How Long After Facelift Surgery Should Bruising Be Expected to Appear or Spread?

Bruising is a common side effect following facelift surgery, and it can “fall” downward onto the neck and chest before resolving. Most bruising should disappear after around two weeks, and should be able to be covered with makeup after one week. If your bruising is accompanied by significant swelling, I would advise visiting your surgeon for a follow-up visit to make sure you don’t have a hematoma.

As normal collections of blood are broken down by the body, the products of this breakdown can move easily under the skin. The sign that this is the normal process is that the color will change from blue to light purple to blue green to yellow. The only time to be concerned about this process is if you have increased pain, a swollen pocket of fluid, dark red skin or fevers. In that case, contact your surgeon immediately. Odds are, your bruising will resolve in a couple of weeks and you will look great!

Bruising after facial surgery tends to migrate, and this process can occur over the course of many weeks in some cases. The bruising tends to migrate toward the feet. Most brow lift patients do not get much bruising of the forehead and instead get bruising under the eyes. Cheek implant patients may get bruising in the neck. Facelift patients can get bruising that settles all the way into the chest area as described here - this is not an uncommon experience.
The amount of bruising and the location of bruising will vary from one patient to another. In some cases, particularly second facelift patients, the bruising may be very minimal, whereas others may get extensive bruising. Your surgeon and their staff should be able to educate you on medications and activities to avoid to decrease the risk of bleeding, bruising, and hematoma formation before and after surgery.
Be sure to discuss any post-surgical concerns with your surgeon to rule out any dangerous situations like a large hematoma or other issue.
All the best,

Thank you for your question.  Bruising after facelift surgery is very common (some patients bruising more than others) appearing down the neck and upper chest area, especially if neck lift or lipo was performed.  Bruising should typically take a few weeks to settle, however please do make regular follow up appointments with your plastic surgeon so they can advise. All The Best 

It’s not uncommon for patients to
experience bruising following facelift surgery.  Bruising typically lasts about one to two weeks and is more
likely to occur with more extensive surgical procedures.  It’s not unusual for discoloration to
drift downward onto the chest and change color with time.

In most cases bruising is a normal
phenomenon.  When bruising is
accompanied by significant swelling this may indicate the presence of a
hematoma.  Under these
circumstances it’s important to contact your surgeon as soon as possible.

Bruising can last for a week or two and as it dissipates it will go through multiple phases of the rainbow and this can also descend into the neck area which should be gone in 10-14 days in most cases.

It is very common for bruising to appear in patches after a face lift and it can track under skin for long distances - follow up with your surgeon to make sure you don't have a hematoma

All patients get some degree of bruising after facelift and eyelid surgery, some to a greater and some to a lesser degree.  It may be evident soon after surgery or may show up several days later.  As long as there is not increased swelling of the tissues at the same time of the bruising ( indicating ongoing bleeding) this should be self limiting and your body will eventually resorb it.  Gravity causes the blood to settle downward and this explains the bruising settling down your chest.  Follow your surgeons advice and avoid Asprin, NSAID's, red wine, vit E, etc, as these can make the problem worse.

The extent and color of bruises vary from one individual and range from minimal to extensive with week 1: dark red and purple, week 2: blue and green, week 3: yellow and week 4: normal. Initially swelling is present for 3-4 days in the immediate area followed by gravity directed drainage of the bruise away from the surgical site for the next two days. Therefore if you are sitting up the gravity pulls the buise towards the chest but if you are predominantly lying in bed with your head to the right, the righ side of the face will be more bruised.

What you are describing is completely normal after a facelift. The amount of bruising varies from patient to patient and generally takes 2-3 weeks to resolve. During this period it is very normal for gravity to have a affect pulling the bruising down to the chest.