hyaluronic acid injections may be the best option for you. For minor drooping, these injections can deliver quick and natural-looking results. Although, their results aren’t durable in the long run.

You’ll benefit more from an upper eyelid lift if you want a more permanent fix for the significant droopiness and puffiness in your upper eyelids. On the other hand, a brow lift may be more suitable for you if you have truly droopy eyebrows that you’d like to lift. An upper facelift can significantly enhance the appearance of your eyebrows and also improve how your eyelids look.

To get even more from your eyelid surgery, you can get an upper blepharoplasty and a brow lift at the same time. During your consultation, Dr Maryam and Dr Hunt will give your eyes a thorough evaluation and plan an effective eyelid treatment option that promises to give you the results you want.

Is It Possible to Prevent Hooded Eyelids?

Eyelid drooping is a natural process that happens with age. And although you cannot prevent it, you can still slow it down. Avoid things that make your eyes age faster like smoking, too much sun exposure, and staying up too late.

Getting early treatment for your hooded eyelids can help you prevent further drooping and serious vision problems. If you feel like you’re unsatisfied with how your eyelids look, you should consult with a plastic surgeon. A plastic surgery procedure can make your eyes look bright in no time.

FAQs about Hooded Eyelids

Can you lift the eyelids without surgery?

Only surgery can get rid of the excess flaps of skin and fat above the eyes. Although you could add volume to the eyelids and plump them up without surgery using fillers or injectables to make them look perkier. Many aesthetic injectors recommend a plastic surgeon perform a Blepharoplasty when they can no longer use filler or anti-wrinkle injections to lift the upper eye.

Can hooded eyes cause headaches?

Hooded eyelids can drop down to the pupils and obscure your eyesight. As a result, you may have to constantly squint in order to see better. The constant squinting constricts the muscles around your eyes and forehead which can cause headaches.

Does weight gain cause hooded eyes?

As you gain weight, fat accumulates in different parts of your body. One of those parts can be your eyelids. Fat deposits may accumulate under the skin of your upper eyelids weighing them down. Consequently, the eyelids become heavy and droop over the eyes.

Are hooded eyelids uncomfortable?

The extra layers of skin that droop down can be heavy on the eyes and cause them discomfort. They can also and make it harder for you to see making you constantly tilt your head backwards even during a conversation. Moreover, saggy eyelids can make your eyes dry which can cause irritation and discomfort.

Medical References about Correction of Hooded Eyelids

About Dr Jeremy Hunt – Plastic Surgeon

Dr Jeremy Hunt is a specialist plastic surgeon performing breast, body, face and nose surgery in Australia.

He is a member of FRACS & ASPS and has over 20 years of experience providing plastic surgery in Sydney.

Careful, considerate and honest, Dr Jeremy Hunt works with you to find a solution that is optimal for your body and your lifestyle.

Dr Hunt’s personal, one-on-one service and attention to detail has given thousands of women and men from the Sydney & Wollongong NSW area and across Australia the aesthetic results they desire.

Dr Hunt’s qualifications and education

Dr Jeremy A Hunt MBBS FRACS graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine degree from Sydney University in 1990 and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgery. He completed a Fellowship at the prestigious University of Texas in the United States, where he learnt from some of the world’s very best plastic surgeons.

Next Step – Make an Enquiry or Request a consultation with Dr Hunt

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Request more information about the procedure – call on 1300 157 200 or contact us

If Eyelid Rejuvenation is something you’re considering, Dr Hunt can thoroughly explain all the options to you in a one-on-one consultation.

Make an Enquiry or Request a consultation with Dr Hunt

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health professional.

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