Understanding Your Options for a Refreshed, Lifted Brow
Brow lift non-surgical treatments offer a way to lift drooping brows, smooth forehead lines, and achieve a more youthful, refreshed appearance without surgery or significant downtime. If you’re noticing that your brows seem heavier, your upper eyelids feel hooded, or you simply look more tired than you feel, you’re not alone—and you have options.
Quick Answer: What Are the Main Non-Surgical Brow Lift Options?
- Neuromodulators (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin) – Relax muscles that pull the brow down, allowing lifting muscles to work unopposed. Results last 3-6 months.
- Dermal Fillers – Add volume beneath the brow or in the temples to create a lifted, supported appearance. Results last several months to over a year.
- Ultrasound Therapy (Ultherapy) – Uses focused ultrasound energy to tighten skin and stimulate collagen production for gradual lifting over 2-6 months.
- Radiofrequency Treatments – Heat deeper skin layers to encourage collagen regeneration and skin tightening.
- Thread Lifts – Place dissolvable sutures under the skin for an immediate mechanical lift that lasts about a year.
Have you ever pulled your brows up slightly toward your hairline and thought, “Wow, I look so much better”? That’s the effect a brow lift creates. As we age, our brows naturally descend due to loss of skin elasticity, volume depletion in the bone and soft tissue, and weakening of the supporting structures. This can make us appear tired, sad, or even angry—even when we’re feeling great.
The good news? You don’t need to go under the knife to reverse these changes. Non-surgical brow lift procedures have become increasingly popular because they offer noticeable improvements with minimal risk, little to no downtime, and results that look natural. Whether your concern is subtle sagging or more pronounced drooping, there’s likely a non-surgical option that fits your needs and lifestyle.
As Dr. Sarah Yovino, a double board-certified master injector specializing in non-surgical medical aesthetics at Ideal Face & Body in Beverly Hills, I’ve helped countless patients achieve beautifully lifted, natural-looking brows through precise brow lift non-surgical techniques custom to their unique facial anatomy. My approach combines extensive training in pain management with advanced injection skills to deliver results that improve your best features without looking overdone.
In this guide, we’ll explore the full spectrum of non-surgical brow lift options available today, from the quick precision of injectable treatments to the gradual tightening power of energy-based devices. You’ll learn how each method works, what results you can realistically expect, and how to decide which approach is right for you.
What Are the Primary Options for a Brow Lift Non-Surgical Procedure?
When it comes to achieving a brow lift non-surgical result, you have several proven options that work in different ways to refresh your upper face. The beauty of these treatments is that they target specific aspects of aging—whether that’s muscle activity, volume loss, or skin laxity—without requiring incisions or lengthy recovery times.
Think of it this way: aging affects your brows from multiple angles. Some muscles pull downward while others weaken. Volume disappears from your temples and brow bone. Your skin loses its natural elasticity. The good news? Modern aesthetic medicine has developed targeted solutions for each of these concerns.
Injectable Treatments: Neuromodulators and Fillers
Injectables are the workhorses of non-surgical brow lifting. They’re precise, predictable, and can be customized to your exact needs. Most importantly, they work beautifully for patients who want noticeable improvement without any downtime.
Neuromodulators like Botulinum toxin are incredibly effective for creating a lifted brow. You might know these treatments by names like Botox Beverly Hills or Xeomin Injections. Here’s what makes them work: certain muscles around your eyes and forehead naturally pull your brows downward as they contract. When we strategically relax these downward-pulling muscles, the muscles that lift your brows can work unopposed. The result? A subtle but noticeable lift that looks completely natural.
As a bonus, these treatments also smooth out those pesky frown lines and horizontal forehead wrinkles that can make you look stressed or tired. The whole process takes about 15 minutes, and you can return to your day immediately afterward.
Dermal Fillers take a completely different approach. Instead of affecting muscle movement, they restore lost volume. Made primarily with hyaluronic acid, these fillers act like scaffolding beneath your skin. When we place them strategically above the brow, beneath it, or in the temples, they provide structural support that creates a gentle lifting effect.
Temple hollowing is something many people don’t realize contributes to brow descent. As we age, we lose volume in our temples, which affects the entire upper face. By restoring that volume, we can achieve a more youthful brow position and contour. The results are immediate and can last anywhere from several months to over a year, depending on the product used and your individual metabolism.
Energy-Based Devices: Ultrasound and Radiofrequency
If you prefer gradual, natural-looking results and want to improve your skin quality while lifting your brows, energy-based treatments might be your best option. These technologies work with your body’s natural healing processes rather than against them.
Ultrasound therapy uses focused energy to heat the deeper layers of your skin at precise depths. This controlled heating triggers your body’s natural collagen production. As fresh collagen forms over the following months, your skin gradually tightens and lifts. It’s like turning back the clock on your skin’s aging process.
