I'm 2 weeks post neck and lower face lift. When can I get my hair colored?

First and foremost, hematomas are quite common post-facelift. That said, I would still sleep with your head elevated and avoid exercise and any medication/supplement that can cause bruising. Coloring your hair is reasonable ONLY if you are having the roots at the crown of your head treated. You should not have your temple areas treated with chemicals since the healing incisions are very close in this area. The last thing you want to do is to place irritating chemicals on your healing incisions. So treating your roots on the top of your head is fine, while treating your temples (and area around your ears) comes with a fair amount of risk.

The amount of bruising and swelling after a facelift varies from patient to patient.  The most important thing to remember is that it should be temporary. Most often, the best treatment is time.  It is worth discussing with your surgeon whether he or she feels that using arnica montana and even a short course of prednisone may shorten the course of your recovery, even at 2 weeks postop. A V-Beam laser may also help. Concealers such as Dermablend and Physician's Formula can be very helpful as well. When it comes to dying or coloring hair, I instruct my patients to wait 4 weeks after a facelift.  The chemicals can be irritating to the incision lines and can cause them to take longer to heal. It is best to confirm this timing with your surgeon. As long as the areas of the incisions are avoided, there should not be any issues if it is done sooner.

Very sorry that you have had a complicated recovery; recovery from a  hematoma is slower than baseline.  Although I would take your operating Surgeon's word over any advice on the internet, I usually ask patients to wait at least 4 weeks prior to have their hair colored.  However, there are exceptions to every case.  I ask patients to consider having their hair colored prior to the procedure in order to help circumvent this problem. 

Thank you for your question and for sharing your experience.  I would not recommend coloring your hair until your surgeon clears you.  If the incisions extend to the hairline or in it, I typically ask patients to wait until everything is fully healed before coloring the hair.  Sleeping upright, lympathic massage, arnica, and make concealer  can help mask and clear a bruise.  We also use IPL in our practice to help clear the bruise more quickly after surgery. 

You should be able to hide the bruising with Dermablend that you can get from Macy's.  The uneven skin will take longer to settle down and can take up to 2 months.  You can get your hair colored at this time as long as there is no open wound.  You will be very numb in certain areas and have to be very careful with curling iron or hot tools that can cause burns.RegardsDr. J

I would wait until the wounds have fully healed before having hair colouring. Haematomas do take some weeks to months to resolve but usually can be covered with makeup. The unevenness will resolve but can take some time to settle. I would see your PS face to face for reassurance as it is difficult to advise with our seeing some photos.

Thank you question. I typically recommend to my patients to have their hair colored prior to having surgery. I would recommend waiting a couple more weeks to allow for good wound healing. I would also follow up with your plastic surgeon. I hope you find this information useful. 

Hi,The bruising and swelling should be dramatically improved by Christmas (it is 4 weeks away) if no we events happen during that time. You could have hair coloring after all scabs are gone from the incision lines or when there is no longer an open wound or drainage place. Please confirm this with your surgeon.Hope this helps,Dr. Gus Diaz

At 2 weeks post op the vast majority of my patients see improvement everyday.  Under normal circumstances you should look great by Christmas.  Usually I recommend my patients wait 2 to 3 weeks after surgery to color their hair.  Check with your surgeon as he is the one that is monitoring your recovery.