- My lips are swollen, lumpy, and a little uneven, when will they get better? This is the most commonly asked question on Realself.com. The lips take about 7-10 days to settle down after getting filled. Restylane Silk will swell the most of all the fillers. Juvederm, and Restylane are the most commonly used fillers and the swelling and lumps will all even out gradually over the first week. Sometimes there is asymmetrical swelling, and that usually evens out too. Elevating the head of bed will help lessen the swelling. Unless there is bruising, ice will not change the swelling, nor will antihistamines. The swelling is most often related to the HA filler absorbing water from the surrounding tissues. On an extremely rare occasion, the lips and surround tissues swell abnormally, and this is called angioedema. This most often occurs in people that take a blood pressure medicine that is in the “ACE inhibitor” family. If this occurs, immediate attention is needed by your doctor or the emergency room.
- I’m very bruised, when will it go away? Bruising is related to technique, not the filler itself. Bruising can take up to 10 days to go away. Early bruising can be treated with a laser (VBeam or Excel V) to decrease the duration to 2 or 3 days. It is best to stop all supplements, anti inflammatories, fish oils, vitamin E, or all other medications that can thin the blood a few days before injections if possible. Aspirin takes 12 days to get out of the system. Cannulas help minimize bruising as does careful technique, but bruising isn’t always avoidable. Arnica will help bruising too.
- My upper lip is very full, is this normal, I look like a fish or duck? There is an art to filling the lips. The upper lip should be smaller than the lower lip by the golden ratio of phi, 1:1.6. If the doctor does not abide by normal anatomic ratios, the lips look done and abnormal. It does not happen to most people and is unrelated to the product injected. It is poor technique by the injector. In ethnic people, sometimes a 1:1 ratio does look normal, but never when the upper lip is larger. Click here to learn about perfect lip anatomy.
- Can the corners of mouth be turned up, I always look sad? The corners of the mouth can be lifted with properly placed filler. Also, an injection with a neuromodulator such as Botox or Dysport can be injected into the depressor angularis oris, DAO, to relax the muscle pulling the corners down. Often, support is also needed in the above the upper lip in the triangle of volume loss near the corner. Also, injection into the corner (commisure) is needed.
- I’m not happy with my lips after injection, what can I do? First thing is to discuss with your injector. After waiting the 10 days, lips that still have bumps, look odd, or are uneven, can be dissolved with hyaluronidase. This is not a precise procedure, so fine tuning is not possible. Most often, one treatment is needed but sometimes 2 are needed. Sometimes a little filler can be added to make things more symmetric. Asymmetries are very frequently noticed after injections by patients, but after careful review of photos, were present before the procedure too.
- I have severe pain, days after the injection. Pain should not be present after about a day or 2 from the procedure. This needs to be discussed with your injector. Concerns would be possible injection, or herpetic outbreak. Severe overfilling can cause this too.
- What can be done for my upper lip lines, “smokers lines”? Upper lip lines, “smokers lines”, are some of the hardest wrinkles to treat. This occurs even in non smokers and is mostly a volume related problem. Best treatments include filler placed horizontally in the white lip or ergotrid (with cannulas), a fine bead of filler along the vermilion border, and a small amount in the lip body. Adding Botox in small amount help too. Don’t expect elimination, just improvement. Longer term solutions are laser resurfacing with ablative lasers, Infini, or dermabrasion.
Video of Dr. Weiner discussing the most commonly asked questions about lip filler from RealSelf.com
