Post Cosmetic Home Recovery

Week 1-  You will be swollen and in pain/discomfort during the first two weeks.  You might be wondering why you did this and when you're going to feel better, or when will the swelling go down.  Trust me, I am here to help guide you along the way!   Within the first two weeks, I highly recommend you have four manual lymphatic drainage sessions (two each week with at least 48 hours in between appointments).  In addition, you will need to move around as much as possible, drink lots of water and some dandelion root tea).  The more you move and drink lots of water, the better for your lymphatic system.  Your lymphatic system is in charge of waste removal.  After filtering the lymph, it needs to circulate through your blood, filter through the liver, kidneys and then out of your body via your bladder.  All of that combined with your MLD sessions and self care at home will help decrease your swelling decrease faster.  Make sure your Faja fits correctly!  Sometimes the surgeon will give the wrong size, either too big or two small.  Recently a client of mine had a big scar down the middle of her abdomen from the Faja rubbing her skin raw because it was too tight!  Visit the Faja Lady in Frisco, TX if you need any help with selecting the right Faja for you!

Week 2 - Your swelling should have gone down a little bit, you may be starting to feel "lumps," don't worry they're just pockets of fluid (NOT FIBROSIS).  I have so many ladies that freak out that it's fibrosis.  That can happen later in the healing stage (week 5/6 or after).  This is usually a result of skipping your massage sessions or not doing home care that I have assigned each week.  You may notice that you hold fluid on one side more than the other, this is normal and it will go down!  Watch for signs of infection of incision sites.  If you smell a foul odor and see any oozing, seek medical attention!  If you have an incision reopen that doesn't clot seek urgent care or wound care clinic.
 

Week 3 - You should be feeling much better this week.  Getting your faja on/off should be easier and you should feel ready to return to work.  You should be in stage 2 Faja with ab board and foams on the sides. No gaps between and no overlapping.  Your faja should be tight enough so the foams don't move, but not too tight to make you light headed or rub your skin raw.  If it's uncomfortable with the foams and boards wait a couple days and try again.  You will start to feel lumps or firmness under your skin again, it's just pockets of fluid.  To help keep them soft and give the skin more movement we will use cupping and massing starting this week.  Depending on how your recovery is going we should be able to switch to once a week appointments for the next couple of weeks.  

​

 

Week 4-  Your swelling should have reduced significantly by now.  You may still feel some lumps but you're feeling much better!  You may need to size down again week 5 or 6 in your Faja.

 

Weeks 5-6 you may start to see your shape coming in or it may take some more time.  Everyone heals differently and that can depend on how aggressive your surgery was, age, and skipping MLD sessions or not doing your home care.

​

​

See self care massage below for your weekly home assignments.

 

​