Here are our Top-Ten tips for Perfect-10 Lips:
1. Honesty is the best policy — with yourself, and your injector.
It can only help you to be 100% honest about your desired goals, budget, and commitment to upkeep. If you’ve never had lip-injections before, starting out conservatively is never a bad idea — with injections, it’s easy to add more volume and build to your ultimate goal.
Depending on what your lips are like to begin with, and what your desired results are; you might be delighted immediately, or it might take more than one visit to get the perfect result.
Be patient.
2. Take advantage of any numbing options offered!
Your lips are sensitive!
No matter what your pain-tolerance is, there are people few and far between who are completely comfortable with lip injections. Additionally, treatments like this are luxuries — they should be as comfortable for you as they possibly can. We use a topical numbing-cream, and then the dermal-filler itself also has numbing agents in it to help desensitize the area.
Please note that depending on how you react to the numbing products, the way you smile, eat, or talk may be altered for a few hours until the numbing wears off. (The numbing sensation if very much like when you get a Novocaine shot at the dentist; kind of annoying while you’re in the thick of it (and drooling on yourself?) but so much better than trying to have the treatment without it!)
3. Human Lips are different than Duck Lips!
Think about it: human-lips are fuller in the center, and taper off to the sides.
This is not true of ducks, who have equal sized lips, top and bottom, and don?t taper to the sides. (Technically ducks have “bills” — not lips — but you know what we mean!)
It is so important to understand the aesthetics of beautiful lip shapes and all the variations, and to share the knowledge of what will look great on your?face. Cosmetic injections are a form of art, and it is important to make sure that you are placing your face into the care of someone who understands how to achieve natural, flattering looking results.
Great injectors have both the medical knowledge to treat you safely, and the eye of an artist. (When you find one, you will know!)
4. Prepare for some swelling.
All lips will appear a little bee stung starting from immediately after injections up until 2-weeks later.
For those who are extremely sensitive to looking “done” this may be a difficult period to go through. The best way to approach this time is to realize that it is temporary, or discuss options that can reduce swelling if you feel it is excessive. (Our lip aftercare guide is here.)
5. Also… prepare for bruising.
Bruising does not always happen, but you should be mentally prepared for the possibility.
In regards to both possible swelling and bruising, we always advise to NEVER get this treatment within a week or two of a major event.
If possible, you should also try to avoid any blood-thinning substances (i.e. Aspirin, fish oil, Vitamin E, lots of alcohol…) for a week prior to treatment as these can increase your chance of bruising. (Taking Arnica tablets prior to your treatment may be helpful as extra-prevention against the dreaded lip bruising and swelling.)
6. Don’t Freak Out: It is ALL adjustable!
Hate your lips? Lumpy? Uneven? Overly-pouty?
Don’t worry!
Take some deep breaths, and remember: you likely were injected with a lip-filler that was hyaluronic-acid based. (You were right. These types of dermal-fillers, like Juvederm and Restylane, are the only fillers that should be injected into your lips.)
Hyaluronic-acid based fillers have two major things in common: both of which will help put your mind at ease.
A. The product remains malleable for a few weeks, so if necessary it can be carefully massaged into the desired formation. (It’s best to leave this to the professional, the last thing you want is to inadvertently make things worse.)
B. Worst-case scenario? If you HATE your injections, these types of dermal-fillers can be dissolved out of your lips and allow you to return to baseline.
After your initial treatment, you may need small adjustments.
Even with the best technique, sometimes product can settle in an unpredictable way.
Albeit annoying, this is normal and your treatment provider should be able to adjust your treatment; whether by massage, a little additional product, or dissolving the product, within the first 4-weeks. Before you do any tweaking however, you definitely want to make sure that your body has had a chance to adapt to the product, and that there isn’t any residual swelling occurring.
8. Your lips are always moving.
Filler lasts longer in areas of the face that do not move very much. Places like your mouth, that is in almost constant motion, breaks the product down faster.
To be realistic, if you love your results and want to keep them up — you should expect to treat your lips about 2-3 times a year (on average) to maintain your look. (Different people will have different result longevity, so this is just an approximate number.)
9. Whether You Smoke or Not — Lip-Lines Can Happen.
Whatever the cause, lip-lines are universally detested. Your lipstick bleeds into them, your makeup creases and gathers there, and they detract from the overall shape and outline of your lips.
Enhancing your lips with filler-injections can improve the “lip-lines” by supporting the skin around the lip and plumping the areas with deficit. (Tiny amounts of Botox can also be injected around the lips to decrease the severity of the puckering appearance, and allow the filler to last longer.)
10. There is always makeup.
Ahhh, the wondrous, camouflaging capabilities of makeup.
The right makeup techniques can be a great help for before and after lip-filler injections. Nude lip-colors will help de-emphasize the lips, especially in the post-treatment period when they may be a little swollen, or bruised. (Later, of course, you will want to emphasize your gorgeous lips with the latest lip colors!)
In conclusion, just remember:
Be honest, be realistic, be patient. Do Not Schedule Right Before A Big Event! Be patient. Enjoy.