The beauty of this approach is that results develop slowly—over two to six months—so you look naturally refreshed rather than suddenly different. Most patients see optimal improvement after just one treatment, with results lasting a year or more. And there’s virtually no downtime, which makes it perfect for busy professionals.
Radiofrequency (RF) energy works similarly but targets different tissue depths. By delivering controlled dermal heating, RF treatments stimulate collagen stimulation and tighten existing collagen fibers. The result is firmer, smoother skin with a subtle lift that improves over time. Many patients combine RF treatments with other approaches for comprehensive Skin Rejuvenation, addressing multiple concerns in one treatment plan.
Thread Lifts: An Instant Lift
For patients who want immediate results from a brow lift non-surgical procedure, thread lifts offer the best of both worlds—instant improvement with minimal invasion.
During this minimally invasive technique, we place medical-grade dissolvable sutures just beneath your skin. These threads are gently positioned to create an immediate mechanical lift of sagging tissues. You’ll see the difference as soon as you look in the mirror after your treatment.
But the benefits don’t stop there. As these threads gradually dissolve over several months, they trigger collagen production in the surrounding tissue. This means your results actually improve over time as your skin quality improves. The entire process is surprisingly comfortable, recovery is quick, and the temporary results typically last about a year.
The key to success with any of these treatments is choosing the right approach—or combination of approaches—for your specific concerns and goals. That’s where an experienced provider makes all the difference.
Injectables Compared: How Do They Achieve a Brow Lift?
When you’re exploring a brow lift non-surgical solution, you’ll likely hear about both neuromodulators and dermal fillers. While they’re often mentioned in the same breath, these two treatments work in completely different ways to lift and refresh your brows. Think of it like this: one relaxes what’s pulling you down, while the other builds you back up. Understanding how each works will help you choose the right approach for your unique concerns.
The Role of Neuromodulators in a Brow Lift Non-Surgical Approach
Neuromodulators like Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin Injections are the precision tools of brow lift non-surgical treatments. They achieve their lifting effect by working with your facial muscle dynamics rather than against them.
Here’s what’s happening beneath your skin: your face has muscles that constantly compete with each other. Some muscles, like the frontalis muscle across your forehead, are lifters—they pull your brows upward when you raise your eyebrows in surprise. Others are depressors that pull downward, including the orbicularis oculi muscle that circles your eyes and the corrugator and procerus muscles between your brows that create those vertical frown lines.
When we strategically inject a neuromodulator into the depressor muscles, we temporarily block the nerve signals that tell those muscles to contract. This isn’t about freezing your face—it’s about creating balance. With the downward-pulling muscles relaxed, your lifting muscles can work more effectively, creating a gentle, natural lifting effect. Your brow rises by just a few millimeters, but this subtle shift can dramatically open up your eyes and erase that tired or stern look.
The beauty of this approach is that it also smooths out dynamic wrinkles—those frown lines and crow’s feet that appear when you make expressions. You get a double benefit: lifted brows and smoother skin.
One thing to keep in mind: these results last 3-6 months on average. In my experience at Ideal Face & Body, I’ve noticed that Botox tends to wear off a bit faster on the brows than in other facial areas, so maintaining your results means staying consistent with your treatments. Botox Beverly Hills patients often schedule their touch-ups every three to four months to keep their brows looking their best.
How Dermal Fillers Provide Support and Augmentation
Dermal Fillers take a completely different approach to lifting your brows. Instead of relaxing muscles, they work by restoring what time has taken away: volume and structural support.
As we age, we don’t just lose skin elasticity—we actually lose the underlying scaffolding that keeps everything in place. Volume loss occurs in the soft tissues around your brows and temples. Even more surprising, bone resorption happens in the skull, creating hollows where there used to be fullness. When this foundation weakens, your brows have nothing to rest on, and they begin to descend.
This is where fillers shine. By carefully injecting hyaluronic acid-based fillers just above the brow bone or in the temples, we can replace that lost volume and create a scaffold that lifts the brow from underneath. It’s like adding support beams to a sagging structure. The filler doesn’t just push the brow up—it restores the natural contours of your face, creating beautiful brow contouring that looks completely natural.
This technique is particularly effective if you’ve noticed temple hollowing or a sunken appearance under your brows. The filler provides immediate lift and smooths out static wrinkles—those lines that are visible even when your face is completely relaxed.
The longevity of fillers varies, but you can typically expect results lasting several months to over a year, depending on which type of filler we use and how your body naturally metabolizes it. Thicker, more robust fillers tend to last longer in areas that need structural support. For more insights on how these techniques work together to optimize your facial aesthetics, resources like the American Academy of Ophthalmology provide valuable information.
