How Long is Recovery From Facelift Surgery?

Posted January 11, 2024 in Facelift, Facial Rejuvenation

By Plastic Surgeon Dr. Christopher Patronella

People want to look presentable quickly. And it’s not possible with a facelift-necklift procedure and accompanying procedures like eyelid lift surgery and laser peels to expect that you’ll be comfortable with your appearance before a few weeks. Usually two to three weeks is the timeframe for recovery and looking reasonably normal and inconspicuous.

How Painful is a Facelift Procedure?

Most patients don’t have very much pain with these facial rejuvenation procedures like eyelid lift / eyelid skin removal surgery, facelift and necklift surgery. But they still are a bit uncomfortable because there’s some swelling and bruising, and they don’t look quite normal until that goes away. So I tell all patients that two to three weeks is required before they’re going to feel comfortable with public visibility. Therefore, they should be expecting to stay at home, more or less, during that two-week period.

How to Reduce Bruising and Swelling After Facelift Surgery

The one thing that advise strongly for my patients is something called an AqueCool mask. It’s a mask that’s placed over the face after facelift surgery. It’s connected to a little machine at your bedside, and it provides chilled water through the channels of the mask. This has made a dramatic difference in how much people swell after having facelift and neclift surgery, so I alway recommend it to my patients.