The Limits of Double Eyelid Tape in Creating an Asian Eyelid Crease

A gentleman says that when he was young, his mother used her fingers to help make creases above his eyes to give him double lids. One eye has a crease, and he wants to know if eyelid tape would also give his other eye a crease.

Dr. Amiya Prasad, an oculofacial plastic surgeon, explains that a basis for creating an eyelid crease in Asians is to make a connection between the levator muscle and the skin. The levator muscle is responsible for lifting the eyelid. The fibers from this muscle go into the skin and it pulls it in which causes it to fold. When he performs Asian eyelid surgery, whether it’s with the non-incisional method or the incisional method, his one primary objective is to create that connection between the skin and the levator muscle.

Dr. Prasad says that it is very popular to wear eyelid tape. Sometimes his patients will come in wearing the tape and it gives a guideline to where they want their crease, then they discuss if it’s feasible or not. The tape can force the skin to fold in, but it will not create that connection. Dr. Prasad doesn’t think that he should use the tape to create that effect as a long-term strategy. A lot of patients actually say how routinely they would apply the tape to use before they went out or for special occasion, and it can be a little cumbersome to do that. In addition, sometimes people get sensitive to the adhesive. The eyelid skin is delicate and sometimes pulling on and off the tape becomes less fun than it was initially.

Dr. Prasad explains that patients should understand that the goal is to create an adhesion or to create a connection between the skin and the levator muscle. If they are very serious about having a crease, then they should meet with a qualified experienced cosmetic surgeon who has a lot of experience with eyelid surgery. They may be someone who will benefit from a non-incisional approach which means they don’t have extra skin or any fat removed. They would do well with something that is limited in terms of its invasiveness because this procedure makes little openings and connecting the skin to the underlying muscle, and the stitches stay underneath inside the eyelid.

With that understood, Dr. Prasad says that he can now do his research and decide how to proceed, or he may just want to use the tape as an ongoing basis to maintain a certain look.