Patient guide · Recovery and aftercare
Quick answers to the everyday questions people ask in the weeks after cosmetic surgery, from driving and showering to sex, tattoos and stitches.
Medically reviewed by Dr Spyridon VlachosSpecialist Plastic Surgeon · FEBOPRAS · GMC 7522950
Last reviewed
Written by the Centre for Surgery clinical team
Key points
These are the everyday questions people ask us in the weeks after cosmetic surgery, from when you can drive to when you can dye your hair. Each answer is short, with a link to our full guide on the topic. For the stages of recovery, swelling, diet and pain relief, see recovery after cosmetic surgery; for getting back to the gym, see exercise after plastic surgery.
Your own aftercare instructions always come first: timings vary with the operation and with how you are healing. If you are unsure about anything, ask. Our nursing team contacts you regularly in the first two weeks, and no question is too small.
Find a quick answer
Jump to: driving and travel · showers and baths · sleep and garments · alcohol and smoking · sex, hair and tattoos · sun and tanning · stitches and healing · tiredness and mood · check-ups and help
Usually after about a week for smaller operations, and longer after a tummy tuck or other body surgery.
Drive only once you are off any medicines that make you drowsy, can wear a seatbelt comfortably and could make an emergency stop without pain. Check with your insurer too. After eyelid surgery your vision also needs to be clear: read driving after eyelid surgery. You only need to tell the DVLA if you still cannot drive three months after your operation[1].
It depends on your operation and the length of the flight: usually a couple of weeks or more for a short flight, and longer for long-haul.
Flying raises the risk of blood clots, so the wait is longer after larger body operations. Read flying after cosmetic surgery for timings by procedure, and ask us before you book.
Only if your surgeon advises them.
Your risk of blood clots is assessed before surgery. If you are given compression stockings, wear them for as long as you are told to. Whatever your risk, walking a little and often from the first day helps protect you.
When your nurse says so: for most operations, from around 48 hours.
Keep your dressings on as instructed, and take your garment off only to shower, then put it straight back on. The NHS says you can usually shower 48 hours after an operation unless you have been told otherwise[2], and a 2015 Cochrane review ↗ found no evidence that showering early raises the risk of wound infection[3]. Read when you can shower after surgery for each procedure.
Once your wounds have fully healed, usually several weeks after surgery.
Soaking softens a healing wound and can let infection in, so this includes baths, pools, the sea, hot tubs and saunas. Your nurse will check your wounds first. For swimming as exercise, see exercise after surgery.
For most operations, on your back with your head and shoulders raised for the first week or two.
After face and breast surgery, sleep on your back propped up on pillows. After a tummy tuck, raise your head and bend your knees. After a BBL, avoid lying on your back. Positions, and how long to keep to them, vary by procedure: see how to sleep after cosmetic surgery.
Poor sleep in the first few nights is normal.
Discomfort, a new sleeping position, your garment and the after-effects of the anaesthetic all play a part. Keep to your normal bedtime, avoid long naps in the day and take your painkillers as directed so discomfort does not wake you. Painkillers are for comfort, not a sleep aid, so never take extra. Sleep usually improves within a week or two.
Usually day and night for the first few weeks, and for several weeks in all.
It depends on your operation: a surgical bra after breast surgery, and a body garment for longer after liposuction, a tummy tuck or a BBL. Garments are bought separately and confirmed with you before surgery, and a spare makes washing easier. Read how long to wear a compression garment.
Not for at least five days, and not while you are taking prescribed medicines.
Alcohol thins the blood, adds to swelling and can interact with painkillers. After larger operations it is wise to wait longer: read alcohol after surgery for timings by procedure.
Not for at least four weeks after surgery, as well as the four weeks before.
Nicotine from cigarettes, vapes and pouches narrows the small blood vessels that heal your wounds, which raises the risk of wound problems and poor scars. Read smoking and cosmetic surgery and vaping after surgery.
When you feel comfortable and nothing presses or pulls on the treated area: usually after a few weeks, and longer after intimate or chest surgery.
Avoid anything strenuous until your surgeon says otherwise. After labiaplasty and other intimate surgery the wait is longer: read sex after labiaplasty and sex after top surgery.
Nails whenever you feel up to it; hair colour once any wounds near your hairline have fully healed.
Dye and bleach can irritate healing skin, so after a facelift, brow lift or other surgery near the scalp, wait until your wounds have healed and your surgeon is happy. Remember to take off gel or acrylic nails before your operation.
Wait until you have fully recovered, and keep new tattoos away from your scars for at least a year.
Scars take around 12 months to mature, and tattooing over or right next to one too early can damage it. If you would like to cover a scar with a tattoo, ask us first.
Keep your scars out of the sun, and off sunbeds, for at least 12 months.
UV light can darken a healing scar for good. In a 2007 randomised trial ↗, healing wounds exposed to sunlight were judged the most disfiguring at 12 weeks, with more colour than wounds kept out of the sun[4]. Cover scars with clothing or use SPF 50 every day. Read tanning after surgery.
On healed, unbroken skin away from your scars; keep it off the scars themselves for at least six months.
Fake tan can irritate a healing wound and stain your dressings and garment, so wait until your wounds have healed before using it anywhere nearby.
Usually a few weeks, depending on the type of stitch.
Our surgeons rarely use stitches that need removing; any that do come out at your nurse check-up, around five to seven days after surgery. Small ends of dissolving stitches sometimes poke out as they break down: do not pull them, mention them at your check-up. Read what to expect from labiaplasty stitches.
Numbness around the wounds is common and usually improves gradually over months.
