Massage After Face Lift? (photo)

Some degree of firmness or #lumpiness under the skin is normal after #surgery and will resolve with time. Local #massage to those areas will speed resolution of this problem, which normally takes 2-4 months to disappear completely.

Well -  the answer is sometimes - but not in your case - it looks like you might have some challenged skin  - ie skin without enough blood supply - otherwise called skin necrosis.  Much of this will heal without additional intervention - the important thing will be to wait and be patient - and definitely stay in close contact with your plastic surgeon!  Best of luck!

It seems that you're unhappy with your recovery. To answer your one question, usually scabs and healing issues are not very common but they can happen. It is a known complication that can occur after a face lift procedure however. They are more common in people who have uncontrolled diabetes or on immunosuppressants like steroids. Small scabs usually resolve on their own. A large scab or healing problem must be addressed with your surgeon.  Regardless, any scab needs to be followed closely with wound care.  In general, covered wounds heal better than uncovered wounds.    
Usually I allow patients to massage all areas within a week or two of surgery. Depending specifically on what areas are not healing well, your surgeon might advise otherwise.
I would recommend that you see a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area that is a member of both ASPS & ASAPS and performs a lot of facelifts if you want a second opinion and of course, make sure you follow up with your own surgeon and talk about this. 
I hope this helps and wish you all the best in your surgery and event. If it does, please take a moment to up vote this answer on the “respond” button on the top right.