Hello everyone. There’s probably nothing more fun than messing around in the early morning when you can’t fall asleep. Somehow it’s still fun even as you get older. I couldn’t sleep, so I came to write my second review. In fact, since the last review I wrote, there hasn’t been any special change. But that’s exactly why I felt like I’d forget my own recovery progress, so I wanted to leave it in writing. Oh, in my previous review, the parts covered were before surgery, the day of surgery, day 1, and day 2. I had written that incorrectly. I’m mentioning it in advance just in case. What I’ll cover in this post is the real details from day 3 to day 12.
[Before surgery to day 2] - I have a single eyelid, very thick eyelids, and I do not want double eyelids. - At my double-eyelid consultation, I was recommended a forehead lift, and I decided on it because it was the closest to the eyes I wanted. (Think carefully before deciding.) - If you’re unsure about surgery, I recommend first making your condition one in which you can go into surgery anytime. (Nails, hair, medications, etc.) - If the clinic has a YouTube channel, I recommend watching all of it. Looking up related videos seems fine too. - I didn’t do Endotine. I felt reluctant because I thought it might look horn-like. (My personal impression.) - Strongly recommend a bucket hat, hoodie, or zip-up hoodie. A ball cap is not enough. - If possible, prepare sunglasses too. Your face swells a lot. - If you drink or smoke, I’d say do as much as you can before surgery so you won’t regret it. One month is longer than you think, and it’s really hard. - Buy anti-swelling medicine if you need it. I haven’t taken it, so I don’t know. - You may get bruising around the eyes, very dark bruising. - Dizziness right after surgery seems to vary from person to person. I was so fine it made me feel like maybe I should have felt a bit nauseated instead. Goodbye, diet... - You should allow quite a bit of recovery time after surgery. - There is no sensation from the eyelids up to the top of the head. (Even if they treat it when doing dressing, it doesn’t hurt, so no need to worry.) - While you’re swollen, your focus may not be very good. - Follow the cold compress and warm compress schedule properly. (Since you can’t feel much, do it in moderation.) - Do everything exactly as the clinic instructs (lying down, taking medicine, compresses, etc.) - Dressing is done the next day, the bandages are removed, and they wash your hair. - Hair washing is a bit uncomfortable. - My face doesn’t feel like my face. Try to stay calm.
[Day 3, Day 4] The bruising around my eyes was insane lol. There’s bruising under the eyes too, like a cheetah pattern. I went out wearing sunglasses and a hat. Since there were stitches near the hairline, I really couldn’t avoid wearing a hat. It was really uncomfortable and hot. For any of you planning forehead-related surgery, I absolutely do not recommend doing it in summer. It’s not just the forehead, my whole face is swollen. Honestly, I think it’s better for your mental health to just let go and live without paying attention to your face. My forehead is swollen so I look like a red bean bun. Somehow it looks glossy lol. There’s still no real change in sensation. Washing my hair is still uncomfortable. Be careful around the stitches when washing~ Since my eyes don’t close all the way, my dry eyes are terrible. Do the compression properly, and seriously use artificial tears often.
[Day 5, Day 6] I can feel a very slight sensation in my forehead. The problem is that it isn’t a voluntary sensation. It feels tingly, maybe a bit stinging. But when I actually touch it, I don’t feel much. The lower half of my eyelids seems like sensation has come back now. The upper half of the eyelids up to the top of the head is still numb. But the temple area has a tiny bit of sensation. Just a tiny bit. I couldn’t stand looking at the bruises on my eyes anymore, so I went to the pharmacy and bought a bruise cream? a clear cream. I was warned very firmly that it must never get into my eyes. I thought the pharmacist was just trying to scare me, but when I got home and applied it near my eyes, I agreed and put it on very carefully. Honestly, the bruising was so dark that I wasn’t expecting a huge effect. The bruised eye is swollen, but the eye without bruising is recovering quickly and settling down nicely. I still can’t give up the hat + sunglasses combination. As I started to feel a little better, I got impatient and wanted the stitches removed quickly. Human beings really are such fickle animals. My stitch area feels a little itchy, or at least it seems like it does.
[Day 7] Yay! Finally, stitch removal day!!! I went to the clinic, had a laser treatment for swelling, and waited for the doctor while using a device that’s good for the scalp. The doctor came and checked my progress, including the scalp swelling and the condition of my face. It seems best to briefly organize the things you’ve wondered about so far and ask about anything you think you’ll wonder about later. I was told that after this day, if there were no major issues, I’d be seen again three months later. Then they remove the stitches. Since there is no sensation, I couldn’t even tell whether they were really being pulled out. But since the temple area had felt slightly sensitive since the day before, I could feel a little sting? It was enough to notice, but not enough to be bothersome. Apparently, the temple area is usually the first place to recover. Everyone’s pace differs, so don’t generalize. After the stitches were removed, they applied medicine one last time. They said I didn’t need to apply it after that. They recommended washing my hair starting the next day if possible, so keep that in mind. You just take photos and go home. Taking photos kind of feels like graduating lollllllllllllll Oh, I could have worn makeup, but my eyes had major bruising and swelling, so I just went bare-faced. If you’re someone who swells a lot, you should just think of this period as not really your face.
