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A facelift reverses the signs of aging in the face and neck — making patients look decades younger. People with wrinkles, sagging skin, and jowls often look to facelift surgery to remedy their problem areas.
During the consultation and before facelift surgery, we spend time with our patients to ensure they understand what to expect in recovery and post-operative care instructions.
Along with having the surgery, learning about the recovery process is essential in ensuring a smooth recovery.
Recovering from facelift surgery takes about two weeks.
The First Week After Facelift Surgery
After surgery, patients start to see results of their facelift as soon as the day after surgery when we remove the dressing.
Patients return to the office the first, third, and seventh day after surgery.
What your post-operative appointments will look like
Your first appointment after facelift surgery will be the day following surgery when your dressing will be replaced and your incisions will be cleaned.
On the third day after surgery, the incision line should be cleaned with distilled water. Once daily, apply a thin layer of Aquaphor as instructed by your nurse. At this point, you can return home and shower. Apply Aquaphor afterwards and pat your face dry with a soft hand towel.
Six days after surgery, all or most of your sutures will be removed. In some cases, patients are asked to return at eight days after surgery to remove the rest of their sutures.
What to know about the first week after facelift surgery
Here are some tips to remember during the week after facelift surgery:
- – Use cold compresses on your cheeks and neck every 20-30 minutes for up to 72 hours to minimize swelling.
- – Sleep on your back or side with your head elevated above your chest.
- – It is normal to feel slight itching and tightness in your face during the early healing period.
- – Avoid salty foods before and after surgery as they can cause increased swelling and pain.
- – If you are prescribed an antibiotic after your surgery, remember to take it with food.
- – Take light walks if you feel up to it.
It is normal to feel slight itching and tightness in your face during the early healing period. If you experience any significant sharp or dull pain, contact your doctor’s office.
Two Weeks After Facelift Surgery
The main concern we hear from our patients while they’re recovering from facelift surgery is that their neck feels “tight”. This happens because the soft tissues get resuspended during facelift surgery. This will resolve itself after about two weeks.
Patients can expect to have some soft tissue swelling within the face, but this mostly decreases after two weeks.
Watch our patient’s facelift recovery journey day by day.
Light bruising is certainly possible, but most patients can camouflage the bruising with makeup.
Any bruising should disappear after about two weeks.
Here are some tips to remember two weeks after facelift surgery:
- – Do not engage in vigorous exercise or contact sports for at least three weeks, or until your doctor approves it.
- – The average patient returns to work and social activities between 7-14 days after facelift surgery.
- – Two weeks after surgery, you can start taking ibuprofen, such as Advil, or Aleve (as directed). This can help decrease the chances of the incision line becoming darker. Take until redness or inflammation is gone, but ensure you aren’t taking these medications for longer than two weeks.
Three Weeks to a Month After Facelift Surgery
At about three weeks, you can start aerobic activities; however, avoid anything strenuous for three weeks.
At weeks three and four after facelift surgery, you may still see some swelling and feel some tightness in the face, but for the most part you will start feeling back to normal (and looking decades younger!).
We ask our patients to return to our office about one month after surgery, where we can analyze results and review the before and after photos.
Is There a Possibility of Nerve Damage After Facelift Surgery?
Nerve damage after facelift surgery is very rare. In my 30+ years of performing facelifts, I have not seen this occur permanently. In the first few days after surgery, it’s normal for patients to feel tightness and numbness in their face. But long-term nerve damage is a very rare occurrence.
Why The Williams Center does not use drains in facelift surgery
Over the years, we have gone away from using surgical drains in facelifts. They do not prevent hematoma and can be uncomfortable for the patient. Patients have had positive feedback after we stopped using drains because without the presence of drains, patients can move much more freely during recovery.
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When will I see the results of my facelift surgery?
Patients can see some facelift surgery results as soon as the day after surgery, when we take off the dressing.
In the first few weeks after surgery, patients will see major improvement in the jowls and face.
When the swelling is completely resolved, patients can fully see their final facelift results. At this time, patients can compare their before and after pictures. This takes about one month for all swelling to be resolved.
About the Author: Dr. Edwin Williams
Dr. Edwin Williams is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who founded The Williams Center in 1993. He has performed over 10,000 facial plastic surgery procedures and has pioneered the deep plane facelift. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery for over a decade, and served as President from 2015-2016. In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Dr. Williams earned the Castle Connelly Top Doctors award in New York Facial Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Edwin F. Williams III attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982. He began medical school at the State University of Buffalo School of Medicine and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1986.
Dr. Williams is actively involved in teaching facial plastic and reconstruction surgery to the residents of the Albany Medical Center and is former Chief of the Section of Facial and Plastic Reconstruction Surgery at Albany Medical Center where he received an academic appointment of Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery.