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.  

You may have a hematoma in this area in front of your ear.  One option is to have your surgeon debride the eschar, remove any consolidated hematoma, and close this area again.  

In some cases, massage to certain areas after a facelift can be helpful. Always be sure to follow your specific surgeon's instructions as each patient is different and based on the photos provided, there does appear to be some skin necrosis around the ear and under the chin that would need to be followed very closely and treated with appropriate wound care. I would not typically recommend that patients massage those areas.
Some swelling and bruising can persist for several weeks after a facelift in some patients.
All the best,

         At day 17, I would leave scabs and scars alone.  I would let the areas continue to heal without intervention until at least 4 weeks.

The scabs seen after your facelift most likely represent skin necrosis.  Bare in mind, scabs can also represent infection and other possibilities as well.  This needs to be followed closely with local wound care.  Typically covered wounds heal better than uncovered wounds.  The scab is acting as a biologic wound dressing to this area.  The area will continue to heal and contract and may heal without a scar depending on the depth of the skin slough.  It may require additional procedures to improve as well at a future date.

Based on your pictures it appears that you have some healing issues by your right ear and also under your chin.  While everyone heals differently, it will take longer for you to heal these areas as you can tell from the prolonged "scabbing."  The advice that others have given you is correct that you should follow your surgeon's instructions carefully.  Also, avoid temptation to pick the scabs for pressure your surgeon to excise them.  Let the skin heal from below.

 

Good Luck.

I have listed the general instructions that I give my facelift patients below both in written form and video format. Most important is to listen to your plastic surgeon's advice. Only he/she knows the extent of the surgery performed and how well you are responding to the healing process which cannot  be accessed simply by a photo.

Sorry for your postoperative complications of small hematoma and skin edge necrosis. I recommend aggressive lymphatic massage and external ultrasound to MY patients. This is not self administered. Bestv to ask your surgeon!