More and more people in the United States are turning to help from plastic surgeons to look younger. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has reported that in 2017, people around the nation spent more than $6.5 billion to turn back the hands of time. Many people are having facelifts to make themselves look and feel better. While this is considered to be minor facial plastic surgery, it is still surgery. There are things you can do to have a better experience with your recovery. Here are a few things you can do:
- Listen to your doctor. After you have your facelift, you will be given a set of instructions from your physician. They give you these instructions for a reason. You need to take care to do exactly what they tell you to do to protect your incisions and promote proper healing of your face. If you cherry pick the instructions you follow, you can end up experiencing increased inflammation, discomfort, and pain. This can also elongate the healing process and even compromise the final result of the procedure. Here are some things you really need to do:
- Try not to touch your bandages too much. Your medical team will let you know when they think you should change or remove the bandages on your face. They want you to keep them on so that you can make sure the area remains sterile. This can help prevent the development of any infections.
- Take care to eat foods that are not hard to chew. If you eat very chewy food, the inflammation in your face can be increased.
- Follow the instructions for your medications. This will help with the healing process.
- Take it easy. For the first few days after your facelift, you should take a break from heaving workouts and anything that pushes your heart rate up. These activities can be responsible for causing more inflammation and added pressure on your face.
- Keep your cool. When you are recovering from facial surgery such as a facelift, you need to stay away from heat sources. Cool compresses can help with the swelling. By contrast, using tanning beds, laying out in the sun, or spending time in a sauna or steam room can set you back some steps in the healing process. Doctors actually recommend that people who have had a facelift avoid some of these activities for up to six weeks.
- Elevate your head. When someone injures their ankle, the advice they are often told to follow is RICE. This stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Elevating your injured ankle can help reduce the amount of swelling you experience. The same principle holds true for your face after a facelift. If you keep your head elevated, say on a number of pillows, you can reduce the amount of swelling you will have to deal with.
- Get enough rest. As was mentioned, a facelift is not the same thing as open heart surgery but it is something you will need to help your body recover from. After your surgery, you should give yourself some room to relax and let your body heal. Take some time off of work. Before your surgery, you can make your home a comfy place to hang out. When your body is healing, it needs to take all of its energy and put that into the healing process.
- There are things you can do before your surgery. Stock up your home with your favorite foods. Get some books to read. Even taking the time to research the plastic surgeons to get the right person to do the work. Any time you spend finding the right doctor, getting your home prepped for your recovery, or just getting into the right mindset can make your experience better and easier for you.
There are other options for making yourself look and feel younger. While getting a facelift can be an effective way to improve the look of your skin, people find success with thermal skin rejuvenation and other products to tighten the skin. Medical spas are opening up all over the nation to offer facelifts and other solutions for people to look better and improve their self-confidence.