Adequately preparing for your facelift is key to a comfortable and successful plastic surgery journey. This blog discusses helpful tips for preparing your body, mind, and recovery space before facelift surgery.
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Getting Ready For Your Facelift
Undergoing a facelift is the ultimate way to improve even the most severe signs of aging, including loose skin and jowls, deep facial wrinkles and creases, hallowed cheeks, and sagging facial tissues.
Everyone wants the best possible result—we all want to look like ourselves, just more youthful and refreshed. There are a number of ways to achieve this, namely, choosing the best facial surgeon you can find.
Dr. Jason Diamond has earned national and international recognition as a facial expert. He is known for his comprehensive approach to facial rejuvenation with his signature Diamond Facial Rejuvenation where he routinely combines surgical and non-surgical techniques to achieve that perfect balance of natural and dramatic results.
Once you choose a talented facial surgeon, your job is over, right? Not quite. There are still some steps you can take to prepare for your facelift and make your results and recovery easy and beautiful.
What Should I Do to Prepare for a Facelift?
Preparation for a facelift can be divided into three categories: preparing your body, mind, and space. Some of these tips are more like requirements that all plastic surgery patients will be asked to do beforehand, like quitting smoking and pausing certain medications, while others are meant to make the surgical and recovery processes easier and more comfortable for you.
Preparing Your Body
When you have your initial facelift consultation with Dr. Diamond, he will ask you questions about your health and any medications you’re currently taking and may request a blood test. This is to ensure that you are fit for surgery and to avoid any possible complications during or after the operation.
Some non-negotiables before facelift surgery are:
- No smoking or nicotine products of any kind. Nicotine constricts blood vessels, inhibiting blood circulation, which affects healing and can complicate your results. Using nicotine products after surgery is equally as dangerous, as the newly reshaped tissues and skin can struggle to find proper blood supply, without which can cause tissue death or necrosis.
- No blood thinners of any kind—including vitamin supplements. Most people know that painkillers thin the blood, making you more susceptible to excessive bruising and bleeding, but natural supplements and vitamins can also have the same effect. You’ll need to compile a list of every supplement you are taking and provide this to Dr. Diamond’s office or check with your doctor that they are safe.
You may also be asked to provide some blood panels prior to surgery, so be sure to get those to the office as soon as possible. These healthcare checks are essential to your safety, and the surgery can’t proceed without them.
In addition to healthcare checks, it can be beneficial to treat your skin with gentle facials in the weeks leading up to your facelift. One side-effect of facial surgery is dry skin, so keeping your skin lightly (emphasis on light!) exfoliated and well-nourished can help ease you into recovery. Just avoid harsh retinoids, deep exfoliating, and laser resurfacing, as these treatments can be too harsh and cause irritation that may cause your surgeon to push back the procedure.
Preparing Your Mind
It’s important to think about the mental and emotional implications of plastic surgery before diving in. We always caution patients to think long and hard about the reasons they are seeking a facelift—is it for your betterment and confidence? Or to please the standards of someone else? You should only undergo plastic surgery for the right reasons.
We want our patients to make choices that will improve their mental and emotional well-being—not just their external aesthetics. This is because, while Dr. Diamond does beautiful work, a facelift is not a fix-all for everything wrong in your life. It won’t even change your entire appearance!
A facelift can make you feel youthful, have a renewed zest for life, and give you a fantastic boost to confidence, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. So, go into this with a positive attitude and practice self-love before, during, and after the plastic surgery process.
Preparing Your Space
This last point has a lot to do with setting yourself up for success during recovery. Immediately following your facelift, you will be sore, bruised, bandaged up, and tired. You won’t want (or be able) to do much of anything. And you shouldn’t at first! Recovery is all about balancing solid rest and light movement (like walking) to keep your blood circulating. You really shouldn’t push yourself, as you’ll run the risk of slowing your healing process and making it a lot harder on yourself. So plan ahead:
- You’ll need about two weeks off work, depending on your job. Plan accordingly.
- You might need household help during this time, including someone to help with childcare and/or pet care. Bending down is not recommended, so if you have little ones or small pets you need to care for, enlist some help.
- You likely will need help with household chores, including cooking and cleaning. You’ll have limited activity for a few weeks, so don’t be afraid to ask for help or hire help. It can help to factor in additional costs related to house care when planning your surgery.
- Another option is to meal-prep ahead of time, as healthy, nutritious food is key to recovery. Takeout is not going to cut it!
- Prepare your recovery space. At first, you’ll need to sleep with your head elevated, so pillows or a reclining chair can be beneficial. Stock up on comfy clothing and healthy snacks, and have plenty of water on hand.
- Enlist a friend or family member to drive you home on the day of surgery and have your prescription medications (painkillers and antibiotics) ready to go.
Facelift Prep in Beverly Hills, CA
Now that you have your list, get planning! If you have more questions about preparing for facelift surgery, the do’s and don’ts of facelift recovery, or you want to schedule your facelift consultation with Dr. Diamond, call the Diamond Face Institute today at (310) 859-9816. You can also begin an inquiry or request a consultation through our contact form here.