How much weight can I lose safely to preserve my facelift? Most doctors recommend losing weight slowly and at a healthy pace. Losing 1-2 pounds per week is ideal for safe and lasting results. This slow steady rate ensures skin has time to conform over the new contour to maintain a firm, youthful appearance.
Your surgery will already have removed fat from the face, so losing more at a rapid pace could warp your new look. If you're trying to work off any amount of weight after surgery, you should always wait until your recovery process is completed and you are cleared by your surgeon to participate in exercise again.
Avoid major weight loss immediately before the surgery
Depending on the age, lifestyle, and genetics, loose skin may naturally tighten over time but not immediately. Major weight loss before surgery can result in an abundance of skin tissue, requiring more skin tightening and fat augmentation.
Facelift recovery time
You should look and feel normal after 2 – 4 weeks. Keep in mind that facelift surgery cannot stop natural aging, so we encourage patients to continue to take care of their skin and make healthy lifestyle choices.
Your face will look slimmer after a facelift because facelift surgery tightens loose, sagging skin, leading to a more defined jawline and chin. It can also get rid of a double chin, making you look slimmer and more toned. Other benefits from facelift surgery include: Addresses severe wrinkles and facial lines.
Research by Medical Accident Group found that 65% of people they polled regretted their surgery, though 28% were very happy with its results. According to the poll, 83% of people who had had plastic surgery wouldn't consider having any form of cosmetic procedure again.
When performed correctly by the hands of a skilled surgeon, facelift results can be some of the most natural looking of any cosmetic procedure and can leave you with a rejuvenated and more youthful facial appearance. Your skin produces less collagen each year as you age.
You will feel some pain for 2 to 4 days after surgery. You may have some trouble opening your mouth for several days. The skin around the incisions probably will be numb. You may have some itching or shooting pain as the feeling returns.
Generally speaking, most patients will need to sleep on their back with their upper body slightly elevated for about 2 – 3 weeks after facelift surgery.
In some cases a facelift can be done early in life but, in most cases, a facelift works best for people who are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, when the signs of aging begin to appear more prominently on your face. Those deep lines, wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin you see are indicators of the aging process.
Winter is the perfect time for a facelift. It's easier to avoid the sun, which aids the healing process. Bandages can be more easily hidden under layered winter clothing.
At weeks 3 and 4, you may still have some residual swelling (this is normal and will dissipate), but for the most part it is at this point patients often begin to see real improvement in their face. You will look and feel much better three weeks after your facelift.
Beginning on day 2 or 3, light walking is recommended to help promote blood flow which speeds healing. Short, easy walks is the only form of exercise that should be undertaken. Many patients start to feel less discomfort over the first few weeks as bruising and swelling subsides.
Swelling and inflammation are normal during facelift recovery. Swelling may occur around the mouth, chin, or jawline, depending on the extent of your facelift procedure and where it was performed. Most patients can expect the majority of their swelling to dissipate after 3 – 4 weeks.
In general, you should expect to look ten years younger and see dramatic, but natural-looking, anti-aging of the face and neck. Facelifts don't stop the aging process, but results are permanent. That means ten years down the line; you can still look a decade younger.
You'll likely feel the most discomfort your first day, so you should take pain medications to stay on top of it.
“The study shows that patients are extremely happy with their decisions to have a facelift and with the results,” Dr. Thorne tells Cosmetic Surgery Times.
Why? When the facelift is performed, the skin is tightened and it can flatten out the jowls because the skin is tighter. However, over time as the skin relaxes, the full fatty jowls will restretch out the skin and the jowls will reappear.
Most people interested in drastic cosmetic results undergo facelift surgery during their 40s, 50s, or 60s. Having a facelift during the 40s may yield more subtle results, as the signs of aging may not be as drastic as they would be in your 60s.
Facelift surgery will not affect your smile when performed appropriately. You can help to ensure the most pleasing and reliable results by choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon to perform your procedure.
How much younger does a facelift make me look? According to a study in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (the American Society of Plastic Surgeons). Patients who have undergone a facelift rate themselves as looking at an average of 12 years younger after facelift surgery.
In fact, Dr. Swanson's research reported that 97% of facelift patients were happy with their results, and 90% of patients reported that they received positive feedback from others. Forty percent of patients researched said their results were even better than they expected.
Medical Complications of a Bad Facelift
Prolonged swelling. Infection. Facial nerve injury. Skin discoloration.
If you are thinking about having a facelift, adding procedures to improve the appearance of the eyes, brows, and forehead can deliver even more dramatic results and make you look up to two decades younger.