A request that comes up in consultations all the time.
"Just make it look natural."
The problem is that this means something different to each person. To one, it means "as if nothing was done"; to another, "noticeable but not overdone". Two people can use the same word while picturing different results.
So we applied three strengths to the same face.
Strength 1: barely there
OriginalOriginal — Before.
Strength 1
A shallow line forms, and that is about it. With the eyes open, most of the line hides under the lid; from the front, the eyes simply look a little more defined.
It is the closest match for "I don't want it to look like I had surgery". In exchange, the eyes do not look much larger.
Strength 2: the line holds
OriginalOriginal — Before.
Strength 2
The line stays visible even with the eyes open. The eyes look clearer and the impression tidier, but the lid does not fold deeply.
Of the three, this is the middle result.
Strength 3: clearly different
OriginalOriginal — Before.
Strength 3
The fold widens, and of the three results the eyes look largest here. It is also the strength where the difference shows most in a frontal photo.
At the same time, it is the zone where the surgical look shows most. Whether that reads as too much or as refreshingly open depends on taste and on the face.
Side by side
On the full face, it looks like this.
Original
Original — Before.
Strength 2
Original
Original — Before.
Strength 3
"Natural" is not an absolute value
Apply the same strength to a different face and the result is not the same.
Thick lids mute the same crease height; thin lids can make even a small change read large. If you already had a faint crease, strength 1 may barely show; if you started with a monolid, the same strength 1 can feel like a lot.
In other words, natural is less about "how many millimeters" and more about how far it moved from your own eyes. That is why a strength picked from someone else's before-and-after photos can look different on your face.
Seen on a moving face
The strength 1 line that was hard to spot in a still photo shows up in motion, disappearing under the lid each time the eyes open.
Turning it into something you can bring to a consultation
Instead of saying "natural", you can ask like this.
- This much (strength 2) is where I like it; beyond this (strength 3) feels like too much
- I want the line to show without makeup / I would rather it did not
- I want it to show less from the side than from the front
Set the reference with photos, and you cut down on the situation where two people use the same word while picturing different results.