To everything—even plastic surgery—there is a season. While summer is a great time to have non-surgical treatments, like Botox and dermal fillers, recovering from plastic surgery is usually easier during the cooler months. If you’re considering facelift surgery, we recommend scheduling your procedure between September and November (at the latest). Here’s why:

4 Reasons to Have Facelift Surgery During the Fall

1. You won’t be missing out on outdoor summer fun.

Though modern surgical techniques have made facelift surgery less invasive than it used to be, this procedure still requires downtime. The initial stages of recovery can last anywhere from seven to 14 days, depending on how comprehensive your procedure is. If you’re combining facelift surgery with a brow lift and eye lift, you can expect to spend at least seven days recuperating.

Recovering from facelift surgery isn’t particularly uncomfortable for most patients, but can be inconvenient. At first, you’ll need to be careful about what you eat and how you move your face. You’ll also experience visible swelling and bruising for the first two weeks after your operation. All of this can keep you indoors when the weather is beautiful, and everyone else is out having fun. In the fall, on the other hand, facelift recovery can be viewed as enjoyable time spent recuperating indoors.

2. Avoiding the sun will be easier.

Tennessee summers are long, hot, and sunny. This is wonderful when you want to hit the beach or take a road trip, but these conditions aren’t ideal for healing. While there are steps you can take to limit sun damage, like

covering your incisions, the risks from sun exposure last longer than most people realize; If your scars are still pink, they’re vulnerable to sun damage.

Because of rainfall peaks during the fall and winter months throughout the state of Tennessee, it’s much easier to avoid direct sun exposure during this time. Just make sure to take precautions even when the weather is cloudy (i.e., wear sunscreen and a hat), as some UV rays still penetrate through cloud cover.

3. Most of us have more free time in the fall.

If you have kids, you probably feel like most of your year is booked solid. Between spring break, summer holidays, and the winter holiday season, finding time to breathe—let alone lay in bed for a week—is challenging. Even if you don’t have kids, social obligations in the summer and winter create pressure always to look your best.

Autumn provides a bit of a lull in all this activity, though; the kids are back at school, and your friends are back at work, but the Christmas season hasn’t yet started.

4.You’ll have time to heal before the winter holidays.

Though most facelift patients feel better after a week or two, it takes a while for facelift surgery to “settle.” Dr. Gilpin, therefore, recommends scheduling this procedure at least one month before the winter holidays and breaks from school, with two months in advance being even better. This will ensure you look completely rejuvenated by the time the holidays roll around.

Having facelift surgery two months before the holidays also opens the possibility of polishing your procedure with a few complementary non-surgical treatments. You might want to use dermal fillers to fill in any lingering hollows, for example. Facelift surgery doesn’t always completely eradicate hollows because it can’t replace the facial fat we typically lose with age. Some people also elect to have skin resurfacing treatments after they have healed from facelift surgery. This adds a youthful glow to the skin, amplifying the structural improvements created by facelift surgery.

Summer is already half over, so if you want to schedule facelift surgery during the fall of 2018, the time to act is now. Contact Gilpin Facial Plastics to arrange your consultation—we’ll take care of the rest.

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Dr. David Gilpin is an award-winning, board-certified facial plastic surgeon and a leader in facial plastic surgery in the Nashville, TN area. During a consultation, Dr. Gilpin will work with you to explore your cosmetic options and achieve your most confident self yet. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Gilpin and learn more about your facial cosmetic surgery options, contact our office by calling or filling out our online form.