5 Tips to Ease Recovery After a Facelift

You’re finding it hard to control your anticipation of your upcoming facelift, and you just want to hit the fast-forward button to six months from now. Just as we can’t go back in time, we can’t travel forward, which means you need to navigate your recovery, which will go more smoothly if you follow a few great practices. 

As one of the premier authorities on facelifts, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Zelken takes his time performing your facelift, paying close attention to detail. We want you to do the same during your recovery.

Each year in the United States, tens of thousands of people elect to have a facelift (nearly 80,000 in 2023 alone), and each needs to travel the same road.

So, while we’ll do our part to deliver subtle and natural-looking results, here’s what you can do to ease this transformative journey.

1. Practice patience

If there’s one point we want to convey, it’s that patience is key and that things might temporarily worsen before they get much, much better.

During your facelift, Dr. Zelken often turns to fat transfers to turn back the clock on aging skin. These fat transfers usually account for much of the swelling and bruising you’ll likely encounter during the first week or two after your facelift. Be patient; the swelling will subside, along with any discoloring.

Also, Dr. Zelken often places two layers of stitches, one deeper and one more toward the surface, which can create peaks and valleys across the surface of your skin. These will smooth out after about a month.

So, please be patient and don’t judge your results until you’re a few months out. At that point, we’re confident you’ll be thrilled.

2. Find exercise alternatives

During the first two weeks, we want you to take it easy, and we don’t want you to engage in any strenuous exercise.

We understand that the last thing you want to do is debut your facelift along with extra pounds so you can start getting creative during weeks three and four. For example, try chair yoga and pilates classes or focus on exercises that only target your lower body.

After about a month, with our okay, you can gradually return to your usual routine.

3. Set up a comfortable space in your bed

Getting good restorative sleep after your facelift is important — your body uses this time to heal and repair. So, ensure your bed is as comfortable as possible.

We also want you to sleep on your back so you don’t disturb anything on your face. If you tend to sleep on your side or stomach, invest in some body pillows and place them on either side of you to encourage sleeping on your back.

A great practice is sleeping like this before your facelift to get used to the position beforehand.

4. Get out and about

At about the one-month mark, you should get out and back to your usual routine. You’ll be looking great, with only a few hints of your procedure, at this point.

Getting out and back to your life is important for your mental health, so we encourage you not to hide.

5. Follow our instructions

We want to assure you that we’re with you every step of the way during your facelift recovery, and we will provide you with precise aftercare instructions. Please follow these instructions, and if you have any questions, just call us.

If you follow the best practices we outline above, you’ll be putting your best face forward in about 3-6 months. For a video about a typical facelift recovery timeline, click here.

If you have more questions about easing your recovery after a facelift, please don’t hesitate to call Jonathan Zelken, MD, in Newport Beach, California, at (949) 432-4730. You can also request an appointment using our online booking tool.