What are fox eye threads?

Plastic surgery patients are going under the knife to achieve Bella Hadid's pulled back, feline-shaped "fox eyes" — and some are being left with temporarily lopsided faces.

TikTok user Jessie Carr said a "fox eye" thread lift procedure gave her uneven eyebrows, left her swollen for weeks, and popped a blood vessel during the procedure.

Another TikTok user, Chloe Dayan, shared her story of being left with indented temples and no results after getting a dissolvable polydioxanone (PDO) thread lift.

"It was the most painful thing I've done in my entire life, and I've done a thing or two," Dayan said on TikTok. "I had a stupid thread showing in my face for months."

Plastic surgeons told the Daily Mail some patients going in for "fox eye" cosmetic procedures are being left with pain, scarring, and asymmetrical results.

The "fox eye" thread lift, also called the "cat-eye" lift, have increased in popularity over the years due to the rise of celebrities like Hadid, who have such feline features, surgeons told the Mail. But the thread lift has risks if performed by a non-board-certified plastic surgeon.

"The care you get is often dictated by the door you walk into," said Dr. Alan Matarasso, a Manhattan-based plastic surgeon and the former president of American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "You need to go to a board certified plastic surgeon who can offer the entire array of choices."

Matarasso said the "fox eye" procedure is not a face lift, which involves cutting into the side of the face, the jowl, and the neck and pulling excess skin towards the hairline.

The "fox eye" procedure is non-surgical, and involves using a barbed, dissoluble suture thread to pull the skin up and out. After a plastic surgeon inserts the thread, the barbs catch onto the underside of the skin. The doctor will then pull the threads towards the corner of the eye, and the barbs will keep the skin in place.

The "fox eye" procedure is more similar in technique to an eyelid operation than a face lift, Matarasso said.

Eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, is a semi-permanent option in which a surgeon cuts into the skin and removes excess fat in the upper and lower lids to decrease the appearance of sagging and puffiness. Matarasso said patients getting blepharoplasty do not wish to change the shape of their eyes, but rather remove the appearance of aging.

The "fox eye" thread lift, on the other hand, does involve changing the shape of a patient's eye and brow for about six months before the threads dissolve, Matarasso said.

Maintaining the results of a "fox eye" thread lift can be costly: the average cost for thread lifts in the US is $2,050, according to Healthline.

Matarasso said a downside to the thread lift is asymmetry between the two sides, sometimes due to barbs not catching to the skin and pulling it. The barbs are meant to catch to the underside of the skin internally, and the technique to doing so is "surgeon dependent," Matarasso added.

Dr. Sanjay Grover, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Newport Beach, California, said there is a "rare" risk a thread lift could damage the temporal branch of the facial nerve, which helps with raising the forehead and closing the eye.

Grover added that, depending on where the sutures are placed and their thickness, some thread could be visible on a patient's face until it dissolves, or patients might feel them on their face. Matarasso said visible threads can sometimes be manipulated into a better position by a surgeon after the fact.

"My perspective may be skewed because the people I see are the failures," Grover said. "I'll see people who may have had it done elsewhere and then want to do something more permanent with surgery, but not as extreme."

An influencer has gone viral on TikTok after revealing what happened to her face after having fox threads (also called a fox eye lift) – a non-surgical 'tweakment' that has risen in popularity due to social media, which involves threads being inserted under the skin to lift the brow area.

Sharing a series of videos to the social media platform, Jessie Carr documented how her face reacted to the popular cosmetic procedure, which resulted in extreme swelling. "These fox eye threads really are my biggest regret," she said in one of her videos, adding: "It’s definitely not worth it, it doesn’t work and it left me looking botched like this!"

In another clip, she went into detail about what happened, explaining that she was left looking like a cartoon character. "They initially swelled up really, really intensely. I looked like Megamind," she said. "They popped a blood vessel during the procedure, I blew up for a couple of weeks, I was pretty bad. Once the swelling went down I noticed that my eyebrows had lifted and I was so happy with them."

But her satisfaction with the procedure didn't last long as she noticed her appearance became uneven within a week, leading her to have botox in an attempt to rectify this. "A couple of weeks after that I noticed that I had bumps on my head and my threads were popping out."

Since then, Jessie has decided to have the threads removed and is taking anti-inflammatory medication to help with the swelling. "I’ve been through a lot with my fox eye threads and it’s definitely not worth it," she said. "Definitely don’t recommend it."

So, is Jessie's reaction to fox threads just an isolated case? And what exactly are fox threads?

In a nutshell: a fox eye lift involves threads being inserted under the skin to lift the brow area, to give what some have termed a more 'feline' look.

But are they safe? "My advice would be to avoid them," says Mr Khurram Khan, Consultant Plastic Surgeon, FRCS (Plast), when we asked about the safety of fox threads. "There is a growing consensus that they should be banned. They are extremely painful, fraught with complications and do not last longer than a few weeks."

