Hi. I'm scheduled for an anterior brow lift in a few weeks, and I've read everything I can find on brow lifts. Everyone keeps saying to take off a week or two from work and talks about how terrible the swelling will be, but every photo (and I know there aren't many) I've seen online of patients two or three days out from the procedure, I haven't really thought the forehead/eye area looked so horrible that you couldn't go to work, with bangs to cover the incision and forehead. The swelling looked like something fairly easily explained by even an allergy to eye makeup - it really didn't look that bad to me. (My doc said he'd never really seen much bruising.) So, barring a really bad reaction to something, why is hiding out for 7 to 10 days really necessary under most circumstances? I wonder if maybe people think they look worse than they actually do? (And I've had a mid/lower facelift where my face swelled up like a huge chipmunk's, so I know when I look terrible.) Thanks in advance.

People do typically think they look worse than they do. Another consideration though is that when you look at a stranger's face, you may not detect the swelling so much as a co worker or friend with you.

However, you are right you may easily be able to explain the swelling away. Not sure I'd count on it being low at 3 days though. We are all different and some swell more and for longer. Typically shoe posting pictures are the ones who have less, because you tend to want to post pictures when you are feeling pretty good about how you look. I would prepare for more days off if you are really trying to hide this, and you can go back earlier if it works out. That's what i would do anyway!

I had a face lift and was easily presentable in a week, yet others say it was much longer for them.