How long to avoid the sun after rhinoplasty?

Even hearing the words sun or sunny creates a positive summer vacation vibe around us. Although they may bring on summer vacation vibes, those shiny happy words can be harmful to your skin. Especially if you recently got nose surgery. Yes, it is a good idea to avoid sun exposure after rhinoplasty surgery, but people wonder which products they should use, why they need to protect their noses from the sun, and most importantly how long to avoid the sun after rhinoplasty.

Here, we will talk about all the effects of sun exposure after rhinoplasty and what to do to avoid complications.

How long to stay out of the sun after rhinoplasty?

During your healing process, the first weeks are the milestones. You need to stay out of the sunlight for two weeks after surgery to protect your healing skin. Even after two weeks, it is wise to stay in the shadows and use protection from the sunlight for up to a year.

Sun exposure after a cosmetic surgery like rhinoplasty is generally not helpful for your recovery period. In common sense, we all know UV light from sunray is dangerous, but how can it affect your recovery period? What happens if you go in the sun after rhinoplasty?

Why should you avoid the sun?

You need to protect your skin from getting sunburned. There are two factors badly affecting your rhinoplasty surgery results; heat and UV light. Both of them compromise the healing process of your nose surgery.

Increased temperatures make the swelling last longer while UV lights might give you sunburns. Besides, you might have numbness around the surgery area for a while, and you might get sunburned on your nose without even noticing.

For a better healing period and to avoid revision nose surgery keep yourself protected from the side effects of sun exposure.

Side effects of sun exposure after rhinoplasty

After your rhinoplasty operation, you will have stitches and incision sites on your nose that need time to heal. Additionally, swelling and bruising are also common side effects. These side effects will subside within two weeks, but you still need to be cautious after that. Excessive sun exposure will delay your recovery period by badly affecting your skin.

Let’s take a look at what happens if you go in the sun after rhinoplasty.

Sunburn

If you have waited for long hours under the sun you might get sunburned. This will delay your rhinoplasty recovery period and might be painful. Especially in summer, the sunlight makes your skin temperature increase and exposes you to the dangers of UV light more. When your skin temperature increases, to cool it down, your body starts sweating. Sweating worsens the scenario because your incision sites and healing stitches should stay dry.

Swelling and inflammation

Residual swelling is common after any rhinoplasty operation. Sun exposure increases the chances of long-lasting swelling and inflammation risks. Especially during the first two weeks after surgery stay away from sun exposure when your nose is most sensitive. You can hugely prevent any swelling and inflammation risks by doing so.

Scarring or discoloration

Sun exposure increases the chance of scarring after a rhinoplasty operation. Especially if you have darker, thicker, or more sensitive skin layers discoloration might happen. Excessive UV light exposure can potentially damage the DNA in your skin.

Besides all the other harmful effects of the sun, it can also fasten the aging process. The longer you keep yourself under the sun the more wrinkles you get (1).

Keeping away from the dangers of UV light is important to achieve the best results. Then, to avoid sunlight, what options do you have? Let’s find out!

Protection from the sun

As it might sound impossible to completely protect yourself from the sunlight, you can just try a simple solution to prevent any sunburns or excessive exposure. Besides sun is not all bad. It is a good source of Vitamin D in moderate amounts. Here, we listed some ideas to give you a speedy recovery process and to prevent you from being sunkissed.

• Wear a visor hat that will make your nose stay in the shadow.
• Stay in the shadows especially between 10:00 and 16:00 when the sun is right above you.
• Use an umbrella where you think you cannot hide from the sunlight for long hours.
• Choose the best time for your nose surgery, generally, it is recommended to get it in winter or fall.
• Wear high-quality sunscreen to protect your skin against the dangers of sun rays.

Wearing a visor hat is one of the good options to protect your nose from the dangers of UV light. Try to avoid direct sun exposure, especially between the hours when the sun is at its peak point. Where you think you don’t have any shadow or even a hat to wear, using an umbrella might be your savior. If you have the option to change your surgery time, schedule it in colder weather.

Above all the other solutions wearing sunscreen is the best option to protect your nose appearance. Sunscreens create a layer over your skin and protect you from the dangers of UV light.

Now that we mentioned wearing sunscreen to protect your nose against the dangers of sunlight, what type of sunscreen should you use?

Choosing the right skincare products

There are many different kinds of skin care products here we will explain them all. These products can be divided into two categories: sunscreen, which protects your body by acting like a reflector shield, and sunblock, which is designed to absorb the sunlight and convert it into heat. Both types of products are useful in protecting against the harmful effects of sunlight, and some products can even provide both types of protection.

The ideal sunscreen product after a rhinoplasty surgery should have at least 30 SPF (skin protection factor) and a wide spectrum (2). Wide spectrum means protection against all kinds of different UV lights.

Some people also worry about the chemical ingredients of these skincare products. In that case, mineral sunscreens might be recommended as they have natural ingredients.

Although sunscreens are the best option against sunburn and to avoid complications during your recovery after your aesthetic nose surgery, there are some important usage tips to make them most effective.

Effective usage of sunscreen products

We care about your recovery period and to give you the best results here we listed the effective ways of using sunscreen.

• Make sunscreen work by waiting for 20 minutes before exposing yourself to the sun.
• Reapply the sunscreen; after 2-3 hours, when you sweat and after you get into the water.
• Wear sunscreen makeup if you do not fancy using sunscreen and makeup together.
• Wear sunscreen on sunny or even cloudy days, not only use it when you are going to the beach.

According to WHO, UV lights can penetrate clouds (4).

Of course, we did not forget those who like to get tanned on the beaches and feel the summer in every way. As you are asking “when can I tan after rhinoplasty?” keep reading to get your answer.

Tanning after rhinoplasty

The recommended waiting period for tanning is a year. Tanning will increase the swelling period during recovery after nose surgery. After 8 or 9 months of your surgery, most of the swelling should have subsided, but to make sure waiting for a year is recommended. Additionally, you should also beware of indoor tanning beds during your rhinoplasty recovery as they will badly affect the period.

Hopefully, you could get a satisfying answer to the “how long to avoid the sun after rhinoplasty” question. Make sure to follow these guidelines during your recovery to have a perfectly shaped nose without any problem. Contact us to enhance your nose beauty.