Nearly everybody who has ever extolled the beauty of a well-made window is actually talking about its frame and shutters and hardly ever about the glass.
The glass can grow grimy and pitted with age, but as long as the frame and shutters and the surrounding structure are well-maintained, the window remains an appreciated architectural masterpiece.
The analogy here is not intended to be subtle.
Cosmetic eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, is an operation (actually, a set of operations) for your eyelids designed to maintain the appearance of your eyes. Today more than ever before, the primary (and most difficult to achieve) objective of such surgery is one of restoration as opposed to remodeling. That is to say, the ideal blepharoplasty should recover the glory of your "original-equipment" now weathered by Father Time and Mother Nature rather than reconfiguring your face into some hodge-podge it never was.
Said bluntly, replacing a well-crafted wood window frame with a cheap aluminum mock-up with glued on fake mullions creates an eyesore (sorry!) that looks out of character with the rest of your prized Craftsman bungalow.
Without a doubt, then, THE buzzword in today's world of cosmetic eyelid surgery is "natural."
Materials aside, if you've ever hired a building contractor to fix up your house, you've undoubtedly learned that some means of installing a given set of materials have the potential to yield better results than others. And as luck would have it, the more structurally-sound and authentically-accurate methods of restoration often carry a much higher price tag and may require a level of building skill well beyond that of your run-of-the-mill builder. For that very reason, the "latest and greatest" technique poorly performed can sometimes yield a result far worse than the old "tried-and-true" quick-fix.
Furthermore, using a high-tech method of repair simply because it exists is nothing short of "overkill"--an unnecessarily complex (and often risky) way of addressing a relatively easily-remedied defect.
Still, if your poor old crumbling house (or cracked window or baggy eyelid) is truly beaten up, anything short of the best restorative technique may constitute little more than a ugly patch-job that won't survive the winter.
One more thing and then we'll put this analogy to rest. When repairing a ravaged window, you're clearly looking for much more than a pretty appearance. You also want the darn thing to work--to open and to close and to stay locked up at night. It would be nice if it didn't rattle, too, or fail to support and protect the glass.
Get it?
Cosmetic eyelid surgery is not something you do without first giving the matter careful thought, classifying your problem, evaluating the alternate ways of fixing your problem, honing in on the best and safest approach, and then finding the right surgeon for you.
On the other hand, if you're the sort of person who is not that particular and these first few pages are already raising issues you'd rather not think about, you might as well stop reading now and close your browser. Then drive to the closest doctor with the largest ad in the yellow pages and a waiting room wallpapered with framed credentials that mean nothing at all to you. Sign up for the first thing suggested, plop down your money, and undergo an operation. Your recovery, we hope, will be easier than soaking in bubble-bath.
Only one thing do we (and your spouse, friends, and family) ask of you: Please don't complain about your result.
