Asian Having Eyelid Surgery to Have Bigger Eyes

New York Magazine's Maureen O’Connor recently delved into the world of ethnic plastic surgery in a piece titled “Is Race Plastic? My Trip Into the ‘Ethnic Plastic
Surgery’ Minefield”.

She spoke with plastic surgeons and the people they’ve operated on about the different “ethnic” features coveted in plastic surgery. One of the more common surgeries she wrote about was double
blepharoplasty, often called "Asian eyelid surgery," and its intense racial implications.

The procedure received a lot of attention last year when Chinese-American talk-show host Julie Chen admitted on CBS’ “The Talk” that she had had the procedure done
back in the ‘90s after her former news director because of her "Asian eyes," he had "noticed that when you're on camera, when you're interviewing someone you look disinterested and bored because your eyes are so heavy, they are so small.”

Even before then, CNN , Reuters , and other publications had done exposés on the procedure, and media outlets had covered
everything from eyelid tape or glue (which creates a temporary crease in the eyelid) to eyelid trainers (which claim to make a permanent crease in the eyelid).

But the vast majority of people who get this procedure aren’t trying to fit a Western ideal at all, but an Asian ideal.
They’re not interested in having Caucasian- shaped double eyelids — they want a more open, more alert-looking eyes with a subtle
crease that has always been appealing in their own culture.
Not only are the desired shapes
fundamentally different, but so is the surgery itself.

According to the Asian Plastic Surgery Guide , Asian eyelid
procedures don’t suck out fat (or as much fat) as cosmetic eye procedures on Caucasians, which are commonly done on older individuals whose eyelids have
become droopy due to age.

Asian eyelid surgery, on the other hand, is often performed on younger individuals to simply create a subtle crease — sometimes with just a few carefully placed stitches — that makes the eyes appear larger.

Under the umbrella of “Asian eyelid surgery,” there are a few different techniques. One of the most common is the suture technique, which costs less and has
a quicker healing time. It takes less than an hour for a doctor to place a few well- aimed stitches that compress the eyelid into the ideal shape. The downside is that
it's a less-permanent option, and patients may have to get the procedure done again.

There’s also the incisional technique, which is more customizable, but more expensive
method with a longer recovery time. In this type of surgery excess skin or fat is cut from fuller eyelids, which makes the results permanent.

H/T: Business insider