Skin Care Before and After Facial Plastic Surgery

Hi there-
Each surgeon will have their preferences for immediate preoperative skin preparation, so to be fair, I would suggest you ask your surgeon what his/her preferences are.
I usually ask my patients to stop all tretinoin and hydroquinone containing products for one week prior to surgery.

My recommendation to you is to stop the Obaji products about 10 days before the surgery, especially if they contain Retin A and Hydroquinone. You may restart this product about 4 weeks after the surgery. After the facelift, the face can become dry and a simple moisturizer will be useful. Retin A can make the skin even more dry within this period.

If you were to get very dry and peel a lot prior to your surgery, you might develop slight cracks in the skin which in the dryer winter weather could be exacerbated. This might increase the risk of skin infection. Ask your surgeon, but it might be prudent to not use the products for one to two weeks before and a week after.

 Each surgeon will have a different answer to this question. Check with your surgeon since he will know what surgery was done and how it will affect your healing.

First off, I am glad to hear you are taking great care of your skin with a quality product such as Obaji. As a facial plastic surgeon, I always say healthy skin heals better and faster, it's that simple. I would recommend you stop the active ingredients of the Obaji system 5-7 days before Surgery. These include the Retin A and the Hydroquinone Creams. This allows the skin a little breather prior to surgery.
I will start patients back on these products 2-3 weeks afterward. Don't forget a quality sun block that has either zinc oxide OR titanium dioxide ingredients to protect your new face. Hope this helps and enjoy your new facial surgeries.

With fat grafting and a rhinoplasty there is no need to discontinue use of most of your skincare products prior to the procedure. If you are using retina A or a strong retinol product, then you may want to temporarily stop those aggressive products several days before surgery to reduce skin sensitivity for the procedure and then slowly resume them after surgery. By using your Obaji Nuderm system prior you are actually creating healthier, stronger skin that will heal much faster. Post procedure due to the splint on the nose you will not be able to apply the product in that area but will be able to apply to the outer face until the splint is removed and then you can continue with your regular regimen full face. We agree that a proper medical skin care program before as well as after aesthetic surgery and non surgical procedures can improve and prolong optimal results.

Every surgeon would answer this question differently. Prior to the surgery that you are anticipating, it is best to avoid anything that might create inflammation of theskin of the nose and face. Therefore, I would probably recommend that you discontinue your skin treatments for a couple of weeks prior to your surgery. However, it is best that you check with your surgeon to see what he or she recommends 

Any type of skin care regimen can be started approximately three weeks after rhinoplasty and facial fat grafting and/or a facelift. It is important to wait three weeks to make sure that all healing has taken place prior to placing makeup on the skin.

You should stop the Obagi system at least 7 to 10 days prior to surgery. The Obagi system is great because it contains Retin A and Hydroquinone but these products dry your skin. You’ll probably experience some drying of your skin post surgery so you would want to talk to your surgeon before starting the Obagi system again. Don’t forget sunscreen especially since you’re on the Obagi system, the Retin A makes you more sun sensitive. Good luck.

Obaji skin care products will not interfere with the healing process. However you may want to stop for a week before and a week after the surgery to limit the irritation to the skin from the Retin A and the exfoliants.
Resume after healing and when you can tolerate it.