Non-surgical brow lift injections, energy devices and threads, compared with surgery

The basics

What a brow lift does, and why brows look lower

A brow lift raises the eyebrows, mainly at the outer end, so the upper eyelid looks more open and the face less tired or stern. The brow is held up by the forehead muscle and pulled down by the muscles between the brows and the ring muscle around the eye. With age, the skin and support tissue around the outer brow loosen, and the tail can settle over the upper lid.

It is not always the brow. A study comparing women aged 20 to 30 with women aged 50 to 60 found that the brows sat higher in the older group, significantly so at the inner and middle brow, and concluded that lifting the outer brow is what tends to look fresher. Many people who think they need a brow lift actually have loose upper-lid skin or a low eyelid edge.

So the first step is working out which it is: a lower outer brow, extra upper-lid skin (dermatochalasis), or a low eyelid margin (ptosis). Each needs a different approach, and many people have a mix.

At a glance

Brow lift options compared

These figures are averages from small studies, not a promise. A millimetre or two is subtle, but in mild cases it can be enough to open up the outer eye.

Injections

Wrinkle-relaxing injection brow lift

The brow sits where the lifting and lowering muscles balance. Small doses of a wrinkle-relaxing injection placed in the muscles that pull the brow down, between the brows and under the outer tail, let the forehead muscle win slightly, so the outer brow rises a little.

In an early study of seven women, five showed a brow rise of 1 to 3 mm, an average of about 1 mm, and two showed no change. The effect starts within days, is reviewed at about two weeks and fades over months as muscle activity returns. It suits a mildly low or flat outer brow with reasonable skin.

Placement matters. Reviews list brow drop and asymmetry among the common unwanted effects of these injections: treating the forehead muscle too strongly, or product reaching the muscle that lifts the eyelid, can make the brow or lid feel heavier for weeks. People whose brows already sit low, or who raise their brows to see, need especially careful planning.

Energy devices

Ultrasound and radiofrequency for the brow

Energy devices tighten rather than reposition. In a rater-blinded study of 35 people given one focused-ultrasound treatment of the face and neck, 86% were judged to have a visible brow lift at 90 days, with an average rise of about 1.7 mm. In a 2025 study of 14 Asian adults treated once with a small-tip monopolar radiofrequency device, the brow above the pupil rose by about 1.2 mm at two months and 1.5 mm at six months, with no adverse events.

The change is modest and builds over weeks. It suits early laxity around the outer brow and upper lid where the eyelid edge sits normally. At IN Eternity Clinic, Dr Sin Yong uses medical HIFU and Svelte Touch (radiofrequency and ultrasound together) for a mildly heavy brow and upper-lid skin, priced at consultation. VF Lift, which he performs himself at SkinRev Lab, can include the brow in its treatment plan.

At SkinRev Lab, SKINTIGHT® uses Alma PrimeX microplasma on the skin of the upper and lower eyes, treated together as one zone at S$588 per session before GST. It firms crepey, mildly hooded skin; it does not lift the brow itself or a low eyelid edge.

Threads

Thread brow lift: a quick lift, limited evidence

Absorbable barbed threads can be passed under the skin of the temple and outer brow so that the tail sits higher. The lift is visible on the day, with a few days of swelling, tenderness and small entry marks; dimpling and a thread end that can be felt are possible.

Evidence for brow threads specifically is thin, and a systematic review of thread lifts found only limited durability in most studies, with the two strongly positive studies sponsored by manufacturers. Threads also dissolve over months, so the lift softens. At IN Eternity Clinic, the thread treatments offered are RVR ProLift for the mid and lower face and a nose thread lift, priced at consultation.

Surgery

Surgical brow lift: when it makes more sense

A surgical brow lift is performed by a plastic or oculoplastic (eyelid) surgeon. Techniques include an endoscopic lift through small incisions behind the hairline, a lift through a hairline or temple incision, a direct brow lift with an incision just above the brow, and brow support placed through an upper-eyelid incision.

A narrative review of ten techniques concluded that none is completely satisfactory, because of limits in effect, longevity and complications, and that non-surgical methods are temporary but easier to correct. The endoscopic approach is the most popular, though its longevity is limited; a direct brow lift is particularly useful after facial palsy and for people who accept a scar above the brow.

Surgery usually makes more sense when the brow sits well below the bony rim, when one brow has dropped after nerve weakness, or when heavy upper-lid skin needs removing at the same time. If the eyelid edge itself is low, that is a separate eyelid operation.

Brow shaping

Eyebrow shaping: a quick visual lift

Shaping can change how high a brow looks before any treatment. Removing stray hairs below the arch and tail, and not letting the tail droop below the outer corner of the eye, makes the brow line read cleaner and slightly higher. It does not move the brow or tighten skin.

At SkinRev Lab, CityLink Mall, eyebrow shaping is done with warm wax in a private room: S$38 for women and S$48 for men, GST included, with a first-visit rate of S$28 for one Medium-band area. If your brows are sparse or uneven, eyebrow embroidery can build a fuller, better-placed shape; embroidery is priced at consultation.

Avoid over-plucking along the top edge, which lowers the visible line of the brow, and allow two to three weeks of growth before a wax.

Evidence

What the research shows, honestly

Non-surgical brow lifts are measured in millimetres. Studies of injections, focused ultrasound and radiofrequency report average lifts of roughly 1 to 2 mm, mostly in small groups and over months rather than years. That is noticeable in mild cases, especially at the outer brow, but it will not match surgery for a brow that has dropped well below the rim.

Because the inner and middle brow tend to rise rather than fall with age, lifting the whole brow evenly can look surprised rather than younger. A sensible plan focuses on the outer third, and treats the brow and upper lid as one unit.

Where to go

Non-surgical brow lift in Singapore: our network

Dr Sin Yong performs wrinkle-relaxing injections, medical HIFU and Svelte Touch at IN Eternity Clinic, 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza, beside Orchard MRT. He first checks whether the heaviness comes from the brow, the eyelid skin or the eyelid muscle, and refers you to an eyelid or plastic surgeon when surgery is the better route. Treatments are priced at consultation; WhatsApp +65 8815 3008.

SkinRev Lab, at CityLink Mall #B1-28 by City Hall MRT, does not inject or prescribe. It offers SKINTIGHT® for crepey upper and lower eye skin (S$588 per zone, before GST) and brow shaping by waxing. A sudden droop of one brow or eyelid, double vision or a severe headache needs urgent medical care, not an aesthetic appointment.

Sources

References & sources

1. Huilgol SC, Carruthers A, Carruthers JD. Raising eyebrows with botulinum toxin. Dermatol Surg. 1999;25(5):373-375.
2. Alam M, White LE, Martin N, et al. Ultrasound tightening of facial and neck skin: a rater-blinded prospective cohort study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010;62(2):262-269.
3. Suh DH, Choi JE, Lee SJ, Kim HS. Tightening of the eyelids with monopolar radiofrequency in Asians. Lasers Med Sci. 2025;40(1):530.
4. Matros E, Garcia JA, Yaremchuk MJ. Changes in eyebrow position and shape with aging. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2009;124(4):1296-1301.
5. Karimi N, Kashkouli MB, Sianati H, Khademi B. Techniques of eyebrow lifting: a narrative review. J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2020;15(2):218-235.
6. Kassir M, Gupta M, Galadari H, et al. Complications of botulinum toxin and fillers: a narrative review. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020;19(3):570-573.
7. Gülbitti HA, Colebunders B, Pirayesh A, Bertossi D, van der Lei B. Thread-lift sutures: still in the lift? A systematic review of the literature. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2018;141(3):341e-347e.

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