A foreign-body feeling when you touch the area, or an occasional twinge, fades gradually within 4–8 weeks. Patients usually fly home around day 3 to 7 after treatment, which is exactly when swelling is at its most visible. Still being swollen at this stage is normal.
The threads sit between the subcutaneous tissue and the fascia. The surrounding tissue first goes through inflammation and then repairs, and swelling is part of that repair. Ice packs only help in the first 2–3 days. After that, switching to warm compresses actually helps the swelling go down.
What to report
What matters is not the swelling but which direction it is changing. Swelling that is still growing after 2 weeks, local warmth and redness, or one side suddenly much more swollen than the other: for any of these three, take photos and report them to the clinic that treated you. Don’t just wait. If it is only swollen but a little smaller each day, keep watching.
During this time, avoid opening your mouth wide and facial massage. For one week, no alcohol and no sauna. These can make the threads shift or keep the swelling around longer. By around week 3, most people look the same as usual.
