What You Do After a Facelift is More Important Than You Think

There have been huge strides in facelift surgery techniques over the last few decades as we’ve come to understand facial anatomy better, helping us discover why exactly it is that we age. Facelifts these days use this latest research to reshape and reposition the soft tissue beneath your skin, diminishing the prominent signs of aging, and making the youthful contours of your face much more visible.

A facelift remains the most powerful tool available to address:

• Loose or sagging skin in your face or neck
• Prominent wrinkles
• Jowl formation
• Volume loss in your cheeks and/or mid-face
• Excess fat in your cheeks, neck, and/or jowls

You can expect a facelift to make you look at least 10 years younger. Although the natural ageing process will continue over the years, you’ll still look younger in 10 years’ time than your contemporaries who’ve never had surgery.

But here’s something else I’ve noticed: When working with patients that have taken care of their skin after surgery, I’ve seen a dramatic difference in the long-term outcome of their facial cosmetic surgery, regardless of how old they are. As a result, I always encourage my patients to commit to healthy skin practices following their surgery.

Here are the top things I recommend they do:

1. Use medical grade skincare products

Medical grade skincare products can be seen as an essential ‘maintenance plan’ after surgery. Irrespective of the products that you choose to incorporate into your skincare routine, the goal should be to improve the overall health of your skin as opposed to merely alleviating the symptoms of poor skin health, which can include acne, pigmentation or fine lines.

The majority of over-the-counter skincare products don’t address these concerns at a cellular level, which is why it’s so important to invest in highly researched, medical-grade cosmeceutical skincare products that are results-driven. These products are often more expensive than the typical moisturiser you’d buy off the shelf at your nearest supermarket, but they also tend to last much longer, and they really deliver on their promises.

Commit to using these products consistently in the correct way, as prescribed by your spet, and you’ll start to notice a dramatic improvement in the overall condition of your skin. A healthy, radiant, and youthful complexion requires a consistent skincare routine that makes use of quality products, even though this may require a bit of a financial investment at the beginning.

2. Have regular advanced skin procedures

I always tell my patients that it’s worth investing in regular advanced skin procedures at a reputable aesthetic clinic, and that they go for regular follow ups with their aesthetician to monitor the results afterwards. You can also review your progress by having your skin analysed via Visia Skin Analysis every three to six months.

Medical treatments like microneedling, chemical peels, PRP injections and fat grafting work on a cellular level to restructure cells, ordering them and improving your skin’s quality. These treatments become more important as your skin ages.

3. Be serious about the sun

It’s vital that you protect your skin against the sun’s damaging UV rays by wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen on a daily basis, whether it’s gloomy outside or bright sunshine. You should also incorporate antioxidant-rich skincare products into your routine to help neutralise the damaging effects of free radicals from environmental factors such as the sun, pollution, or stress. Of course, things like wearing a hat when spending lengthy times outdoors is also highly important.

4. Nourish skin from the inside too

 Now that we’ve worked on the outside, it’s important to feed your skin from the inside too. There’s no point overdoing it on fizzy drinks, alcohol and fried food if you want glowing, youthful skin – you need to nourish it instead with lots of leafy greens, good fats, wholegrains and lots of water.

Remember that ageing beautifully is a multi-faceted approach. Besides all of the above, you should also get enough sleep and exercise so that you can protect the good quality skin that you have and build a strong foundation on that. We know we’re all living longer these days and we want to look as good as we feel – for many years to come.