[Day 8] I decided to go watch a movie with my boyfriend. Contrary to what I said above, I did put on makeup. Why? Because the swelling had gone down compared with right after surgery lol Thinking about it now, it’s so funny. I had been applying the bruise cream often, so I thought the bruising around my eyes had faded a lot and did my makeup, but in the end it still showed. Unless you’re a professional, it seems impossible to fully hide bruising. Honestly, everyone should just wear sunglasses comfortably. The eye without bruising was fine. But because the eye shape? the feel? had changed, doing my makeup the same way as before felt a bit awkward. Or maybe it was just my face that felt awkward... Anyway, the bruised eye was swollen, so I shouldn’t say this, but I looked like someone who had been a victim of dating violence. Bruised and swollen. So when my boyfriend teased me, I kept saying, 'Please don’t hit me I’ll behave' and acting ridiculous lol When he said people seemed to be looking at me strangely, he looked like he might cry, so I teased him to my heart’s content and then stopped. Also, my head looks bigger. Since the swelling goes from the forehead to the top of the head, my head looked bigger upward. Part of it is probably because I wasn’t used to it, but the fact is that it really did look wider. It looked kind of loose and exposed? And that day, since it was my first time not wearing a hat, I properly did my hair, but somehow the hairline just wouldn’t do what I wanted. It looked weird.
[Day 9, Day 10] The bruising is fading pretty quickly. I keep applying the bruise cream, but maybe because it has strong ingredients, my skin stings a bit. It seems like I should apply it in moderation while watching how my skin reacts. When I smile, it feels like my eyes turn inward and I’m smiling with them. Like squinting. My expression is gradually becoming more natural. Honestly, I think it might just be in my head. My forehead, which had only felt hard, seems to have softened a bit. Right after surgery, my forehead had no sensation because blood wasn’t really circulating there, but now it feels like blood is very slowly starting to flow. When blood starts circulating, you get that tingling sensation, right? Like electricity running through it. It’s not to the point of being annoying. I can feel tiny bits of sensation returning here and there, little by little. Still, I really realized I had to be careful not to bump into things. I hit my head on a table at home and was shocked because I felt absolutely nothing. Everyone, be careful with your head!!! Washing my hair is now pretty much routine!!
[Day 11, Day 12] The bruising disappeared fast. Now it’s at the point where makeup can really cover it. Seriously. As the bruising fades, the shape of my eyes looks much clearer too. I really like it. Sensation is gradually returning along the sides of my head. Around the eyes too. As a result, I started feeling pain I hadn’t noticed before. Like bruising and such. Thinking about that, it might be okay for sensation to return a little later. Because I didn’t go out and didn’t wash my hair for a day, it looks like there may be a tiny amount of discharge from the stitch area. I looked it up, and apparently that can happen. It’s not fully healed yet. I can now move my eyebrows a little. Without realizing it, I keep trying to lift my eyebrows. But I’m trying not to do it too much so I can manage wrinkles. Compared with right after surgery, my scalp has become much more stable. It’s not perfect, but it seems to have settled quite a bit. Still, I know there’s a long way to go. At night, when I lie down, I can feel the center of my forehead swelling. It feels a bit tight and noticeable? Sitting up or during the daytime, it’s fine.
Honestly, I think everyone is most curious about the sensory changes. Since this is a surgery that separates the skin, sensory changes seem unavoidable. And of course, it’s something that makes you worry a lot. From my experience, sensory change is like ice. A big block of ice melts very slowly at first, then before you know it, you suddenly realize it’s melted quite a bit, right? It’s exactly like that. Day by day, you don’t really notice much, but at some point you think, huh? This came back? I can feel something now? It returns little by little. It doesn’t all come back perfectly at once, but you can feel it gradually returning. And from experience, the side with bruising takes longer for sensation to come back. Don’t worry too much.
For about two weeks, it’s better to think of it as not your face. The swelling changes day by day, so let’s give it at least two weeks. And it’s also the overcorrection period! Honestly, I’m so happy with my eyes right now that I hope they stay in this overcorrected state. Those of you with double eyelids will probably look even prettier once the overcorrection period passes.
After my first cosmetic surgery, I realized that after surgery, the only thing to do is follow the hospital’s instructions, empty your mind, and wait. Honestly, I think that’s the most anxiety-inducing time. You don’t suddenly get better overnight, and recovery is incredibly slow. I felt really frustrated. I kept imagining bad things for no reason.. If there’s actually a complication, then there’s really nothing that can be done, but if it’s just swelling or bruising, I think keeping calm and waiting is also good for recovery.
Wow, looking back on everything that happened took me two hours. Thanks for reading such a long post, and I hope everyone has beautiful, successful cosmetic surgery. Bye!!