Upper Facelift in Seoul, Korea
Restore a Brighter and More Youthful Upper Face at Gangnam ETONNE Plastic Surgery

Aging in the upper face can cause the eyebrows to descend, the forehead to appear heavier, and the upper eyelids to look tired or less defined. Temple hollowing, forehead lines, and changes around the outer eyes may also affect the balance between the brows, eyes, and cheeks.

An Upper Facelift focuses on rejuvenating the forehead, eyebrows, temples, and surrounding upper-face tissues. At Gangnam ETONNE Plastic Surgery in Seoul, the procedure is carefully customized to create a brighter and more refreshed appearance while preserving the patient’s natural eye shape, facial expressions, and unique identity.

What Is an Upper Facelift?

An Upper Facelift is a general term for surgical procedures that lift and reposition sagging tissues in the upper third of the face. Depending on the patient’s anatomy and concerns, the treatment may include a Brow Lift, Temporal Lift, Endoscopic Forehead Lift, or a customized combination of techniques.

Rather than simply tightening the forehead skin, the procedure may reposition deeper supportive tissues to restore a more balanced relationship between the forehead, eyebrows, and eyes.

An Upper Facelift can effectively improve:

• Drooping eyebrows
• Heaviness around the upper eyelids
• Forehead skin laxity
• Horizontal forehead lines
• Frown lines between the eyebrows
• Sagging around the temples
• A tired, sad, or concerned expression
• Mild upper-face asymmetry
• Early to moderate upper-face aging

By restoring the brow and forehead tissues to a more youthful position, the procedure can create a smoother and more open upper-face appearance.

Which Procedures May Be Included?

The term Upper Facelift may include several surgical approaches. The most appropriate technique depends on the location and degree of tissue descent.

Possible procedures may include:

• Endoscopic Brow Lift: Uses small incisions hidden within the hairline to reposition the deeper forehead and brow tissues.
• Temporal Lift: Focuses primarily on elevating the outer eyebrows and supporting the temple area.
• Hairline Brow Lift: Places the incision near the frontal hairline and may be considered when forehead height also requires adjustment.
• Direct Brow Lift: Provides localized brow elevation through an incision positioned close to the eyebrows in selected patients.
• Coronal Brow Lift: Uses a longer incision within the scalp and may be considered when more extensive upper-face correction is required.
• Combined Upper-Face Lift: Treats the forehead, brows, and temples together according to the patient’s individual aging pattern.

The procedure name alone does not determine the surgical plan. A detailed facial evaluation is necessary to identify which tissues require correction.

How Is an Upper Facelift Performed?

The surgical approach is customized according to the patient’s brow position, forehead height, hairline, skin elasticity, and desired degree of correction.

The procedure may include:

• Creating incisions within or near the hairline
• Accessing the deeper forehead and brow tissues
• Releasing selected retaining structures
• Elevating descended eyebrows
• Repositioning sagging temple tissues
• Reducing excessive tension around the forehead
• Securing the tissues in a balanced position
• Evaluating eyebrow height and symmetry
• Closing the incisions carefully to minimize visibility

The degree and direction of elevation are carefully controlled to avoid an excessively raised or surprised appearance.

How Is an Upper Facelift Different From a Full Facelift?

A Full Facelift generally focuses on the cheeks, lower face, jowls, jawline, and sometimes the neck. An Upper Facelift focuses on the forehead, eyebrows, temples, and upper-eye region.

Compared with a Full Facelift, an Upper Facelift may provide:

• Greater correction of brow descent
• Improved forehead contours
• Reduced upper-eyelid heaviness caused by low brows
• Better temple and outer-eye balance
• Limited improvement in sagging cheeks
• Minimal correction of jowls
• No significant treatment of loose neck skin
• More targeted upper-face rejuvenation

Patients with aging in both the upper and lower face may benefit from combining the procedures for more balanced results.

How Is an Upper Facelift Different From Upper Eyelid Surgery?

An Upper Facelift and Upper Eyelid Surgery address different causes of heaviness around the eyes.

Upper Eyelid Surgery focuses on excess eyelid skin, fat, or tissue. An Upper Facelift elevates descended eyebrows and forehead tissues that may be contributing to upper-eye heaviness.

An Upper Facelift may be more appropriate when the patient has:

• Low or drooping eyebrows
• Brow-related upper-eyelid heaviness
• Forehead skin laxity
• A tired expression caused by brow descent
• Outer-brow asymmetry
• Sagging around the temples

Some patients have both excess eyelid skin and brow descent. In these cases, combining Upper Eyelid Surgery with an Upper Facelift may provide more balanced correction.

Benefits of an Upper Facelift

An Upper Facelift can provide targeted rejuvenation while preserving natural facial movement and expression.

Benefits may include:

• Elevated and more balanced eyebrows
• A brighter and more open eye appearance
• Reduced upper-eyelid heaviness
• Smoother forehead contours
• Softer frown lines
• Improved temple definition
• Better brow symmetry
• A less tired or concerned expression
• Natural facial movement
• Long-lasting upper-face rejuvenation

The goal is not to dramatically change the brows or eyes, but to restore a natural position that complements the patient’s overall facial proportions.

Which Areas Can Be Treated?

An Upper Facelift primarily focuses on the upper third of the face.

Common treatment areas include:

• Central forehead
• Lateral forehead
• Inner eyebrows
• Outer eyebrows
• Temples
• Glabellar area between the eyebrows
• Upper-eyelid and brow transition
• Outer-eye region
• Brow and temple transition

The procedure does not directly correct lower-eyelid bags, advanced cheek sagging, jowls, or neck laxity.

