How to Take Care of Your Face After a Facelift
After your facelift procedure, you will want to take the best care of yourself after post-surgery. Here are some tips to think about after your surgery to assure you have the best results and feel and look your best afterward.
Post Surgery Tips
Minimize swelling and bruising. Some swelling and bruising is normal. These symptoms will peak during the first few days, but there are things you can do to minimize the swelling. Rest and sleep with your head elevated at a 45-90 degree angle. Use at least two pillows under your head or sit up in a chair and apply cool packs to your face to reduce swelling and pain.
Don’t wear makeup for at least the first week. Give your incisions time to heal. Makeup can be irritating to new incisions.
Choose clothes that fasten in front. This will help avoid scratching your face when pulling clothes over your head.
Avoid direct exposure to the sun. Sun exposure can cause incisions to darken and can prolong your recovery. The best sun protection is sunglasses and a hat. Be sure to avoid sunscreen with a very high SPF which could clog pores.
Avoid strenuous activity immediately after surgery. Give yourself time to rest and recuperate.
Take pain medication as recommended by your doctor. Taking the right dose of medication on the recommended schedule to keep your pain under control.
Don’t color, perm, or bleach your hair for six weeks after surgery. Keep those harsh chemicals away from your face!
Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water is good for skin health and can make the healing process smoother and quicker. Being well hydrated makes the skin more elastic and helps remove toxins from the body. Additionally, the combination of reduced activity and pain medications can cause constipation. Increased water intake can help avoid that problem.
Properly cleanse incisions. After cleansing your face, use a Q-tip to apply a hydrogen peroxide and water solution to incisions. Apply antibiotic ointment or Vaseline to moisturize scars; dry skin can make scars more prominent.
Don’t smoke. Smoking reduces blood flow to the skin which is necessary for good results. Smoking will increase recovery time and diminish results.
Don’t scratch your face. Itching is a normal part of the healing process, but scratching could damage new skin and impede the healing process.
Still have questions? Visit the Patient Information section of our website or contact us directly. We would be happy to help.
Request a Consultation
If you are ready to see a new and improved you, please give our office a call at 248.322.3362 (248.FACE.DOC) to request a consultation with Dr. Zuliani at Zuliani Facial Aesthetics in Bloomfield Hills.
