The Ultimate Guide to Facelift Recovery

How to Heal After Facelift & Most Common Post-Operative Facelift Instructions

• Dressings – After many facelift procedures, a bulky dressing is placed at the end of surgery that puts some pressure on the areas operated on and helps soak-up any external drainage of normally occurring serum and blood. If the dressing is too tight or causes pain, please call your surgeon’s office. The entire dressing will usually be removed the morning after surgery and replace it with a very light one, which you will remove the following day. The doctor may ask you to wear this lighter dressing for a few days to keep swelling from accumulating.
• Position – Keeping your head elevated as much as possible will help to reduce post-operative swelling. If you can, sleep on two or three pillows to keep your head about the level of your heart. Many facelift patients highly recommend using a travel neck pillow to cradle around your neck to not only support your neck while sleeping elevated, but to protect you from rolling over on your side.
• Drains – Many facelift procedures do not require drains, but if it is necessary a small drain may be placed under the skin and brought out through a small incision. These drains evacuate the fluid that accumulates after surgery and enable you to heal faster.
• Drain Care – The drains will be hidden by surgeon inside of your head dressing. You should not need to do anything with these drains. If they should fall out of the head dressing, gently put them back in, upward into an opening of the dressing. Be sure not to force the drain back in, or not to push the drain in directly around the ear area. If you prefer, you may use a safety pin to secure the drain to the head dressing so long as you do not puncture the drain or drain tubing. Your surgeon will remove these drains a day or two after your surgery. Removing them feels a little strange but is not painful. You may shower and shampoo your hair after your drains are removed, but only with Baby Shampoo
• Bleeding – Small amounts of oozing and bleeding after surgery is normal. The dressing may be stained, and the size of the stain may enlarge after you go home – this is normal. If serious bleeding occurs, apply pressure and call your surgeon. Bleeding under the skin flaps that causes serious swelling and discomfort is common, but if it does occur, it requires attention and evaluation by your surgeon.
• Sutures – The sutures around your ears will be removed 4-6 days after surgery. If you have had an incision under your chin, those sutures will also be removed 4-6 days after surgery. Incisions around the eyes for a blepharoplasty are removed 3-4 days aft surgery. Most facelift surgeons request you keep these sutures clean with the provided peroxide and cotton swabs, and apply a thick coating of the Aquaphor healing ointment to keep them moist.
• Ice Packs – Cold or ice packs help to reduce swelling, bruising, and pain. Use frozen peas in the package or crushed ice and put the ice into a zip-lock bag. This should help, not hurt. If the ice feels too uncomfortable, don’t use it as often. Cotton rounds soaked in a bowl of ice water then placed around the eyes are very soothing and also help to reduce swelling. Be sure to discard used cotton rounds and replace with clean ones.
• Sunscreen and Make-up – It is imperative that your scars be protected from the sun for a good 6 months after surgery. Use a sunscreen with a skin-protection factor of at least 30 at all times. It should be applied before your make-up. You may begin applying makeup 2 days after your sutures are removed. On the long term, if fresh scars are exposed to the sun, they will tend to become darker and take longer to fade. Take extra care and precautions if the area operated on is slightly numb – you might not “feel” a sunburn developing!
• Skin care – All of the skin on the face and neck may feel dry and chapped after facial surgery of any kind. We recommend that you make frequent use of a good fragrance-free moisturizer. Most surgeons prefer Eucerin Products sold at the local drug stores.
• Hair Care – After a facelift, most patients experience a temporary change in the texture and manageability of their hair. Your hair is reacting to the “shock” of surgery and will recover naturally within a few weeks. If you color or perm your hair, plan to have it done before surgery or wait until 6 weeks afterward for the best results. Your hair may be a little “lifeless” during that period of time.
• Shampoo – Twenty-four hours after surgery and once the drains have been removed, you may wash your hair but only with Baby Shampoo. You may prefer to have your hairdresser wash it for you. Most surgeons do not permit the use of a hair dryer for several weeks following surgery. When permitted, a hair dryer should be kept on the lowest heat setting, as your scalp may be partially numb. Also, be sure to not direct the hair dryer directly on your incisions.
• Activity – Obviously this is not the time to clean out the garage. Walking (not jogging or running!) is usually permitted as long as your incisions are protected from the sun. Do not lean over to pick up items, instead squat down without facing your face towards the ground to keep gravity from contributing to the swelling. Most surgeons do not permit heavy lifting for three weeks following your facial surgery.. If you cook over a stove be sure to protect your face from the heat.
• Most patients who have had facelifts feel reasonably normal with 3-4 days after surgery even though they are swollen. If you wish to do light office work, please consult with your surgeon’s office for guidance and their specific limitations. Most surgeons request their patients not performa any heavy activities or aerobic exercise for at least 3 weeks after surgery. Strenuous activities can cause bleeding and swelling for a longer period than is necessary.
• Alcohol – Alcohol dilates the blood vessels and could increase post-operative bleeding. Please don’t drink if you are taking prescription pain pills, as the combination of pain pills and alcohol can be dangerous.
• Tobacco & Nicotine Use – Exposure to both first-hand and second-hand tobacco has been found to inhibit the body’s ability to heal following facial surgery procedures. Nicotine use causes constriction (narrowing) of small blood vessels in the skin that can have a direct negative effect on your surgery. In any operation that involves undermining of the skin, survival of the skin depends on blood flow through those small blood vessels. Reduction of that blood flow can cause reduced or slower healing, blistering of the skin, or in the worse cases, actual loss of tissue. Most surgeons request their patients stop using any nicotine products (smoking, vaping, smoking cessation products, etc.) at least 2 to 6 weeks prior to your scheduled surgery, and request patients to recuperate in a smoke-free, vaping-free environment.
• Numbness – When the skin is separated from the underlying tissues during surgery, small sensory nerves are cut. Varying degrees of numbness will be present after surgery and will improve gradually as the nerves reconnect to the skin. This process can take from 2 to 6 months to completely heal.
• Tightness – Frequently, there is a tight feeling in the neck after a face lift. During surgery, not only skin, but the underlying muscles are tightened to create a better and longer lasting result. Additionally, the swelling will move downward in the first week and the neck will feel even tighter. The sensation usually decreases in a week or two. If the tightness worsens, please contact your surgeon’s office immediately.
• Healing of Sensory Nerves – As the nerves regenerate, itching, burning, tingling, and shooting sensations will occur. Ice, moisturizers, and gentle massage are helpful during this phase of the healing process.
• Firmness under the Skin – Some degree of firmness or lumpiness under the skin is normal after surgery and will resolve with time. Lite massage will speed resolution of this problem. Your facelift surgeon will direct you when and how to massage after your facelift surgery. Please follow your surgeon’s instructions.
• Asymmetric Swelling – Do not be alarmed if one side of your face is slightly more swollen or numb than the other. This is common and usually disappears as all the swelling and bruising decreases. Often times, patients discover they may favor sleeping on one side more than the other which contributes to the asymmetric swelling. If the swelling becomes more significant on one side, contact your surgeon’s office.
• Eye Symptoms – Your eyelids may feel tight even if they have not been operated on, because of the swelling that occurs in the entire face. Your vision may also be blurred from the ointment that is placed in them for protection during surgery. Eye drops and ice packs will feel particularly soothing for the first few days following surgery.
• Wardrobe – Special wardrobe considerations need to be considered for your facelift recovery. As part of preparing for your facelift, plan to wear button-up shirts and avoid pullover shirts for the first few weeks following your procedure. Pull-over shirts can become a hazard for the incisions around the ears, as some patients have experienced accidental earlobe snags from pull-over shirts.