My Facelift Scars Are Horrible, What Can I Do?

Question

my facelift scars are horrible. 2-3mm white line all along forehead hairline its also dented in. same kind of scar in front of both ears, along the semicircle under my ear and down into neck area , also behind my ears. all are very visable. some are larger with deep recesses in them and all are white and can not be covered with any kind of makeup even Kryolan. what can i do? my hair cant cover any if these because of "cowlicks" etc. its been 8 years and im tired of trying to hide them or have

Lewis Albert Andres, MD · Answer

Hello! Thank you for the question!  While tattoo is an option, it typically is not necessary.  It is common for scars to fully mature for up to a year. In the meantime, there are a few things that may help to ameliorate your incision/scar. The most proven (as well as cheapest) modality is simple scar massage. Applying pressure and massaging the well-healed scar has been shown to improve the appearance as it breaks up the scar tissue, hopefully producing the finest scar as possible. Other things that have been shown to add some benefit, albeit controversial, are silicone sheets, hydration, and topical steroids. In addition, avoidance of direct sunlight to the incision will significantly help the appearance as they tend to discolor with UV light during the healing process. If unsightly scars are still present after approximately a year's time, other things that your surgeon may consider are intralesional steroid injections, laser, or just surgical revision of the scar itself.Hope that this helps! Best wishes!

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

I perform facelift scar revision and these scars do well with surgical scar revision and some hair grafts, if appropriate.

Stephen Prendiville, MD · Answer

Some Facelift scars can be improved with simple excision and some scars actually require a revision Facelift in order to correct the problem. The reason for this is that most unsightly scars occur due to inappropriate skin tension at closure. Simple excision can sometimes represent a repetition of the initial mistake.

Matthew Schulman, MD · Answer

If you have bad scars, oftentime these scars can be excised. The hope is that the new scar will be better than the old scars. You should see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon to see if this is possible.

Sam Lam, MD, FACS, FISHRS · Answer

When you have had bad scars around the face lifted areas not only do they look bad but you have have lost hair from the procedures.  That can also make you look less feminine in shape of the hairline.  I correct the scars or I should say improve them through covering them up but at the same time I recreate a more youthful feminine frame if that makes sense.

	best,

	dr. sam lam

My Facelift Scars Are Horrible, What Can I Do?

Answers (6)