Pain. There is usually very little actual pain following a facelift, but you may experience a deep bruised sensation as a result of the swelling, and your face may seem heavy. The bandage you will wear the first night may seem quite snug under your chin.
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.
In general, you can expect to make a full recovery from your procedure in about two to three weeks. A traditional face and neck lift addresses a larger area and a greater degree of skin laxity than other procedures, so recovery will take longer than more minimally invasive procedures.
The time it takes to recover from a facelift depends on what kind of surgery you had and your overall health. You may have bruising and swelling for a couple of weeks. However, it could take two to three months before your face feels “back to normal.”
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.
The lower facelift is performed with a shorter incision than full facelift surgery and is less extensive overall, meaning patients often enjoy a shorter recovery period and less scarring. Still, lower facelift surgery can help men and women look up to ten years younger!
The facelift is a major surgical procedure whose purpose is to improve the appearance of the face, jaw area and neck. The improvement is achieved by tightening of the skin and facial muscles and, where needed, removal of fat.
Because the facelift requires anesthesia, you'll be sleepy and groggy after your surgery. This means you'll need to have a close friend or family member bring you home. You'll likely feel the most discomfort your first day, so you should take pain medications to stay on top of it.
Try not to roll on your face; this tends to tear down the supporting stitches used under the skin of your face; therefore, it is necessary to sleep on your back for 2 weeks. Some patients find a reclining chair placed at 45 degree angle to be more comfortable.
You must wear the chin strap continuously for the first two weeks after surgery except while eating and showering/cleaning incisions. The strap helps fight the forces of gravity immediately after surgery and helps improve any swelling.
In most cases, a facelift works best for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s when signs of aging begin to become prevalent. Deep lines, wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin are the result of the aging process and can be best corrected through surgical techniques rather than non-surgical ones.
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. Weight loss prior to face lift surgery is very important for these people.
The primary difference between a miniature facelift and a traditional facelift is the areas focused on. While the miniature facelift focuses on the neck and the bottom third of the face, a full facelift focuses on the bottom two-thirds of the face and neck.
In contrast, most lower face and neck lifts are performed using IV sedation, often termed twilight or conscious sedation.
Avoid all sorts of activity for the first 48 hours after the mini facelift surgery. Post that, you can gradually begin walking for 15 to 20 minutes. Wait for six weeks before returning back to your complete exercise routine.
1 Week Post-Op
During the first week after your facelift, you can expect swelling and bruising around your lower face, ears and neck. Swelling may be uneven, so don't be alarmed if your results don't look perfectly symmetrical at this stage.
Usually, after a traditional SMAS lift, 40-50 stitches are used to cover the residual scars located close to the incision site at the hairline, in front and behind the ears. These stitches are removed at the fourth day after the surgery to avoid railroad track scars along the incision line.
Can Someone Be “Too Old” for a Facelift? There is no age at which an individual is too old for any cosmetic enhancement, so long as they are healthy enough to undergo the rigors of surgery, anesthesia and recovery from the procedure.
Don't eat or drink (that includes water) from midnight on the night before your procedure until your surgery is complete. Don't Smoke! Smoking alters blood flow, and people who smoke will not heal as quickly as those who don't. You are advised to stop smoking for at least several weeks prior to your surgery.
Swelling Recovery Timeline After Facelift
Most of your swelling, up to 60 percent, will disappear in the first couple of weeks after surgery, but then the wait begins for the remainder to subside. After three months, 80 percent of the swelling will be gone. After six months, 90 percent of the swelling will be gone.
Incision Placement
In women, incisions for a facelift are typically placed behind the ears, along the tragus in front of the ear, in or along the side burn, and in or along the hairline behind the ear.
After the neck lift procedure, patients will experience some soreness and tightness. However, these are easily manageable with prescription painkillers. Tape and bandage are also applied at the incision spots to minimize discomfort and swelling.
Most patients are able to return to work somewhere between 10 and 14 days after their facelift procedure. At this point, you may still have some swelling, bruising, and scarring that will impact the way you look, but a solid application of makeup should adequately disguise any signs of surgery.