Last Updated on March 12, 2024 by admin
You’ve done your research, consulted your doctor, and saved up all to make your cosmetic surgery successful. Still, facial inflammation and, in turn, recovery speeds vary from person to person. Here is how you can ensure a safe journey to your new look with proper skincare methods.
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How to Cleanse
To cleanse your face, you want to use a hypoallergenic and unscented product that is not heavy on surfactants. During recovery, your doctor will limit the products you can use on your face to prevent irritation. And so, a mild cleanser will help keep your skin barrier intact, which will then accelerate its recovery. It will also help lock in moisture, for the time being, you can’t supplement your face with moisturizing products.
Moisturize the Right Way
As your skin is fragile to touch at the moment, applying a moisturizer with a more viscous consistency could do more harm than good because you can only evenly distribute the product by rubbing it onto your face. What you can use instead is a moisturizer with a more fluid consistency. For a more gentle application, put a couple of drops onto a warmly damp cloth and carefully pat this onto your skin.
Go Bare-Faced
Do away with applying makeup at least during the first three days following your procedure. For the majority of the time you recover from your surgery, you will have to stay home anyway so you don’t have to stress about your blemishes showing. Focus, instead, on ways to nourish your skin with a regimen that your doctor recommends and avoid products with fragrance or abrasive ingredients like scrub beads which could irritate your already tender skin. You can also use your recovery time to clean your makeup brushes and applicators using a water and shampoo solution.
By the time your face is past the inflammatory stage, still do consult your doctor on whether you can apply your go-to makeup products. If not, consider switching to ones with non-comedogenic, meaning not pore-blocking, ingredients and completely avoiding those with harmful ingredients like sodium Laureth sulfate and phthalates which are culprits for makeup use-related cancers.
Avoid Touching Your Scars
Resisting the urge to scratch wounds on any part of your body is crucial to allow it to naturally heal. Remember that pulling off dead skin or scabs could only reopen wounds on your skin that are already well on their way to recovery.
Facial skin is relatively thinner than the skin on other body parts. The skin particularly around the eye area and the part of the nose bridge sandwiched between the eyes produce relatively lower levels of collagen which explains its thinner and less elastic characteristics, and so making them more susceptible to scarring or discoloration if rubbed hard. Especially when you underwent either blepharoplasty or rhinoplasty which could cause your eyelids or nose to swell for up to three weeks, you want to always be careful whenever you need to touch your face.
Minimize Sun Exposure
The number of days you have to avoid going out after non-invasive procedures like lip fillers and facial laser treatments could be a good baseline in the case of more invasive procedures like blepharoplasty and orthognathic surgery. That said, the soonest you could go out in a week after undergoing a procedure. On the other hand, going out when your skin is at its most vulnerable state will inhibit its natural healing process and could cause irreversible damage such as discoloration.
When you’re past the one-week mark, still do wear protective clothing like a scarf, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses when going out. Do not stay out for too long and, most importantly, do not skip sunscreen application. A minimum of 30 SPF is the way to go as higher SPFs could cause pore blockage, which can affect your skin’s ability to perspire and, in turn, to heal.
Hydrate
Drink at least a liter of water daily to help fuel your red blood cells to create more collagen, which then forms part of new tissue. This will manifest with your face exhibiting less rawness and more bounce. Water also assists in the fast action of pain-killing drugs, so your activities do not get interrupted by pain or discomfort on your face.
Undergoing cosmetic surgery costs you more than money. You will have to take time off work, from socializing and put on hold important tasks. You want to make recovery time worthwhile by following your doctor’s post-operative instructions so you can heal on time and suffer no side effects.
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