Are Your Hooded Eyes Impairing Your Vision?

Eye shape is typically considered to be an aesthetic consideration. Hooded eyes and low set eyelid creases such that those seen in many people of Asian descent, make it more difficult to apply flattering eyeshadow and are sometimes considered less-desirable. However, there are some very real, medical costs that can accompany these two eye shapes, especially as we age. If hooded eyelid surgery interests you, reach out to Dr. Zoumalan today!

Identifying Hooded Eyes

If you don’t know whether you have hooded eyes, look straight into a mirror with your eyes level with their own reflection. If you can see the crease of your eyelid, then you most likely fit into the round or almond eye shape categories. However, if the skin immediately beneath your eyebrow hides the crease of your eyelid, then you have hooded eyes. There are many celebrity examples, including Blake Lively, Nicole Kidman, and Jennifer Lawrence that you can also use for comparison.

Identifying Low-Set Eyelid Creases

Low set creases (or a lack of even a crease, which can be termed a mono-lid) are found in many different ethnicities. However, they are most common with individuals of Asian ancestry. Generally speaking, a mono-lid completely lack a crease in the eyelid. If you stare straight at your own eyes in the mirror, there will be a smooth plane from the eyelashes to the eyebrow. Alternatively, there may be a small crease very close to the lash line. Allure provides several examples of mono-lids among popular beauty bloggers here.

Your Eye Shape and Visual Impairment

All eye shapes are beautiful, as the previously cited articles can attest. However, aging effects certain eye shapes differently. As we age, our skin, especially the thin, sensitive skin around your eyes begins to lose its elasticity. With the help of gravity, the skin immediately below your eyebrows will inevitably begin to sag.

Although all people experience this change at some point in their lives, it more severely affects those with hooded and mono-lidded eyes. The lack of physical space between their eyelash line and eyebrow line will eventually allow the skin below the eyebrow to sag over the top of the eye. Unfortunately, this will increasingly block the top-most-part of your vision.

Hooded Eyelid Surgery Solutions

Dr. Christopher Zoumalan is a cosmetic surgeon specializing in hooded eyelid surgery. There are minimally invasive surgical procedures that return full visual range and change the eyelid shape if you desire. These procedures are typically considered cosmetic. However, if your upper visual range is severely impaired, then your insurance provider may cover part or all of your procedure.

  1. Blepharoplasty: This procedure removes excess skin and fat from the upper and lower eyelids. The surgery will remove the heavy ‘hooded’ effect exacerbated by age. It gives you a more alert appearance and returning your full upper visual range. Oftentimes, and upper eyelid blepharoplasty can be performed in the office while you are awake using just local anesthesia. Based on your consultation with Dr. Zoumalan, you may opt for an additional procedure to further improve other signs of aging. A brow lift and ptosis surgery, also known as droopy eyelid surgery, are the most common choices.
  2. Double Eyelid Surgery: As an experienced oculoplastic surgeon, Dr. Zoumalan is one of only a small percentage of cosmetic surgeons specifically trained to perform Asian eyelid surgery (Double Eyelid Surgery). This is a very specific type of upper eyelid blepharoplasty that pays particular importance to the creation of a double eyelid on someone who naturally has a mono-lid.

There are innumerable, customizable options, which you will need to discuss with Dr. Zoumalan prior to undergoing hooded eyelid surgery in Beverly Hills. You will need to decide at what height you would like to see the crease and how it will taper into the outer-eye and down towards the nose. Although these choices may seem difficult at first, Dr. Zoumalan will walk you through examples of his previous work to help you decide what look is best for you.

virtual md request-an-appointment