Small nerves in the skin are stretched or cut during surgery and slowly recover. After a tummy tuck, some numbness below the belly button can last much longer: in a 2020 randomised trial in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery ↗, about two-thirds of patients still had altered feeling there three and a half years later[5]. Tingling as feeling returns is normal.
Itching is a normal sign of healing, usually at its worst in the first month.
Try not to scratch. Once the wound has closed, keep the skin moisturised and wear loose, soft clothes. Read itching after surgery for timescales and what helps.
Yes. Uneven swelling and bruising are common in the first weeks, especially after breast augmentation.
Swelling usually peaks around the second or third day and then settles over weeks to months, and the two sides rarely settle at exactly the same pace. Call us the same day if one side becomes suddenly larger, tight or very painful.
Tiredness for a week or two is normal after surgery and anaesthetic.
Your body is using energy to heal, your sleep is broken and you are moving less. The NHS warns that many people feel very tired when they first get home[2]. Rest, eat well, drink plenty of water and walk a little and often. Call us if you feel more tired rather than less as the days go on, or are breathless.
Yes. A dip in mood in the first week or two is common.
Swelling, bruising, tiredness and waiting to see your result all play a part, and it usually lifts as you heal. Talk to us or your GP if it lasts more than a couple of weeks or is getting worse. If you ever feel unsafe, call 999 or go to A&E, or call Samaritans free on 116 123. Read feeling low after surgery.
With our nursing team, around five to seven days after surgery. Your surgeon reviews you at around six weeks.
Our nursing team also contacts you regularly through the first two weeks. If you need to be seen again in between, there is no charge.
Yes. A responsible adult must take you home and stay with you for 24 hours.
We cannot discharge you without one. After a tummy tuck or mummy makeover, plan help at home for a week or two. Our plastic surgery recovery tips cover what to arrange and buy before surgery.
For the first 24 hours after surgery, call your surgeon on the direct number in your discharge summary. After that, our phone lines are open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, on 020 7993 4849. Outside those hours, call NHS 111.
Guidance comes from the official sources listed.
No question matches that. Try another word, or ask a patient coordinator.
There is no fixed legal waiting time. You must be in full control of your car, so drive only when you are off drowsy medicines, can wear a seatbelt comfortably and could make an emergency stop. Your insurer may have its own conditions, so check your policy.
You must tell the DVLA if you have had an operation and still cannot drive three months later. Most people are driving well before that after cosmetic surgery. See surgery and driving on GOV.UK ↗.
Six weeks is typical after some major operations, such as a hip replacement or a caesarean section. After most cosmetic surgery the wait is shorter, often about a week, and longer after a tummy tuck, where you need to twist and brake without pain.
Most people return to desk-based work within one to two weeks; physical jobs take longer. See time off work by procedure.
Swelling usually peaks around the second or third day, and broken sleep and lower energy start to catch up with you. Many people feel at their lowest then, and noticeably better over the following days.
Some tiredness can linger for a few weeks after larger operations, but you should be steadily improving. If you are still exhausted at four weeks, getting worse or breathless, call us or see your GP.
None. Rest is important, but bed rest is not: get up and walk around your home for a few minutes every hour or two from the first day, to keep your circulation going and lower the risk of blood clots.
The medicines used for TIVA and sedation wear off within hours, which is one reason most people go home the same day, although you may feel drowsy or tired for a day or two. For at least 24 hours, do not drive, drink alcohol, use machinery or sign anything important. Read anaesthesia for cosmetic surgery.
A dip around then is common: the relief of getting through surgery has passed, swelling lingers and you may be doing more than your body is ready for. If you have new pain, redness, a fever or swelling, call us, as that needs checking.
Only once your wounds have fully healed, usually several weeks after surgery. That includes baths, swimming pools, the sea and hot tubs. Your nurse will check your wounds first.
Follow the instructions your nurse gives you, and keep your dressings clean and dry. Do not take them off early unless you have been told to: they are usually checked or changed at your first check-up.
The skin usually closes within a couple of weeks, but the tissues underneath keep healing for months. Scars carry on maturing for 12 to 18 months, fading from pink or red to paler and flatter. Read scar care after surgery.
For a while, yes. After facial surgery it is normal for your face to feel tight, swollen, stiff or numb in places for several weeks, with feeling coming back gradually over months. Read facelift recovery.
Do not smoke or vape, lift heavy things or do strenuous exercise until you are cleared, soak your wounds before they have healed, expose new scars to the sun or skip your check-ups. The full list is in recovery after cosmetic surgery.
When you can walk, run, lift, swim and get back to the gym, with a planner for your procedure.
Read the guide →
What to buy before surgery, your recovery space, and a printable recovery kit checklist.
Read the guide →
The recovery stages, swelling, diet, pain relief and the warning signs to look out for.
Read the guide →Patient guide 14 of 16
What our patients say
Selected Google reviews, quoted word for word; […] marks where a review has been shortened. Individual experiences — results vary.
Patient Library
52 articles on choosing a clinic, anaesthesia and safety, written for patients and medically reviewed by Dr Spyridon Vlachos, Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
Planning & safety
Wound dehiscence is when a surgical incision reopens. The signs to look for, why it happens, the risk factors and how a wound that has opened is treated.
Read the article: Wound Dehiscence: Why Surgical Wounds Open and How They Are TreatedPlanning & safety
Planning & safety
The Centre for Surgery newsletter
New articles from our Patient Library, recovery advice from our surgeons and news from our hospital on Baker Street.
Regulated by
Rated Good overall
Our CQC report
Our surgeons are members of
A patient coordinator will call you within one working day, Monday to Saturday. Nothing is booked until you’re ready.
Prefer to talk now? Call 020 7993 4849
