Facelift Scars and Recovery Time

Hello, this is Dr. Park Seong-hyeok from 눈높이성형외과.

In this post, I’ll introduce the facelift recovery period

through before-and-after photos,

since many people ask about it.

I also think this will be a helpful example of

how facelift scars improve over time.

The patients in the cases below all consented to the use of their images,

but I minimized facial exposure.

These photos are used to help readers understand,

so please be considerate toward the patients who allowed their photos to be shared.

I want to lift my sagging cheeks after contouring surgery

Facial contouring can make the bone smaller,

but it cannot make the skin or fat smaller.

Ten years after contouring surgery,

sagging developed a little earlier than in peers,

so at 눈높이성형외과, a facelift and double-chin neck lift

were performed at the same time.

Side view

The sideburns were not shortened,

and you can see that the neck and jawline were lifted well...

Up to two weeks after the facelift, bruising was still visible,

and a small amount of swelling remained until two months.

If you look at the enlarged photo, it is as follows.

Enlarged side view

The patient began scar laser treatment on the facelift scar area

starting at two months,

and by five months it is hard to find the scar in front of the sideburns.

(Please understand that in the five-month photo,

the area below the ear and behind the hairline is red

because the photo was taken after laser treatment.)

Facelifts tend to show their effects more clearly

from the side or at an angle than from the front,

and at a 45-degree angle it looks like this.

Angled view

If a facelift is not done properly, a hooked ear can occur...

For this patient, I also shaped the earlobe into a rounder form.

Shall we take a closer look?

Enlarged angled view

Perhaps because the skin was especially fair,

the red scar at the back took longer to fade than in other patients.

Treatment with a scar laser using a Cytone Erbium YAG laser is ongoing,

and it seems the end of scar treatment is soon in sight.^^

My jawline and deep cheeks are sagging

Because of sagging under the chin, sagging around the mouth, and under-eye hollows,

the patient underwent a facelift, neck lift, and lower blepharoplasty at 눈높이.

45-degree face view

There was a little bruising after surgery,

and because the SMAS layer was lifted thickly, the skin became a little thinner.

From the beginning, we used the hyperbaric oxygen therapy device

available at 눈높이성형외과,

and

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy device by ibex

from day 11 onward, the bruising and blood circulation improved a lot.

Shall we look at a close-up?

45-degree close-up

Likewise, the congenital hooked ear was also corrected.^^

Let’s look at the side view.

Side view after facelift

The reason the skin looks especially red on day 4

is that the photo was taken right after hyperbaric oxygen therapy,

which is a phenomenon that occurs when red blood cells carry more oxygen than usual.

Enlarged side view

From two months onward, the patient received Erbium YAG laser treatment,

and the redness is also fading.

While correcting the hooked ear, preserving the original shape

of the tragus in front of the ear is the signature of a facelift at 눈높이성형외과,

which is not commonly seen.

I want to lift sagging cheeks and remove double-chin fat

This patient had concerns about sagging double-chin fat,

marionette lines around the mouth,

and glabellar wrinkles,

so a facelift, neck lift, and forehead lift were performed.

45-degree view

The neck line and the sagging beside the mouth improved well,

45-degree close-up

Thanks to starting facial scar laser treatment early,

the facelift scar tissue also decreased quickly.

Shall we look at the side view?

Side view

Like the others,

while preserving the tragus well,

I also made the earlobe round.

Enlarged side view

The black scab from day 8 naturally falls off over time,

so by two months after the facelift there is no visible trace.

A quick note!

Feature 1 of a facelift at 눈높이성형외과

Let me introduce the conditions for a natural-looking ear shape after a facelift!

Left = separated earlobe, right = attached earlobe

The form on the right, where the entire earlobe is attached to the cheek,

is called an attached earlobe.

In plastic surgery textbooks, this condition is called

an attached earlobe,

and it is one of the awkward appearances that should be avoided after a facelift.

There is also literature showing how to correct this like below....

Literature on improving attached ears

The method is simple.

Left = before surgery, right = after surgery

Left = before surgery, right = after surgery

Although it can be corrected simply using the method above,

it is even more important to operate carefully

so that an attached ear does not occur in the first place during a facelift.

Feature 2 of a facelift at 눈높이성형외과

Although the shape and size differ from person to person,

there is a cartilage bump in front of the ear canal.

Because it looks like a bead,

it is called the tragus cartilage.

Tragus cartilage (blue circle)

One of the possible side effects of a facelift is a cut-off looking tragus like below,

which is called chopped off tragus.

chopped off tragus (excerpt from a paper)

Some patients may not notice it,

but from a strong aesthetic perspective,

it is not a desirable look,

and it is important to preserve the shape of the cartilage in front of the ear.^^

I want to lift nasolabial folds and jowls

Among the people I recently helped with facial lifting,

this patient was the oldest.^^

45-degree view

A forehead lift was also performed at the same time,

and since the patient was older,

bruising around the eyes remained for quite a while ㅠ

We managed the bruising and swelling

with BBL bruise laser and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Enlarged 45-degree view

Likewise, the scar was somewhat visible until one month,

but by two months it had noticeably decreased.

Shall we look at another angle?

Side view with head lowered

From the lowered-head view,

the double-chin lift is confirmed to have worked well.

If you look at the close-up scar photo,

Enlarged side view

Even without Erbium YAG scar laser treatment,

there was significant improvement by two months.^^

For faster recovery, scar tissue management began from the two-month mark.

Scar laser Cytone JouleX

Conclusion

A facelift is not a procedure that can be decided as easily as getting double eyelids.

The reason is that the incision range is longer,

and recovery takes more time than with other cosmetic surgeries...

I explain to patients as follows:

• Daily activities such as shampooing are possible from days 3 to 4,

• It takes 2 to 3 weeks for bruising to disappear,

• It takes about 2 months for bumpy areas to improve,

• Scars begin to become less noticeable from 4 to 6 months

So for those considering taking leave from work,

going back to work is possible around days 7 to 10,

but some bruising or swelling must still be expected.

For those curious about facelift recovery time,

did this help?

If you have more questions,

please contact us through the 눈높이성형외과 Kakao channel,

and we will provide detailed guidance.