For many people, facelift surgery is the culmination of a long-held goal – but the journey doesn’t end when you go home to begin your recovery. While time spent educating yourself about your options, researching board-certified plastic surgeons, and learning about what to expect from your procedure will pay dividends, you shouldn’t neglect your facelift’s aftercare aspect. Caring for your skin is crucial to prolonging your results and ensuring you continue looking vibrant for many years to come.
1. Avoid Excessive Sun Exposure
Damaging UV rays are responsible for many signs of premature aging, including discoloration, wrinkles, and an uneven skin tone. After a facelift, shielding your skin from the sun should be a top priority, since sun exposure can slow your healing process and darken your incision lines. For at least six months after your surgery, minimize outdoor activities. If you must go outside, wear non-comedogenic, full-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, and cover up with sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.
2. Stay Hydrated and Nourished
A healthy diet can extend your facelift results by giving your body the nutrition it needs to ensure maximum wellness. Foods rich in antioxidants and other essential nutrients will make your skin glow from within. Fresh, seasonal produce is an abundant source of vitamins like A, C, E, and beta carotene. Use the “rainbow method” to plan your meals, looking for fruits and vegetables with bright colors like green, red, purple, orange, and yellow hues. Drinking plenty of water will also help with all aspects of your health and vitality.
3. Don’t Smoke
Cigarette smoke contains toxic chemicals that can damage skin and other organs and tissues. Smoking also makes your circulatory system less efficient at delivering nourishment to your body. If you are a smoker, Dr. Indeyeva will ask you to quit as a prerequisite to facelift surgery. Starting the habit again after a facelift procedure will impede your healing process and make you more vulnerable to developing potentially dangerous complications.
4. Be Realistic and Optimistic
Since there is a close link between your emotional and physical well-being, keeping a positive outlook plays a vital role in caring for your skin after a facelift. Dr. Indeyeva will help you mentally prepare for your recovery process, including what to expect as you heal. Remember that some swelling, bruising, and numbness are typical after facelift surgery, and these might initially obscure some of your results. Don’t let these discourage you; instead, stay upbeat and keep looking forward to how good you will look and feel in the months to come.
5. Schedule Maintenance Skin Treatments
At Facial Plastic Surgery of Austin, our patients often choose to make routine maintenance part of their post-facelift plan. Dr. Indeyeva can advise you on non-surgical procedures that can help further improve your appearance after you have fully healed from facelift surgery, including injectable dermal fillers and neuromodulators. You may also want to prolong your results at home by adding medical-grade skincare products to your anti-aging regimen.
Choosing a Talented Facelift Provider
As a Double Board-Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Indeyeva is passionate about using the art and science of Facial Plastic Surgery to improve her patients’ quality of life. Additionally, her firsthand experience as a plastic surgery patient has provided her a unique insight into both sides of the physician-patient relationship. To learn more about facelift surgery in Austin, schedule your confidential consultation by reaching out today.
