Tips: Maintaining Your Plastic Surgery Results
Plastic surgery is a significant investment in many ways. While it is obviously a financial investment, for many of our patients, plastic surgery is first and foremost an investment in improving their overall quality of life. Popular plastic surgery procedures like abdominoplasty, facelift surgery, and liposuction often produce dramatic life-changing results, improving how a person feels both inside and out. Fantastic final results make all the time, energy, and money patients spend on cosmetic surgery truly pay off.
Plastic surgery patients, however, should realize they they’ll need to also invest in maintaining their plastic surgery results years after their procedure is done. Without this effort, patients risk negating some or all of the hard-earned results that were achieved. Fortunately, it’s possible to maintain your new look for the long haul by living a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Here are some tips on how you can successfully maintain your plastic surgery results:
Sun Protection
Many cosmetic procedures (both surgical and non-surgical) can leave the skin in a damaged and vulnerable state, making it more susceptible to damage from prolonged sun exposure. Shielding the skin from UV rays is especially important to reduce the appearance of scars as incision sites heal. So, make sure to practice sound sun care: wear a high SPF sunscreen, avoid being outdoors around peak UV hours, and wear sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.
Skin Care
Follow a good daily skin care regimen using high quality products formulated for your specific skin type. Cleansing, moisturizing, and exfoliating are all necessary to keep your skin looking young and healthy.
Eat Healthy
In order to maintain the results of liposuction or abdominoplasty, patients must maintain their post-procedure weight. Eating a healthy and balanced diet is probably the most important factor in staying fit. Try to avoid eating processed foods that are often high in saturated fats and sugars. Instead, opt for a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein along with a moderate amount of dairy.
Exercise Regularly
Alongside a healthy diet, patients will need to exercise regularly in order to keep their newly contoured body. Try to exercise for 30-60 minutes each day, giving yourself an occasional rest day. After their procedure, patients may need to start off slow and build up to their pre-procedure routine. See this post on exercising after plastic surgery.
Quit Smoking
You were advised to stop smoking before your procedure as a safety precaution. But that doesn’t mean you should pickup the cigarettes once you are fully healed. Smoking is very harmful for your skin and overall body. Quit smoking for good to keep your youthful-looking results!
Limit Alcohol
Moderately consuming alcohol (i.e. a glass of red wine a day) may actually be beneficial to your health, according to some studies. However, heavy drinking can damage your skin and inflate your waistline. The best way to avoid damaging your skin in the long and short term is to maintain a minimal or moderate level on your alcohol consumption.
Drink Water
Staying properly hydrated while recovering from your procedure is an important part of helping your body heal. However, patients should continue to drink lots of water daily to improve their metabolism and keep their skin looking its best. Drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses over the course of a day (more if you undertake physical activities).
A united group of skin care specialists from Westlake Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, Austin's leader in Dermatology and Plastic Surgery. Articles posted under WD staff are authored through combined contributions from our entire team, including Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Aestheticians, Physician Assistants, Aesthetic Nurses, and Patient Coordinators.
Great tips on this post! Most important thing: Be sure to always follow your surgeon’s advice.
Great tips in this post, I can definitely confirm that taking care of your skin is essential for keeping your results long term. I’ve had a facelift 5 years ago and resolved to keep a better skin care regimen. I still look 10 years younger!!
Great Post!!! Thank you for sharing Maintaining your plastic surgery results post with us…It was really very helpful
Thanks for offering tips on how to make plastic surgery results last. I like that you pointed out that staying properly hydrated is an important part of your recovery and helping your body heal. Makes sense!
Following a good daily skin care regimen after surgery makes sense. It makes sense that this is all necessary to keep your skin looking young and healthy
I like what you said about plastic surgery patients and how they need to invest in proper maintenance. I believe that certain skin surgeries are important when treating something like skin cancer. If I were to know someone with skin cancer, I would suggest they visit a dermatologist that could use MOHS surgery as a form of treatment.
Great tips, I’ll be sharing with our here in India
Thank you for the excellent advice on how to maintain your plastic surgery results! I’m set for a procedure next month and I will be sure to keep the advice in mind post-surgery!
This is truly a great post, very informative and well written! I plan on having our staff share this with our patients. thanks for posting
Thanks for sharing this nice blog!
Dr Chuma always does a good job. We’ve referred a few people to him and only heard good things.
Great post! I’ll add that we really advise patients to stop alcohol and cigarettes for at least a month after their procedure. IT really helps with healing.
Great tips! I liked that you mentioned you need to follow a good daily skin regimen to keep your skin looking young and healthy. We notice patients overlooking the importance of keeping up their results. They have to follow a sound skin care regimen and live a healthy lifestyle to maintain there results long term, no question about that
Aftercare and maintenance of the same are equally important. Thanks for sharing this post!!
Great Information ..!!
Thank you for telling me that I should exercise at least 30-60 minutes a day in order to maintain the results of my surgery. I’m thinking of undergoing breast reduction in order to reduce my back pain, so I’m hoping the surgery will be able to run again without the back pain!