22 Sep 2025
It is human nature to want to look and feel your best before a big event like a wedding, high school/college reunion or significant birthday. You’ll probably be seeing a number of people that you haven’t seen in awhile, and photos from the event will definitely be uploaded to social media where they will live for posterity. So, it’s no surprise that one of the questions that I get asked most often by my Boston area patients is about timeline. How far in advance should you schedule a facial rejuvenation procedure so that you can be photo ready for your big event?
The critical phrase in this question is “photo ready”. Healing after an aesthetic procedure is a journey. While you may feel comfortable meeting a close friend for lunch 2-3 weeks after a facelift, you are not going to want to see your college boyfriend. In general, I tell patients to leave at least 6 months between the procedure and the event. You want to allow time for the consultation, scheduling, procedure and recovery. Here is more detailed timeline breakdown by my most popular procedures.
Deep Plane Facelift and Neck Lift Recovery Timeline in Boston
I am going to start with the heavy hitters. A deep plane facelift and/or neck lift is going to deliver a dramatic improvement in terms of facial rejuvenation. I pride myself on delivering a completely natural looking, elegant result. However, this is a robust procedure which requires more downtime for recovery. As mentioned, healing is a process. It is also individual. I spend considerable time during our initial meetings asking in-depth questions about your medical history, any prior procedures as well as how your body reacted. My goal is to understand your unique baseline of healing which will help determine how fast you may recover.
As a good rule of thumb, I recommend that patients book their deep plane facelift and/or neck lift 6-9 months before any big event. Most of the swelling will be down by 6-12 weeks post-op. However, you’ll look your best at 3-6 months after your procedure. Being generous with your timeline also allows for any last minute “tweaks” with Botox® or dermal fillers that may be wanted for perfecting your final results.
Rhinoplasty Recovery
Rhinoplasty is another procedure with a more significant downtime. The exact amount is going to really depend on what, exactly, we do, but I typically tell patients to book a nose job 9-12 months ahead of an event. This may seem like a long time, but again, it’s about you being “photo ready”. Assuming that you are genetically inclined to heal well and that you follow all of your post-op instructions carefully, including diet and exercise recommendations, your nose is going to look great at 3-4 months. However, tip refinement can take up to a year.
Upper and Lower Eyelid Surgery Recovery
Eye rejuvenation with either an upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty or both can pack a serious rejuvenation punch. It’s important to see a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, such as myself, with extensive experience in eyelid surgery. A blepharoplasty is not necessarily difficult technically. However, your eyes are so critical to who you are. It goes beyond just the aesthetics. For this reason, if your eyelid surgery changes the shape of your eyes by even a few millimeters, it can make you look strange. In terms of recovery, you will be what I like to call “social” ready at 2-3 weeks, but won’t be polished until 6-12 weeks post op. So, ideally, I recommend that patients give themselves 3-4 months between the procedure and the event.
Non-Surgical Procedures Have Fastest Timeline
Non-surgical procedures are going to have the fastest turnaround. But this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to plan for downtime, especially with laser skin resurfacing. An ablative laster is one of the top procedures for improving significant sun damage as well as skin texture and tone, but you will not be photo ready until 3-4 months afterwards. A non-ablative laser or light peel, however, will only require about 3-6 weeks. With dermal fillers, I prefer patients to schedule 4-6 weeks out. This will give the filler time to set and for us to do any necessary touch ups so that you are at peak performance for your event. With Botox® or any other neurotoxin, I like 4 weeks — 2 weeks to set and 2 weeks for any necessary tweaks.
To find out more about a deep plane facelift, neck lift, rhinoplasty, or any other surgical or non-surgical procedure with Dr. Akshay Sanan at the Boston Center for Plastic Surgery, contact us today or call (617) 402-2768 to schedule a consultation.
