Wearing Makeup After Blepharoplasty or Eyelid Surgery

Thank you for your question. It would be advised not to apply any make up, cosmetics or creams to your eyes for at least 2 week after your procedure.  This is to ensure incisions are completely healed, otherwise there is a possibility it could cause infection.  When attending your follow up you will be advised when you can begin moisturising and massaging the areas again.

As long as there are no open areas along the skin incisions, my patients can apply a light mineral makeup to upper and lower lids from day 10. However you should not apply makeup and mascara until 2 weeks when the skin healing is more stable. If the incisions are slower to heal avoid applying mascara until 4 weeks. For patients trying to get out and about earlier, you can wear cover up make up on non-operated parts of the face and cheeks even a few days after surgery as long as it’s away from incisions.

Generally, once your sutures are removed, wearing makeup is perfectly safe.  You want to avoid pulling and tugging on the eyelids until fully healed, but light makeup application is acceptable.  Wear sun protection and avoid the sun on the surgery site to ensure that your incision lines heal without getting darker.  

I would consult your surgeon before wearing any makeup so soon after your blepharoplasty. While in theory it should be fine to wear makeup a week after surgery as long as you are extremely careful and gentle with both application and removal (makeup and makeup removers can both irritate newly-healed skin and cause complications if not handled with the utmost care), your surgeon knows your individual case and can advise you best. I hope this helps.

It’s best to follow your surgeon’s instructions because they’ve been tailored for you, rather than getting that information elsewhere. I usually allow my patients to wear concealer starting from the second week after surgery. This is helpful to hide bruising. Just make sure that the applicator is clean so as to minimize the risk of infection.