When Can I Show Off My Facelift Results?
There’s nothing like a special occasion to motivate a person to spruce up his or her appearance. If facial aging is a concern for you, an upcoming wedding or school reunion may have you considering a facelift. If so, you’re not alone.
Facelift patients often decide to move forward with the procedure when a big event looms on the calendar. And, when performed by an experienced plastic surgeon, a facelift is a great way to restore a smooth, graceful neckline and a naturally refreshed appearance in a relatively short period of time.
That said, it will be several weeks before you’ll feel confident socializing and somewhat longer before you look your best. Thus it is essential to schedule your procedure in plenty of time to allow for proper healing and ensure that you will be event-ready in time for your big day. The following information will help you plan accordingly.
In general, we recommend that facelift patients have surgery at least 8 to 10 weeks before a big event to allow ample time to heal and return to full activity, and for results to look close to final.
What does the typical facelift recovery timeline look like?
Facelift recovery involves four general stages. While every patient heals at a different rate, the following time frames are typical.
0 to 10 days after a facelift: Recuperating from surgery
During the first 7 to 10 days, you will need to limit your activity to walking and very light tasks to support the initial healing process. Bandages are removed within 2 days after surgery, but you may not feel comfortable seeing friends or coworkers yet, as post-operative bruising, swelling, and tenderness peak during the first week.
10 days to 3 weeks after a facelift: Getting back to normal
After the first week or so, you will feel much more like yourself. While bruising, swelling, and puckering around your incision sites may be visible, these symptoms will dramatically improve over the next few weeks. By 2 to 3 weeks after their procedures, most patients feel comfortable in public and return to work and daily social activities. You can take measures to minimize the appearance of healing incisions, such as wearing your hair down, donning a strategically-placed scarf, or applying camouflage makeup. However, you probably won’t feel ready to attend a gala with an elegant updo quite yet.
3 to 12 weeks after surgery: Results look better every day
Most patients love the improvements they see and are already enjoying compliments about how well-rested they look as early as 3 weeks after surgery. However, residual swelling and occasional sensations such as tingling or tightness will still be a factor, and your scars may appear bright pink for another month or two.
When you are ready to fully enjoy a special event depends on your personal comfort level as well as the nature of your upcoming event. Your results will look good 4 weeks after surgery, but even better at 12 weeks. Additionally, strenuous activities are still off-limits until 3 to 4 weeks after surgery, so if your big occasion involves dancing or you expect to be physically active, schedule your procedure no later than 6 weeks before your event, even if you might look event-ready at this point.
With this in mind, we generally recommend that our Asheville facelift patients have surgery at least 8 to 10 weeks before a big event to allow ample time to safely resume activity and for results to look close to final.
Subtle improvements continue for 3 to 6 months after surgery
Even after you are recovered and back to your full routine, healing will continue for up to 6 months or longer after a facelift. Good skin care up to and during this period is imperative to ensure your scars heal as faintly as possible. However, these changes are usually so subtle that only you will notice anything different, and there is usually no significant advantage to having a facelift 6 months before an event if it works better for you to have surgery only 3 months beforehand.
Planning your facelift procedure around your big event
When scheduling your facelift, take into account the above stages of recovery plus the time it will take to consult with potential surgeons. Be sure to ask a surgeon how soon you would be able to have your procedure at your consultation. More importantly, tell your surgeon about your upcoming event, so he or she can help you choose an ideal surgery date and set safe, realistic expectations for recovery.
The more time you can allow for consultations and to accommodate for your surgeon’s schedule, the better. For example, if you want to look your best for your daughters’ June wedding, then you may begin researching potential surgeons now and complete your initial consultations by mid-February, so you could then schedule surgery by mid-March. A March surgery date gives you plenty of time to recover, get back to your full routine, and look and feel fantastic for a wedding in early June.
One important consideration: never rush into surgery or try to hurry your recovery in order to look “perfect” for any occasion. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of attending an event early in your recovery, while your scars are still healing, or if you won’t be recovered enough to participate safely in the event, it’s probably best to postpone surgery. An experienced plastic surgeon can recommend effective non-surgical treatments that can offer more immediate improvements if you are on a tight timeline.
Take the next step towards a more youthful look
The best way to figure out if and when you should have a facelift is to meet with an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon. If you are in the Asheville area, we invite you to give us a call. Facelift surgery is one of Dr. Conway’s specialties at our Asheville plastic surgery practice, and he will be happy to discuss your goals and concerns and answer any questions you have about facelifts at a personal consultation. We look forward to helping you!