Diary Of A Facelift

Ever wondered what it’s like having a facelift? One of our patients kindly wrote about her facelift procedure. This is her diary of a facelift:

Having a facelift is a big deal, however, I decided that I wanted to have it done sooner rather than later as I did not want anyone to know that I had had one. I am in my late 30’s and my face does not look that bad at all; I just have some general signs of skin laxity, enough to make me feel like it’s all down hill from here.

I had read on the internet about the new trend of having “freeze frame” facelifts meaning that rather than wait until one really ages and it then is obvious that they have had a facelift , people get it done earlier to hold off the effects of ageing and to “capture” ones youthful appearance for hopefully the next 10 – 15 years.

I was very nervous going into my consultation as I thought I might be ridiculed for wanting a facelift at such a young age. Thankfully I wasn’t! and was reassured that patients in their late 30’s that had perhaps aged a bit faster than usual due to sun damage, hereditary ageing, lifestyle etc, or like me, wanted to ward off the inevitable a bit longer could be suitable candidates.

I was told that I did not “need the surgery”, but that I was a good candidate if I wanted to proceed.

I am now almost 4 months post-surgery and could not be happier. I still look like myself, but fresher and more radiant. The recovery was hard – I am not going to lie! You look bruised and swollen and not like yourself for a couple of weeks. There is also a tight feeling and numbness around the face and neck, which was all explained to me ahead if time so I was not un-prepared.

I decided to take 4 weeks off work which for me I am glad I did. I could have gone back to work after 3 weeks with cover up makeup but 4 weeks was just the right time for me to not stress about the healing process as everyone heals differently and I did not want to have that pressure on myself to go back to work if I had not healed in time.

I felt groggy for the first two days after surgery and was quite swollen and bruised, most of which disappeared after about 1 week. The remaining residue swelling took a couple of months to go down. I was told to wait up to 6 months for the final result and that was probably spot on. My good friends who know I have had the surgery can notice a slight difference every time they see me and tell me my face is “settling in” as swelling is subsiding.

At 4 months post-surgery the tightness and numbness in my neck and face are about 80% better and I expect that by 6 months I won’t be aware of this sensation anymore. Neck stretching exercises have helped me as has being kind to myself and not pushing myself to do too much for the first 2 – 3 months.

Contact Dr Warwick Nettle to book a consultation with our facelift expert Dr Nettle on: 02 9387 3900

Have a look at our Facelift Before and After Gallery here