How Long Do I Have to Wait After Rhinoplasty to Go Tanning?

When is it safe to go to the tanning salon after surgery? It's NEVER safe. Tanning salons offer a toxic brew of UV exposure that is far more cancer causing than natural light. You will age more rapidly and significantly raise your risk of skin cancer. I would echo the comments of my colleagues and tell you that tanning should be avoided at all costs.
Best,Stephen Weber MD, FACS

I am never an advocate of tanning, and would urge you to try a self tan or spray tan.  However, if this is not possible wait at least until you are done healing, a few months.
 

Not that I'm a big fan of tanning but my guess is that you could resume facial tanning 2-3 months after surgery. You certainly could go back earlier if you protected your face with a towel or something similar. You should definitely check with your own surgeon though. No sense in messing up. Good luck.

My general rule of thumb for prolonged sun exposure after surgery is 6 weeks.  However, if you desire a tanned look, the spray method is much safer and kinder to your skin in the long run.  Although this is a hard concept to grasp for someone in their teens or 20's,  excessive sun exposure prematurely ages skin and dramatically increases risk of skin cancer.

In general, your nose has less natural protection from the sun right after rhinoplasty. All the tissue was just elevated off of the internal structure of the nose, including the bone and cartilage, and blood vessels were coagulated in order to do this. There fore we weakened the nose's natural defense since we weakened its blood supply. This blood supply grows back , but it can take quite a bit of time to happen. In the first 6 weeks, your nose is less naturally resistant to UV rays and is more likely to burn and get discolored. Also, since your nose is mostly numb early on, its less likely that you are to notice the problem until its too late. I recommend you stay out of the sun as much as possible in the first 6 weeks after surgery. If you are in the sun for short periods of time, stay in the shade, and wear a big hat and a good sunblock. Do not wear sun glasses in the first 6 weeks, or any glasses for that matter, if osteotomies were performed, (breaking of the nasal bones). You can get your nose wet as soon as the splint comes off, but I would be careful about chlorinated pools early on until the incision is fully healed an more mature, as the chlorine can irritate the incision. The gym and anything that increases you blood pressure will increase the swelling of your nose and delay your healing time. I recommend 6 weeks for this as well.Best Wishes, Pablo Prichard, MD