Facelifts Aren’t Permanent: Tips for Maintaining Your Results
From the first consultation for a facelift surgery, you’ll learn that the results of your procedure will not be permanent. A facelift surgery is designed to correct existing damage and aging from the face, but it can’t stop the aging process from continuing once your stitches come out. Gravity, exposure to environmental toxins, and the gradual breakdown of cellular processes will all still be factors in your life, causing further damage to your beautiful skin. Before you start booking bi-annual facelift procedures, though, there are ways that you can work to maintain your facelift results for as long as possible. Some daily lifestyle habits and other precautions could keep you from going under the knife again for a little while longer if not indefinitely.
Your Facelift Procedure & Its Results
During facelift surgery, your plastic surgeon begins by making incisions along the hairline to in front of and behind the ears, extending to the lower scalp. These incisions allow the surgeon access to the lower part of the face, where he can work to diminish lines and wrinkles and other aging factors from this area. During some facelift procedures, the surgeon may use an additional incision underneath the chin in order to tighten and smooth the patient’s neck.
During the procedure, your surgeon will remove fat cells completely or redistribute them from the chin and jawline to other areas that have lost volume due to the aging process. Typically, the facial muscles will be lifted and tightened to reverse the loosening effects that create jowls around the jaw line. Once all of these adjustments have been completed, the skin is re-draped more tightly over the face. Any excess skin will be removed. After a facelift, your skin will appear more taut and firm, your profile will be more youthful in appearance, fine lines and wrinkles will be diminished, and the fat cells and loose skin that have been collecting at the bottom of the face will be corrected.
Recover Right for the Best Results
A facelift can have a dramatic effect on your appearance, self-esteem, and confidence levels. In some cases, it can appear as though years of aging have been suddenly lifted. After a brief recovery period, your facelift results will be ready for their debut. However, it is critical to be aware from the beginning that your facelift results will only last as long as you help them. Once the bandages are off and the swelling goes down, the same factors that contributed to your aging face before surgery will be at play once again.
Don’t let them win a second time! Do what you can to help your facelift results last as long as possible. This begins with following your doctor’s orders for a relaxing and restful recovery period. Keep your head elevated, get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and care for yourself as your body works hard to heal itself post-surgery. Use cold compresses and take your pain medication as needed. Follow the surgeon’s instructions for which activities are allowed and which are not; be careful not to overexert yourself when you do engage in those activities that are allowed. Do your best to stay positive and enjoy this time to rest and heal, since it will be the foundation of your facelift’s long-lasting results.
How to Look Great Long After Your Facelift
With swelling and other side effects out of the way, your facelift is now just your new face. Once the excitement subsides, however, you can’t lose sight of your ultimate goal: preserving those results for the long run. Don’t make the mistake of falling back into old habits like sleeping with your makeup still on or skipping the sunscreen. Caring for the skin is your best chance at avoiding regular surgeries as you continue to age.
Start with a healthy lifestyle, the perfect balance of proper diet and exercise that can allow your body to handle both a surgical recovery and the daily processes that are important to your skin. They say you are what you eat, and when it comes to the skin, healthy diets definitely shine through. Learn about the proper amount of vitamins and nutrients you need and make sure to get it through your diet each and every day. The same goes for hydration, which is an essential component to your skin’s cellular processes. Drinking enough water every day will give you a healthy glow and a boost to your body’s production of collagen and elastin to keep it firm and supple.
Protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun by applying sunscreen daily. Damaging UVA rays can penetrate clouds and windows, so you’ll need sunscreen even if you’re spending the day looking out your office window on an overcast day. These are a primary cause of cellular breakdowns that cause poor elasticity in the skin and many fine lines. Make sure to wear at least an SPF 30 each day to stay protected against this threat to your beautiful post-facelift skin.
Know when to get a booster treatment from your plastic surgeon, but not necessarily a surgery. Nonsurgical treatments can reduce the appearance of wrinkles or help to add volume to the areas depleted by gravity, which is virtually impossible to prevent. Injectable treatments are a temporary and nonsurgical fix that can keep your more youthful face looking great.
Get the Results You Want to Keep from a Facelift
If you’re searching for a reputable and experienced facial plastic surgeon to get the results you want from a facelift procedure, contact [primary_practice] for a consultation today. Dr. Ronald Lohner is a board certified plastic surgeon based in Philadelphia who can provide you with the expertise and proven results you need. He completed his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College and medical school at UMDNJ-Rutgers. He is Chief of Plastic Surgery at Bryn Mawr Hospital and holds a faculty appointment at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. His peers have selected him as a Top Doctor in the Philadelphia area for eight years running. Contact his office, located at [primary_address] in [primary_city], [primary_statefull], on the Main Line, by calling [primary_phone] to schedule a consultation.