Can an Upper Facelift Change the Eye Shape?

An Upper Facelift is intended to improve the tissues surrounding the eyes rather than alter the eyes themselves. However, changing the position of the brows and temples may influence the overall appearance of the eye area.

The procedure may create:

• A more open upper-eye appearance
• Reduced heaviness above the eyelids
• A smoother brow-to-eyelid transition
• Improved outer-eye balance
• A brighter and more rested expression
• Better symmetry between the eyebrows and eyes

Excessive elevation can create an unnatural brow angle or alter the patient’s expression. Careful planning is therefore important to preserve the natural eye and brow relationship.

Can an Upper Facelift Be Combined With Other Procedures?

Upper-face aging often occurs together with eyelid changes, cheek descent, or facial volume loss. Depending on the patient’s concerns, an Upper Facelift may be combined with additional procedures.

Combination procedures may include:

• Upper eyelid surgery
• Lower eyelid surgery
• Under-eye fat repositioning
• Temporal Lift
• Midface Facelift
• Facial Fat Transfer
• Nano-Fat Facial Rejuvenation
• Mini Facelift
• Lower Facelift
• Face and Neck Lift
• Skin resurfacing treatments

Combining selected procedures can help improve harmony among the forehead, brows, eyes, cheeks, jawline, and neck while allowing the patient to follow one coordinated recovery plan.

Who Is a Good Candidate?

An Upper Facelift may be suitable for individuals who experience:

• Mild to advanced brow descent
• Heaviness around the upper eyelids
• Forehead skin laxity
• Horizontal forehead lines
• Frown lines between the eyebrows
• Sagging around the temples
• A tired, sad, or concerned expression
• Brow asymmetry
• Good overall health
• A desire for natural-looking upper-face rejuvenation

Many patients in their 30s through 60s consider this procedure. However, candidacy depends more on brow position, forehead anatomy, hairline, skin elasticity, eyelid condition, and individual aging patterns than age alone.

When Is an Upper Facelift Not Enough?

An Upper Facelift may not provide sufficient correction when aging affects several additional areas of the face.

Other procedures may be recommended for patients with:

• Significant excess upper-eyelid skin
• Prominent lower-eyelid bags
• Advanced midface descent
• Sagging cheeks
• Deep nasolabial folds
• Jowls along the jawline
• Loose lower-face skin
• Significant neck laxity
• Facial volume loss

Selecting the appropriate combination of procedures is more important than attempting to treat every concern through one surgical approach.

Personalized Surgical Planning at ETONNE Plastic Surgery

At ETONNE Plastic Surgery, every Upper Facelift begins with a detailed evaluation of the patient’s forehead, eyebrows, eyes, temples, hairline, and overall facial balance.

The evaluation may include:

• Inner and outer brow position
• Brow shape and symmetry
• Upper-eyelid heaviness
• Forehead height
• Hairline position and density
• Forehead muscle activity
• Skin thickness and elasticity
• Depth of forehead and frown lines
• Temple volume and tissue position
• Eye shape
• Previous brow or eyelid procedures
• Individual aesthetic goals

Based on this assessment, the surgeon determines the appropriate incision placement, surgical technique, lifting direction, and degree of tissue elevation. ETONNE’s approach emphasizes controlled structural correction while maintaining natural brow movement, eye shape, and personal identity.

Recovery After an Upper Facelift

Recovery varies depending on the surgical technique and whether additional eyelid or facial procedures are performed. Temporary swelling, bruising, tightness, scalp tenderness, numbness, and mild discomfort may occur during early healing.

General recovery timeline:

• First several days: Swelling, bruising, forehead tightness, and tenderness may occur around the brows, temples, and upper eyelids.
• First week: Swelling may remain noticeable, and the eyebrows may initially appear slightly higher than their final settled position.
• Approximately 1–2 weeks: Many patients can return to light daily activities as visible swelling and bruising improve.
• Approximately 2–4 weeks: The brow position and upper-face contours begin to appear softer and more natural.
• Following months: Residual swelling decreases, scalp sensation gradually improves, incisions soften, and the final brow position becomes more refined.

Following the surgeon’s postoperative instructions, avoiding unnecessary pressure on the forehead and temples, and attending scheduled follow-up appointments can help support proper healing.

Why International Patients Choose ETONNE Plastic Surgery

Located in Seoul’s Gangnam district, ETONNE Plastic Surgery provides customized upper-face rejuvenation procedures for both Korean and international patients.

International patients appreciate the clinic for:

• Detailed forehead, brow, and eyelid analysis
• Personalized surgical planning
• Multiple upper-face lifting techniques
• Carefully concealed incision placement
• Customized brow-elevation direction
• Preservation of natural eye and brow shape
• Natural-looking rejuvenation goals
• Rigorous patient safety protocols
• Comprehensive postoperative care
• English-speaking support for overseas patients

By tailoring the procedure to each patient’s forehead anatomy, brow position, and facial proportions, ETONNE aims to create a brighter and more refreshed appearance without an overly elevated or artificial result.

Restore a Brighter Upper-Face Appearance in Seoul

An Upper Facelift is a targeted option for patients who want to improve drooping eyebrows, forehead laxity, upper-eyelid heaviness, temple sagging, and a tired facial expression. By repositioning the deeper brow and forehead tissues, the procedure can create a smoother, brighter, and naturally rejuvenated upper face.

At Gangnam ETONNE Plastic Surgery, each treatment plan is individually designed to restore upper-face balance while preserving natural expressions, eye shape, and the patient’s unique facial identity.