If your appearance on the outside no longer matches your youthful spirit on the inside, a face-lift is the perfect solution to bring everything into alignment. The road to this younger look, however, does require surgery, and how you negotiate your recovery can make all the difference.
At Beauty by Breck, with Dr. Robert J. Brueck at the helm, our team is dedicated to helping patients in Fort Myers, Florida, achieve their cosmetic goals with the least amount of bumps in the road. If you’ve opted for a face-lift, or you’re simply weighing your options, your active participation in your recovery will help you meet your goals more quickly.
To that end, here are five tips to speed your face-lift recovery.
1. Doctor’s orders
We typically perform a face-lift procedure on an outpatient basis, which means we’re trusting you to take care of yourself properly when you go home that same day. Rest assured, we supply you with comprehensive instructions that are easy to follow. And follow them you should.
For example, resist the temptation to peek behind the bandages, as they’re in place for a good reason — to help your skin heal in the proper position and to reduce swelling.
In other words, every one of our instructions is designed with your health and your speedy recovery in mind.
2. Take it easy
For the first few days after your face-lift procedure, plan on taking it easy. Clear your calendar, and use this time to catch up on some reading or your favorite TV shows. We know that life is busy, and finding the time to slow down seems near impossible. But your body has been through surgery and needs time to rebuild and repair itself quietly, without interruption.
This also means that you’ll need to take some time off of work, if you go to an office. Most of our patients prefer to go a full two weeks for both comfort and cosmetic reasons.
We will monitor your recovery and let you know when you can take on more activities as you progress.
3. Head up
One of the most important things you can do after your face-lift is to keep your head elevated as much as possible during your early recovery. This is critical in reducing any postoperative swelling. So arrange your furniture, your pillows, and your bed for an upright or head-elevated position that prevents blood from rushing into the area.
4. Dealing with discomfort
Immediately after your face-lift, you should apply cold compresses and ice packs to your face (over the bandages) to help with swelling and pain. We will also provide you with pain medications, which you should only use according to instructions. The sooner you can stop taking these medications, the better, since they can cause constipation, nausea, and grogginess.
5. Skin care
As the bandages come off and the sutures come out, you need to take care of your skin, but gently. Talk to us about your usual daily regimen, and we’ll let you know what you can and cannot do after your surgery. Your skin is terribly sensitive during this time, and we don’t want to irritate it, or the incision areas, with harsh or abrasive products.
As well, please be sure to cover up when you head outdoors. Florida is full of sunshine, so load up on the sunscreen (the sensitive skin kind), and wear a hat during the first few months after your face-lift. In fact, this will be a great practice going forward if you want to maintain your youthful look.
If you have any more questions about recovering from a face-lift, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. Or you can use the online scheduling tool to set up an appointment.