What Some Women Will Do for Beauty

WHY IT'S DONE: About 50 percent of Pacific Asians do not have an upper-eyelid crease. For those who do, the crease falls about 7 mm above the lashline, whereas for Caucasians, the crease falls about 11 mm above it.

HOW IT WORKS: During the most popular version of this outpatient procedure, a crescent-shaped incision is made along the new crease line, and a small amount of skin, tissue, and fat on the upper eyelid is cut away. When the two sides are sutured back together, the incision is hidden under the newly created crease.

PROCEDURE LENGTH: Approximately one hour

RECOVERY TIME: Sutures are removed after about a week. Bruising and swelling usually subside after a month.

COST: $2500 to $5000

ORIGIN: 19th-century Japan. The popularity of the procedure jumps whenever there was a significant Western presence in Asia — for example, during the Korean War.

HOW COMMON: Almost 300,000 Asians in the U.S. had the surgery in 2006.