When Can You Get Out And Socialize After Your Toronto Facelift?

Cosmetic Surgery Procedure: Facelift

Toronto is a vibrant city with countless events and social gatherings occurring every day. People who undergo a facelift in Toronto are often eager to get out and mingle in their social groups and workplace, but it takes time to properly recover and you may not wish to be out and about until visible signs of surgery have faded. Here are a few guidelines you can use to get a sense of when you can get out and socialize.

What Procedure Are You Getting?

There are many different types of procedures that fall under the term “facelift” and some will have longer recovery periods than others. On the shortest end of the spectrum is the liquid facelift, a non-surgical approach that employs dermal fillers. This type of procedure has almost no downtime although you may experience sone mild swelling or bruising around the injection site that should fade in about one weeks time. People often use this type of “facelift” to get a less invasive facial enhancement.

Next on the list are “skin-only” types of facelift, such as the neck lift, that focus on removing excess skin and smoothing out wrinkles. Skin-only facelifts have a recovery period of around a week.

Having said that, some surgeons will ask that you wear a compression garment for two weeks after the procedure and these are not always easy to hide. A facelift with a bit longer recovery is the short-scar facelift or MACS (minimal-access cranial suspension) facelift. These procedures use smaller incisions than a deep-plane facelift and have a recovery time of around two-to-three weeks.

The most involved type is the deep-plane facelift, which targets the skin, muscle, and underlying fat pads of the face. It can take up to three or four weeks to finish the recovery period depending on the extent of changes done, yet the dramatic transformations are well-worth it.

The Recovery Timeline

People commonly refrain from social situations following a Toronto facelift because they do not want to be seen with temporary swelling, bruising, dressings, or other signs of recent cosmetic work. Broadly speaking, discoloration and swelling will build for the first few days following surgery and peak at around day four before beginning to fade over the next two weeks.

Sutures and staples tend to be removed after the first week as well, and the dressings should be gone not long after. Although it will take more than two weeks for the discoloration and swelling to fully fade, it will be much easier to conceal with makeup. With all of this in mind, you should assume a minimum of two weeks downtime before you can get out and socialize.

Promoting Recovery

There are several steps you can take to speed up your recovery and get back to socializing faster after a Toronto facelift. The first is to avoid things like alcohol or smoking that can delay the body’s healing process. The second is to promote blood circulation during the first few days after your procedure by taking light walks around the room—about ten minutes of activity every two hours or so.

The third is to avoid direct sunlight since your skin will be more sensitive and easier to agitate. Lastly, refrain from strenuous physical activity for at least three-to-four weeks after your facelift. Your surgeon will be able to give you more tailored advice, but these are useful guidelines that will help get you back on your feet sooner rather than later.