The real magic often happens when we combine both neuromodulators and fillers in a customized treatment plan. One relaxes what’s pulling you down, the other builds you back up—together, they create a comprehensive, natural-looking lift that addresses multiple aspects of brow aging at once.
Surgical vs. Non-Surgical: A Realistic Comparison
When you’re exploring brow lift non-surgical options, it’s natural to wonder how these treatments stack up against traditional surgery. The truth is, both approaches have their place—but they serve different needs and deliver different results. Understanding these differences will help you make the choice that’s right for you.
Results, Recovery, and Risks
Think of it this way: non-surgical and surgical brow lifts are like two different tools in a toolbox. Each is perfect for specific jobs, but you wouldn’t use a hammer when you need a screwdriver.
Non-surgical procedures offer a subtle lift—typically raising your brow by just a few millimeters. This might not sound like much, but those few millimeters can make a remarkable difference in how refreshed and awake you look. It’s the perfect solution when you want to look like yourself, just better rested. A surgical brow lift, on the other hand, can achieve a more dramatic elevation of a centimeter or more. This makes it ideal when you’re dealing with more pronounced sagging that needs a more significant correction.
One of the biggest reasons patients love brow lift non-surgical treatments is the minimal downtime. Most of our patients walk out of our Beverly Hills office and return to their daily routine almost immediately. You might have some minor redness or swelling that fades within a day or two, and occasionally a small bruise that’s easily covered with makeup. Compare that to surgical recovery, which typically requires one to two weeks of healing time and avoiding strenuous activity.
The risk profile also differs significantly. Non-surgical procedures carry lower risks overall. The most common side effects are temporary and mild—think bruising, slight swelling, or in very rare cases (less than 0.1% of the time), temporary eyelid drooping that resolves on its own within a few weeks. Surgery involves the inherent risks that come with any surgical procedure: anesthesia risks, potential for bleeding or infection, possible hair loss around incisions, and scarring. While these complications are uncommon with an experienced surgeon, they’re still considerations.
Here’s where the trade-off comes in: non-surgical results are temporary. Your neuromodulator treatments will last about three to six months, and fillers can last anywhere from several months to over a year. This means you’ll need maintenance treatments to keep your results. Surgical results, while not stopping the aging process entirely, can last for many years—sometimes a decade or more before you notice significant changes again.
When Is a Surgical Brow Lift the Better Option?
We’re passionate about what non-surgical treatments can achieve, but we’re also honest about their limitations. There are situations where a Surgical Brow Lift is truly the better answer.
If you’re experiencing severe brow ptosis—meaning your brows have dropped significantly—to the point where they’re affecting your vision or creating a heavy, perpetually tired appearance, non-surgical options may simply not provide enough lift. They’re wonderful for subtle improvements, but they can’t replicate the degree of elevation that surgery achieves.
Significant skin laxity and excess skin also call for a surgical approach. When you have loose, sagging skin hanging over your upper eyelids or across your forehead, adding volume with fillers or relaxing muscles with neuromodulators won’t address the fundamental issue. Surgery can actually remove that excess tissue, creating a tighter, smoother result that non-surgical methods can’t match.
Finally, if you’re looking for a more permanent solution and prefer not to commit to ongoing maintenance treatments, surgery might align better with your goals. While you’ll still age naturally after a surgical brow lift, the results are far more enduring than what non-surgical treatments can provide. Some patients simply want to address the issue once and enjoy their results for years to come, rather than scheduling regular appointments for touch-ups.
The best approach? An honest conversation about your concerns, your goals, and your lifestyle. At Ideal Face & Body, we help you weigh these factors to find the solution that truly fits your needs.
Are You a Candidate? Choosing the Right Treatment for You
Deciding whether a brow lift non-surgical treatment is right for you isn’t something you should figure out alone. It’s a conversation—one we have with patients every day at Ideal Face & Body in Beverly Hills. Together, we’ll look at what’s bothering you, what you hope to achieve, and what fits realistically into your life.
Signs You Might Benefit from a Brow Lift
You know that moment when you catch your reflection and think, “When did I start looking so tired?” Even when you’re feeling perfectly energized? That’s often your brows talking. As we age, they can start to droop, and suddenly your face tells a story that doesn’t match how you actually feel.
Heavy brows are one of the most common signs. If your eyebrows seem to sit lower on your brow bone than they used to, they can make your eyes look smaller and give you a perpetually exhausted appearance. Sometimes this heaviness leads to hooded eyelids—where excess skin folds over the upper lids, creating a hood-like effect. Interestingly, this isn’t always an eyelid problem at all. Lifting the brow can dramatically improve this look. For a more comprehensive approach to facial harmony, we also offer various Facial Treatments that complement brow lifting beautifully.
