Monolids and Double Eyelids

This past year, my cousin had surgery on her eyes to change her monolids to double eyelids in Thailand. I've thought about getting the surgery done on my eyelids as well, but I have a very low tolerance for pain so I always balked at the thought of actually getting them done. Another thing that concerns me about the surgery is the fear that I won't like the way my eyes look afterwards or that something could go seriously wrong. After all, you only have one pair of eyes and you can't exactly change it back to the way it was before. I've discussed the surgery with my mother and she told me that if I really wanted to get it done, she didn't have a problem with it. My mother had her eyelids changed when she was younger so she understands the inner conflict I have about my eyes.

This is a before and after pick of a person using double eyelid tape.

My recent trip to Thailand this past summer made me think about eyelid surgery even more. Big eyes are the trend in Asia so it's no surprise that almost everywhere I looked, I saw products advertising big doll-like eyes. Sure, there are things out there such as circle lenses and double eyelid tape/glue that help to create the illusion that you have double eyelids instead of single lids, but my experience with eyelid tape has been frustrating. It's hard to put on and I've also heard that it's not good for your eyelids in the long run.

Many people use circle lenses to help make their eyes seem bigger. The down side to these lenses are that they irritate the eyes because not enough oxygen is passing through the lens and into the eye.

I've never tried circle lenses because I need to be able to wear them all day. I currently wear clear prescription contact lenses and I knew that circle lenses are not meant for all-day wear, so I just didn't bother.

I know a lot of people wonder why people would want to change their eyelids. I personally think big eyes are more attractive than small eyes. Whenever I smile in pictures, you can barely see my eyes. It's also frustrating when I try to put on eye makeup. When I line my eyes, I have to use a lot of eyeliner so that the line would be visible whenever my eyes are open. I also find that because I need to thickly line my eyelid, most of my eye shadow color is barely visible. I'd be lying if I said that a part of me doesn't want double eyelids because I do want them. On the other hand, a part of me thinks that I should be happy with the way my eyes are now and just be grateful that I can see through them. I've gone back and forth on this issue many times in my head and for now, I'm just going to try to be happy with my monolids. I'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts on this as well so feel free to comment below.