What are hooded eyes?

Hooded eyes are when a person has excess skin folding down from the brow bone to the lash line. It is common and, once again, it is something that goes hand-in-hand with ageing.

Hooded eyes can be confused with droopy eyes, but they are not the same. Droopy eyelids can affect a person’s ability to keep their eyes open all the way. Hooded eyes are a normal hereditary trait.

How do you know if you have hooded eyes?

Hooded eyes feature a heavy brow bone with a deep-set crease. In hooded eyes, skin hangs down over the crease. This makes your upper eyelid look smaller. If you cannot see the crease when your eyes are open, then this means you have hooded eyes.

Are hooded eyes attractive?

Many men and women who are considered conventionally attractive have hooded eyes. Celebrities including singer Taylor Swift, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence have this eye shape. Some people even refer to hooded eyes as ‘come to bed eyes’.

Do some ethnicities have hooded eyelids more commonly?

Hooded eyelids are a more typical facial feature of East Asian people. However, people of other races with horizontal, elongated eyes may also have this feature.

How Can I Reduce My Hooded Eyelids?

If you want to have a larger, more obvious crease in your eyelid, there are ways to create this look. Eyelid tape and glues force a crease in the eyelid skin and give the temporary appearance of a double eyelid. Alternatively, certain eye make-up techniques can help to open up hooded eyes. Surgery offers a more effective, long-lasting solution.

What is the best treatment for hooded eyes? 

Blepharoplasty, the surgical removal of excess skin on the eyelid, is the best treatment for hooded eyes. It is also one of our most requested treatments here at the Cadogan Clinic.

This procedure will revitalise tired-looking eyes. The treatment is quick, and it is possible to tighten the eyelids and reduce, reshape and lift the eyelid skin in just 45 minutes.

Blepharoplasty is basically skin deep and there is little pain in the post-operative recovery phase. Any discomfort is minor and can be controlled with simple pain relief and eye ointments provided by your surgeon at the Cadogan Clinic.

Most patients need no analgesia at all after this surgery. Any feeling of grittiness after surgery can be treated with the eye ointment which will be given to you at the time of the procedure. Patients recover incredibly quickly after surgery, but post-operative bruising can persist for up to 10 days.

We would advise you to rest, avoid putting your head down and to add an extra pillow at night, so that any swelling or bruising settles quicker. We do have patients who completely disregard this advice, without long-term issues and go back to full work or off on holiday the following day. We do however, like to see the patients to remove stitches a few days later.

Blepharoplasty is suitable for both men and women.

What is the best eye lift cream for hooded eyes?

We do not recommend any eye lift cream for hooded eyes as a standalone treatment, and would strongly recommend speaking instead to one of our medical staff for advice.