As well as this, Khan explained that in "thinner skin, the threads themselves can be visible as bands or dimples," adding that they also cause headaches, known as "threadaches", that can last for months.

"There is a weak argument that they can be used as a trial to see if a patient likes the look before considering a permanent surgical treatment," he continued. "However, they cause inflammation and scarring and could therefore make a surgical treatment more difficult and less predictable."

For those still considering having the procedure, Khan stresses the importance of doing your homework. "As with any aesthetic procedure I would always recommend seeing someone who is medically qualified," he told us. "In the UK, the gold standard for plastic surgeons is to be a member of BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons)."

He went on: "As I say to many patients, if you had a broken boiler you wouldn't call an electrician or a plasterer, you would call a plumber. In the same way if you are considering surgery to any part of your body, please take your time, do your research and see someone who has the right qualification."

This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

This popular cosmetics and grooming trend spawned a new form of brow lift called the Fox Eyes Lift. Doctors use threads to open up the eyes and create the illusion of longer eyeballs by lifting the outer corners of the upper eyelids toward the temples.

The newest trend on the block within the aesthetics world - a look described as the ‘fox eye’, 'cat eye' or ‘designer eye’ - involves a cosmetic treatment which simultaneously lifts and elongates the upper eyelid, pulling the eye into a more almond shape, creating overall emphasis on the eyes.

As we age and our skin elasticity decreases, the effects of gravity will, inevitably, result in sagging brows - especially the lateral portion - resulting in a flat, droopy and what some people may convey as an ‘unattractive’ brow. In the past, a surgical facelift was the only option available for these types of concerns. However, today, due to the advancement of technology, there is a non-surgical option known as a thread lift.

There are different techniques used to achieve this look: PDO thread lifts, semi-permanent thread lifts and the Hybrid Mini Surgical technique. I’ll explain each of these in more detail.

The PDO thread lift is the most commonly used technique. These are dissolvable threads, which are inserted under the skin and pulled to lift and stretch the corner of the upper eyelid back towards the temples to create a more almond shape while simultaneously raising the brow tail. Aside from lifting the skin, the thread also stimulates the body’s healing process and initiates collagen production to the treated areas. Results are instant, which is always appealing to clients, and last between 6 months and a year, depending on the type of medical-grade thread used and the body’s natural metabolism.

Semi-permanent threads use a similar technique to PDO threads. However they have a much higher longevity, as the suture material is prone to degradation by the body with results reported to last between 2-3 years.

The Hybrid Mini Surgical technique has the greatest longevity of results and is done under local anaesthetic via a single hairline incision combined with lifting sutures to create a result that can last up to 5 years.

Go to Glowday.com to book your treatment.

The fox eye trend has been seen on the likes of beautiful supermodels such as Bella Hadid and Kendal Jenner, so it is really no surprise that it’s become a most sought after look for many women (and some men) across the globe. Believe it or not, throughout the summer lockdown, it also became a viral Tik Tok challenge. Users were seen shaving off the outside half of their eyebrows to create the illusion of ‘fox-like’ eyes. Removing everything from the arch to the tail, before pencilling in a new straighter brow shape from their arches up toward their temples. Fortunately, this is an inexpensive, and less risky way of achieving the look – however, not something those who are precious of their eyebrows (like me) should try!

As an aesthetic practitioner who's fairly new to the game, I do appreciate the importance of rolling with the times, and keeping up to date with the newest trends and treatments on the block. However, on this occasion, my ethos of keeping my treatments as natural looking as possible for my clients takes stance, and it isn’t something I, personally, would consider offering in-clinic. As with all aesthetics treatments, the fox eye comes with its risks, such as pain, bruising and infection, but more invasive techniques, such as the Hybrid Mini Surgical technique hold greater risks for clients, such as foreign object rejection.

It's difficult to tell how big this will get with it being a relatively new treatment. Like many short-term trends, the novelty may wear off once clients consider the cost, longevity and risks associated. Especially as there are many other, safer, natural options available for clients who are concerned about the eye area, such as hyaluronic acid fillers for hollows under the eyes and clever botulinum toxin injections around the orbicularis oculi that can give the effect of a wide eye, refreshed appearance.

If a client decides they want to get the fox eye lift, I’d suggest going to a reputable, medically qualified aesthetic practitioner who will explain exactly what the treatment entails and the potential complications that can occur with this type of treatment. Someone who will have the right qualifications to correct any issues that might happen. It’s a trend, but it’s important to remember that it’s a medical procedure - not something to be taken lightly. Always ask your practitioner if you can see before and after photos before getting a treatment.

Thanks so much, Lucy! Great chatting with you, as always!