Before surgery: what to prepare
Stop aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, fish oil, vitamin E, ginseng, and ginkgo for 10–14 days. Stop smoking and vaping 2 weeks before and through 4 weeks after, nicotine constricts scalp blood vessels and is a major risk factor for incision-edge necrosis and visible scalp scarring. Wash your hair thoroughly the morning of surgery; you won't be able to wash properly for several days. Bring zip-up or button shirts only. If you dye your hair, wait until 4–6 weeks post-op before the next colour treatment.
The day of surgery
Brow lift is performed under general anaesthesia or deep sedation, runs 1.5–3 hours depending on technique (endoscopic through hairline incisions, direct above-brow incision, or temporal incision), and discharges same-day or after a single overnight stay. You leave with a soft head wrap covering small staple or suture lines hidden in the hairline, sometimes a small drain for endoscopic cases. Numbness of the forehead and scalp behind the incisions is immediate and expected.
Days 1–3: peak swelling
Swelling peaks day 2–3 and is concentrated in the forehead and upper face; some swelling tracks down into the upper eyelids. Bruising is variable, minimal for many patients, more pronounced if direct incisions were used. Sleep with your head elevated 30–45 degrees for the first week. Cold compresses to the forehead (not directly on the incisions) for the first 48 hours help. The forehead and scalp feel tight, numb, and itchy as nerves begin to regenerate. Avoid heavy lifting and bending.
Week 1: stitches out, bruising fades
Staples or sutures come out around day 7–10, longer than other facial procedures because the scalp heals more slowly. The brow position looks dramatically higher than the goal, this is intentional and will relax over months. Bruising, where present, is mostly gone by end of week 1. Hair washing is usually allowed from day 3–4 with gentle handling around the incision sites.
Weeks 2–4: back to public
Office work and public-facing situations from the end of week 2 for most patients, day 10 for thinner-skinned cases. Forehead numbness is still pronounced and resolves slowly over months. Itching along the incision lines as nerves regenerate is normal and intense for some patients, this is a positive sign of sensory recovery. No strenuous exercise until week 4. The brow continues to look higher than the final position.
Months 2–3: swelling resolves
Brow position begins to relax toward the final height. The forehead feels less tight. Numbness is improving but patches of altered sensation behind the incision lines can persist much longer. The intentional over-lift is now reading as a still-elevated brow rather than the surprised look of week 2. Scar lines in the hairline are concealed once hair has regrown to original density around the incisions, usually by month 3.
Months 6–12: the final result
Final brow position is at month 6 for most patients. The lift typically retains 50–70% of the immediate post-op elevation at month 6, tissue relaxation and gravity continue to act. Numbness in the central forehead is largely resolved by month 6, though small patches near the incisions can take 12 months or longer. Scar maturation runs the full 12 months. Hair around the incision sites should be back to original density unless there was tension on the closure, which can cause a localized area of thinner hair growth.
Red flags: when to call the clinic
Call the clinic the same day for: sudden severe one-sided swelling, increasing pain or pressure under the scalp (possible haematoma), pus or yellow discharge from incisions, fever over 38.5°C, scalp skin that turns dusky, white, or black along an incision (necrosis risk), a sudden drop in brow position (suture or anchor failure), or asymmetric eyebrow movement and inability to raise one brow (temporary frontal-branch facial-nerve weakness occurs in roughly 3–5% of cases, usually transient). Go to an emergency room for: severe headache combined with vision changes, or chest pain. Itching, intermittent shooting nerve sensations, and tight forehead feeling are not red flags.