The most common worry before upper blepharoplasty is a visible scar on the eyelid. The honest answer is reassuring: the incision is placed inside the natural upper-lid crease, so once your eye is open it sits folded out of sight, and the fine line that closes it typically fades to something very hard to see. But how it is placed, how it is closed, and how you care for it all matter — and this page covers each.
Upper blepharoplasty at Garnet uses an incision placed along the natural crease of the upper lid — the upper-lid crease incision. This is the fold that forms when your eye is open, and placing the line there is the central trick to why the scar hides so well: when your eyes are open, the redundant skin folds inward and the incision tucks into the crease, out of direct view. The surgeon works through that single line to excise the redundant skin and tidy up the underlying tissue, then closes the crease with fine sutures.
Placing the incision in the crease is not just about concealment — it is also how the operation creates or refines the fold itself. Because the line follows the lid's natural anatomy rather than cutting across it, the closed incision falls into the eye's existing architecture as it heals, and the scar tends to settle into the crease line where the eye already creases. That is very different from a scar placed on flat, exposed skin.
It is worth being precise about what this is and is not. The crease incision is a fine line in the thin, supple skin of the upper lid, positioned where the fold of an open eye conceals it. It is not a scar across exposed skin and it is not placed where it catches the light — which is exactly why upper-lid scarring is, for most patients, far less visible than they fear.
Scar healing is a process, not an event, and knowing the stages keeps you from worrying about normal changes. In the first week the priority is the incision closing cleanly; the sutures are removed at around day seven, by which point the skin edges have knitted and the line is sealed. At this stage there is still swelling and often some bruising around the eye, so the area looks more active than the scar itself will be — and the crease may sit higher than it finally will.
Over the first one to three months a fresh scar typically looks its most noticeable — slightly pink or red and a little firm to the touch. This is normal collagen remodelling, not a problem. From roughly three to six months the colour fades, the firmness softens, and the line settles into the crease. Full maturation continues beyond that, with the scar usually reaching its final, faded appearance over the months that follow — the same arc covered for the result itself in when you will see results.
Because that maturation runs for months, the structured follow-up at one, three and six months exists precisely to track it. The surgeon checks the line is fading as expected and reassures you through the pink, firm phase that worries patients most — and which almost always resolves on its own. For international patients this review continues remotely by photographs after you fly home.
The single most useful thing you can do for a healing scar is protect it from the sun. Ultraviolet light can darken a young scar and make it harder to fade, so consistent sun protection — sunglasses and sunscreen once the surgeon clears it — is the highest-value habit during the first months. Gentle handling matters too: avoid rubbing or stretching the lid while it is healing, and follow the clinic's guidance on when normal skincare and eye makeup can resume.
Beyond protection, patience does most of the work. A line that looks pink and firm at six weeks is not a failed scar; it is a scar in the middle of its normal course. The surgeon may advise simple measures to support maturation and will tell you, honestly, when something is healing normally versus when it warrants a closer look. Following aftercare instructions and keeping the follow-up appointments is the reliable path; improvised treatments are not.
If you are travelling from abroad, the aftercare continues remotely. As the same surgeon manages your recovery, you can send photographs at the one, three and six-month points and get a clear read on whether the line is settling as it should — the same continuity covered in the guide for international patients.
Setting expectations honestly is part of good care. The realistic outcome of an upper blepharoplasty scar is a faint line that hides in the crease of the open eye, not a guaranteed absence of any mark. With the eyes closed, a fine healed line may be faintly visible up close in the first months and fades over time; this is normal and is the trade-off for removing the redundant skin. How a particular person scars also depends on their own skin and healing, which the surgeon takes into account when planning.
Most of what worries patients in the early weeks is normal: pinkness, slight firmness, mild asymmetry between the two sides as swelling resolves at different rates, and a crease that initially looks higher than it will finally sit. These typically settle on their own. The follow-up visits exist partly to confirm this for you and to distinguish the common, self-resolving phase from the rare situation that genuinely warrants attention.
If you would like a realistic read on what your own healing might look like before you commit, that is exactly what a consultation is for. You can ask in an online consultation from abroad, where the surgeon can assess your lids from photographs and give an honest pre-assessment.
Garnet is a single-surgeon clinic in Apgujeong, Seoul. Dr. In-Soo Baek is a board-certified plastic surgeon (Korean medical licence no. 77407) and the only operating doctor — he assesses your upper lids, places the incision in the natural crease, excises the redundant skin, tidies the underlying tissue, closes the line himself, and reviews how the scar heals at every follow-up. With the day capped at two surgeries and one patient per hour, the incision and closure are done unhurried.
If you are weighing upper blepharoplasty, the most useful next step is an honest assessment of what your scar would realistically look like and how the crease would settle. You can start with a no-obligation online assessment, or read the full overview on the upper blepharoplasty cell page.
Send photos and your question before you travel. An English-speaking coordinator reviews every enquiry and replies with honest guidance on whether surgery is appropriate, the likely plan and timing.
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