Thank you for an excellent question.A SMAS face lift (plication or SMASectomy) recovery is approximately 1-week.Micro-fat grafting adds more time to recovery as it is this component of facial rejuvenation that is likely to result in swelling and bruising. I advise clients that it may take up to 3-weeks to fully recover from fat grafting; however, the results are worth the longer recovery.I would not let the longer recovery with fat grafting dissuade you from this technique as it does significantly improve the results. With both procedures, you can expect to be socially presentable with make-up by 10-days.I hope this answer is helpful.
For my patients, I tell them that after about 7-10 days or so they can pretty much go back to work. They will definitely be a bit swollen and maybe even a bit bruised.