Blepharoplasty

[CowCat]

I am booked to have an upper and lower lid blepharoplasty next month for entropion/ lax skin.

if you have had it before, any advice to help recovery etc.

I think a fair few people disapprove because they feel it's an "unfair advantage" and they want everyone to just do what they do so they don't look bad in comparison (ie the pretending to be above vanity thing is a lie).

Perhaps for some women. There’s plenty of other women out there with access to lots of money who still wouldn’t feel the need. I do think it is sad if women feel the need to start cutting flaps of skin off their lids. You could say the same about all sorts of things I guess,
Botox, nails, face lifts. It’s when something becomes mainstream, you realise the world has gone a bit mad. I personally don’t feel offended by eye flaps, if that’s what you want to call them. It’s societal money making. Pretending an eye flap is a flaw. It’s not.

That could very well be a thing. Or there’s people who just would never get cosmetic surgery. And people like OP who are having necessary surgery for medical reasons.

But I think most of us are seeing those Instagram videos of young women (and older ones) getting various “work” done & it’s sort of like a parallel beauty universe…

I had upper bleth done in my late 40s because my eyelids were pushing my eyelashes into my eyeline so I could see a black smudge at the top of my vision. One eye was a lot worse than the other. When I saw a private plastic surgeon he said they would only do it if the other eye could have a similar amount of skin removed to even them up. Fortunately for me it was fine to go ahead. I looked so good post surgery and it was completely worth it.

I bought plastic eye shields and taped them to my head and cheek at night because the face mask suggested above wouldn't have been enough, I would probably just stick my fingers under whilst asleep and rub my eyes. I saw my Dad wear these post cataract surgery.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B97XNPVN?

I had two gel masks so I could have one on and one in the fridge. I slept propped up with my head kept upright too, no lollying.

This is obviously not the thread for you. You think it's ridiculous which is fine but please don't continue to disrupt a thread seeking advice.

I think it's great to live in a world where you don't have to just accept bodily decline as it comes. Saggy eyelids are unattractive to me and can be functionally impairing.

Thank you for the practical helpful comments - like the eye patches and the bending over (I have cats). I am very much looking forward to the procedure as both eyes are very sensitive and gunky and I can barely see out of my right eye.

Follow your own surgeon's advice as he/she is the person doing it eg I've seen conflicts about arnica. Check with them what they will provide if anything or what you need to buy in. Any of the cheap masks from Primark will do the icing job or bags of peas or sweetcorn 😂 . Our bag included witch hazel, paracetemol, ibuprofen , eye mask, see also attached if issues , disposable pads for sleeping head on . I also bought Kelocote for later. One of the best things I've ever done. No pain. Expect to look your worst on day two and three.

Thought of something else - spf for your eyelids afterwards! Once you are past the sunglasses stage. You can get cream specifically for the eyes..

I had upper and lower done many years ago and I loved the results and still love them now. The only thing that I wasn't warned about and maybe it was just me, was the angle of my eyelashes. It's quite hard to explain, but instead of growing out towards my ears, so to speak if you see what I mean, they started growing inwards towards my nose. It is slightly weird but not enough for anyone else to notice, and I'm still super glad I had it done. I appreciate your op is for a specific reason and I'm sure it will go well. I also had zero pain afterwards. Your eyes may heal at different rates, so don't panic if they look different to one another at first.

Once the stitches are out, use scar reduction tape on the incisions at night, and scar reduction gel during the day. Do not use bio oil!

how long is recovery and fully healed

They say 6 months for full healing as your lymphatic drainage system around your eyes has to reconnect but for the physical " looking Ok" it's probably about 2 weeks but very individual.