How short can I cut hair after facelift?

If you plan on changing your hairstyle and would consider shaving your head, your surgeon needs to design your incisions with this in mind.   In your situation, I would only have the incision on the back of your ears, and I would not place incisions that go back into your hairline. I hope this helps.

Thank you for your question.  It does depend on every surgeons incisions, however most will hide in the crease of your ear and around (my scar doesn't go into the hairline therefore being more hidden and reframes from any hair loss caused by the scar).  Patients do heal differently however typically scars maybe red for the first three months however by six months the scars have normally turned skin colour therefore with minimal visibility, if not none at all.  Please make sure you find a reputable and qualified plastic surgeon who can assess you properly to give you a realistic idea of what outcome you can achieve.  All The Best 

I would not plan on a buzz cut after a facelift as the incisions will be visible.  However you can discuss this with your plastic surgeon to see if he can modify the incision to be better hidden with your desired hairstyle. 

This is a very good question.  The answer depends to some extent on the individual surgeon, their choice in incision placement, their technique, the patients healing process.  Most standard facelift incisions are placed below the temporal hair line, then hidden in front of the ear, around the earlobe, continued behind the ear and then finished along the hairline or into the hair line behind.  Occasionally the anterior incision is hidden in the temporal tuft of hair.  With meticulous technique and careful postoperative incision care and sun protection, the scars can heal imperceptibly.  To some extent the scar camouflage relies on the presence of some hair in front and behind the ears. Even in patients with the most severe hair loss (such as a Norwood stage 7) the horse shoe of hair that remains typically covers the strategic areas that most surgeons use to camouflage their facelift incisions in front and behind the ear.  



To answer your specific question for the scars behind the ears - those that extend into the hair bearing scalp can be well hidden with hair as short as 3/8s of an inch long.  If you do shave the hair at the site of the scar, even with the best surgical technique, a faint white line may be visible. 

A skill and experience doctor can perform a surgery that can be almost invisible to the naked eye.  Technique is important as to where and how to place the incision.  Careful analysis of the patient hair pattern, color and texture as well as amount of extra skin will help to determine where to place the incisions