To Fill or Not to Fill

All anyone is talking about in the beauty world nowadays is fillers. Brought famously to the spotlight by a young billionaire, who shall remain nameless. This being said, I have a small, slightly uneven upper lip, compared to my bottom lip, though not overly noticeable to most, it has always bothered me. So why not do something about it?

BEFORE

I know almost nothing about fillers, so I did some research and found a local med spa that came with great reviews. Once I had chosen a location, scheduling was easy. I just chose my service, my esthetician, and then booked a free consult online. (The clinic I went to requires a consult prior to any new service.)

I went in, and like any med spa virgin, I must have asked a million questions.

“Am I crazy for wanting this at 27?!” “Am I too young to start down this road?”

“Oh my gosh am I going to look like a duck?!”

The wonderful esthetician laughed and comforted me by letting me know she hears this all the time. She ensured me they honestly see patients of any age, and no one ends up looking like a duck. She made me feel even more at ease by letting me know how common it was. She stated it should also be known that almost everyone you see on the streets with a beautifully symmetrical lip has most likely been a user of fillers. To no surprise gave a warning that it is just like a plastic surgery, there are users and there are abusers, if you chose to use fillers, use responsibly.

As the consult continued, I got into the questions of permanency, side effects, horror stories I had seen as I was researching, and of course, cost.

Permanent

Nope! The temporary filler line is lasting 6 – 9 months, but they informed me that lip fillers do typically last 9+ months. If you do not like them or they are too large they can be dissolved with a simple compound, and the undoing of the filler is free if you decide you don’t like it.

Side Effects

The biggest side effects they said I would experience would be the swelling and bruising. Me being an injectable virgin, it is hard for them to say how much I would have for either. They said the best after care would be ice (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off) and to take an antihistamine before I went to bed.

Horror Stories

This should be common sense but, with all cosmetic procedures, if you go to a sketchy place your results are more inclined to be horror stories. This was definitely NOT one of those places, as I left no stone unturned when I completed my research. It was wonderfully professional and relaxing at the same time.

Cost

The cost depends on how many syringes are used. Given that I only wanted to even out my upper lip to my lower, the esthetician said it would only take a half syringe. 

Half syringe - $400

Full syringe - $600

Okay, now I was sold, I wasted no time to schedule the injection appointment a few days after my consult.

DURING

The day came, I simply went into the office after work on a Wednesday evening. They laid me down in what can best be described as a dentist style chair and started taking my before photos. The esthetician then went on to discuss the different types of fillers they offered, me not being an expert by any means, I let her use her expertise to choose what she thought was best for me. She then applied the numbing cream and let me sit and watch tv for 20 minutes. Now, I really do not like having my mouth and tongue numb. For some reason it gives me anxiety, so for me, this was the worst part. When she came back into the room she gave me an ice pack to put on my lips for a couple minutes. Then she wiped the numbing cream off and I got ready to be poked.

Now let me just say, it is not pain free. I got probably 20 -25 pokes, and to be honest I started counting but got a little distracted. Also she never told me this but I had the biggest urge to sneeze every single time she poked me! I told the esthetician this and she said it is completely normal and due to all the nerves in your face but none the less extremely uncomfortable. (would have been nice to hear this upfront)

The whole poking process was completed in less then 7 minutes. She added some hydrating cream to my lips, gave me another ice pack, and I was on my way out. Only having spent maybe 40 minutes total in the chair.

AFTER

I got home 30 minutes or so after I was done and by that evening I was extremely, extremely swollen. I was so swollen I called a friend of mine who has gotten them done for many years.  She assured me all was within “normal expected swelling” but it was A LOT more then what I was expecting. I had not planned very well and actually had to call my boss and work from home the next day. Luckily, I work for a wonderful woman who did not mind at all. I used ice and antihistamines both and never had any pain and only slight bruising where she injected me. And to be honest I could tell which pokes would bruise, and which would not when she stuck me. By the middle of Thursday my lips were back to a presentable size, and by Thursday evening to the new size.

So would I do it again?

Absolutely!!! The esthetician was wonderful and professional, the process quick, and, most importantly, I absolutely love love LOVE the end result!!

Would I do anything differently?

Not really. The biggest thing I would do was plan to either take the next day off or to plan to work from home the next day. Also to be mentally prepared for the urge to sneeze and the extreme swelling after the face, I cant imagine it would be good to sneeze with a needle in your face.

Do people notice?

Since I did not go with much of a size change, simply just a creation of symmetry and balance the public did not notice any change. Now myself, my coworkers, best friend, and husband certainly did, but they also knew I was going. I think, had I gone with a full syringe, there would have been more comments.

Do they feel different to me? To my husband?

Now, the only warning I had from the esthetician regarding any difference in texture or feel was that some people report an increase in dryness due to the hydro-loving nature of the fillers. I did end up having some dryness, to which they recommended Vaseline or Aquaphor to relieve that. Now living in the flyover states and it being wintertime, everything is dry. Like all the time, constantly re-applying lotions, oils and serums dry. So it is hard to tell if it is actually because of the fillers or wintertime. Only time will tell.