When Does Swelling Disappear After a Facelift?

Most of our facelift / rhytidectomy patients ask; “when does swelling disappear after a facelift”? This is a perfectly reasonable question. People often have to concern themselves with time out of work or want to be looking back to normal by a certain date or event.

I tell most of my facelift patients that most of the swelling after a facelift occurs in the first week or two. Swelling and bruising generally peaks by day three after a facelift procedure and gradually decreases over time.  Keeping your head elevated will help reduce swelling. Most swelling and bruising will be gone in the third week and completely gone within 90 days. However, there may be gradual changes in your appearance for up to a year as you completely recover.

Every facelift procedure is different because the procedure has to be fine tuned for the unique needs of each patient. As a result swelling and bruising after a facelift will vary from patient to patient. But for the most part, it’s a safe bet to give yourself three weeks to heal back to an appearance without swelling and bruising.