Then there are forehead wrinkles. If you find yourself constantly raising your eyebrows just to open up your eyes, you’re probably etching deep horizontal lines across your forehead. A brow lift non-surgical treatment, especially using neuromodulators, can relax those overworked muscles and smooth things out.
Have you noticed that your brows have lost their natural arch? A youthful brow has a gentle, defined curve. When that becomes flat or undefined, it can age your entire face. And here’s something we hear often: “People keep asking if I’m upset.” A drooping brow can create a sad or angry resting expression even when you’re in a great mood. A subtle lift can soften those unintentional signals and restore a more open, approachable look.
Factors to Consider for Your Brow Lift Non-Surgical Decision
Once we’ve identified what’s bothering you, the next step is figuring out which treatment path makes the most sense. This is where your personal situation really matters.
Start with your aesthetic goals. Are you looking for a subtle refresh—just enough to look like yourself, only more rested? Or do you want something more noticeable? Maybe you’re dealing with both wrinkles and volume loss, and you’d like to address both. Your vision guides everything we do, and we’re here to help you articulate exactly what “better” looks like to you.
The degree of skin sagging you’re experiencing plays a big role in determining which treatments will work best. For minimal drooping, strategic injections might be all you need. If there’s moderate laxity, we might suggest energy-based devices or even thread lifts. Dr. Sarah Yovino and Dr. Justin Yovino will assess your specific situation during your consultation and recommend the most effective approach.
Let’s talk about downtime tolerance. One of the biggest advantages of Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures is that you can often get back to your life immediately. That said, some treatments may involve a few days of minor swelling or bruising. If you have a big event coming up, we’ll help you time things perfectly. If you have zero flexibility in your schedule, we’ll choose the options that work around your life.
Budget considerations matter, too. We believe in being completely transparent about this. Non-surgical options are generally more accessible than surgery, but costs vary depending on which treatment you choose, how many sessions you might need, and your individual anatomy. During your consultation, we’ll discuss all the financial aspects openly so there are no surprises.
Here’s what we truly believe: a professional consultation is essential. You shouldn’t make this decision based solely on what you’ve read online or what worked for a friend. Every face is different. During your consultation with Dr. Sarah Yovino or Dr. Justin Yovino, we’ll assess your facial anatomy, skin quality, and muscle dynamics. We’ll review your medical history and discuss any potential contraindications. Most importantly, we’ll explain each treatment option in detail—what it can do, what it can’t do, any potential risks, and what results you can realistically expect.
This isn’t about selling you a procedure. It’s about developing a customized treatment plan that fits your unique needs, your goals, and your life. We want you to feel confident and informed every step of the way, because when you understand your options, you make better decisions. And better decisions lead to results you’ll actually love.
Conclusion: Your Path to a Refreshed and Youthful Appearance
You’ve taken an important first step by learning about the many effective options available for achieving a lifted, more youthful brow without surgery. From the precise muscle-relaxing effects of neuromodulators to the volume-restoring power of dermal fillers, the gradual collagen-building benefits of ultrasound and radiofrequency treatments, and even the immediate results of thread lifts—there truly is a brow lift non-surgical solution that can work for you.
The beauty of non-surgical treatments is that they can be custom to your exact needs. Maybe you just want to soften those frown lines that make you look more stressed than you feel. Perhaps you’re noticing temple hollowing that’s causing your brows to droop, or you simply want a subtle lift that makes you look more awake and refreshed. Whatever your concern, the right combination of treatments exists to address it.
Making informed decisions about your appearance is what will help you achieve results that look natural and feel authentically you. That’s why we emphasize personalized treatment plans at Ideal Face & Body in Beverly Hills. Dr. Sarah Yovino and Dr. Justin Yovino bring their extensive training and artistic eye to every consultation, taking the time to understand your unique facial anatomy, your aesthetic goals, and what matters most to you.
We’re not just about individual procedures—we’re about creating harmony across your entire face. Whether you’re interested in our “Precision Sculpt” awake liposuction, our “painless” lip augmentation techniques, or exploring advanced skin tightening treatments to complement your brow lift, we consider how each treatment works together to improve your natural beauty.
The importance of expert guidance can’t be overstated. A well-placed injection can open up your eyes and take years off your appearance, while an improperly placed one can create an unnatural or “frozen” look. That’s the difference experience makes. Dr. Sarah Yovino and Dr. Justin Yovino have the expertise to help you steer these choices and ensure you’re selecting the approach that will deliver the results you’re hoping for.
If you’re ready to see what a brow lift non-surgical treatment can do for you, we invite you to schedule a consultation with us. Together, we’ll explore your options, answer all your questions, and create a customized plan designed specifically for your goals. Your journey to a more refreshed, confident, and youthful appearance begins with a conversation—and we’d love to have that conversation with you.
