Skin care after a facelift is essential. This is the time to pamper your skin and to follow your plastic surgeon’s orders to the letter. The way you care for your skin following a facelift will make all the difference in the healing process. It can also have an impact on how you look as you heal. Many aspects of facelift aftercare enhance your recovery. You should never skip out on moisturizing your skin, for instance, nor should you risk your recovery by spending time outside in direct sunlight. Salameh Plastic Surgery has an abundance of tips that can help with your aftercare.
Cleansing Your Skin
For the most part, you won’t have to worry about skin care after your facelift procedure, at least not immediately after. Typically, your face will be covered in bandages for the first 24 hours after a facelift procedure. Once the bandages come off, it’s extremely important to be gentle and kind to your skin. You will experience areas of swelling and tenderness, which is normal. It’s also normal to experience light to mild bleeding afterward, especially around the incision sites.
Being careful not to apply too much pressure, you can gently wash your incisions with a bit of water and antibacterial soap or facial cleanser. It’s safe to wash your face three times a day. By doing so, you will eliminate bacteria and reduce the risk of infections. If advised by your plastic surgeon, you can also dab on a bit of peroxide followed by a very light layer of antibacterial ointment. After that, you can apply moisturizer, preferably unscented. Keeping your skin moisturized, especially around the incision sites, can reduce the appearance of scars, helping your face to heal flawlessly.
Keep Up the Moisturizer
The facelift aftercare described above will serve you well during your convalescence. Continue to wash your face gently. When you dry it, pat it dry. Don’t rub it. The moisturizer step is important to keep up with, as well. As mentioned, hydrated and moisturized skin has what it needs to fight against scarring. Smooth, supple skin is practically a guarantee as long as you maintain your moisturizing routine.
Give Your Skin Time to Heal
It’s normal to want to get back to your routine after surgery. Your skin care after your facelift depends on avoiding that, however. Aside from washing your face regularly, you need to give it time to heal. Don’t push yourself to get back out in the world. Take time for self-care. While it’s understandable that you want to show off your new look to everyone in your life, you need to wait until you’re ready.
Stay Away from Makeup
This is another reason to make rest and relaxation part of your facelift aftercare. Your face may swell for a few days following your surgery. As tempting as it is to cover it up with makeup, resist the urge. Plastic surgeons typically advise their patients to convalesce at home for a week or two after the procedure. Heed that advice and don’t worry about how you look in the moment. Once the swelling goes down and you’ve had more time to heal, you’re going to look sensational. You’ll have enough time to pick up your beauty routine and apply your favorite makeup.
Once you’re ready, take care to ensure that your incisions are safely closed and that there are no open wounds on your face. Getting makeup into a wound can cause an infection and increase your recovery time.
Avoid the Sun
There’s a good reason why your doctor will suggest that you stay at home for a couple of weeks after your facelift. Namely, you need to stay out of the sun. Skin care after a facelift involves babying your skin as much as possible, and that means avoiding harsh UV rays. They can harm your skin while it’s vulnerable. You can walk out to get the mail or head to the pharmacy, but prolonged exposure is a no-no. In fact, you should probably stay out of direct sunlight for several months after your surgery. Some doctors suggest avoiding it for up to six months. If you don’t, then the sun’s rays may make your incisions appear darker and more pronounced.
If you follow these tips for skin care after your facelift, then you should heal quickly, allowing you to show off your beautiful results in no time. Are you interested in a facelift? Schedule a consultation with Salameh Plastic Surgery today.