The consultation
Nothing gets injected until you have talked properly.
Your practitioner will take a full medical history, covering medications, allergies, previous treatments and anything relevant to healing. Be honest here, including about any filler you have had elsewhere, even if it was years ago. It changes how your lips are treated.
Then comes the facial assessment. A good aesthetic practitioner reads your lip anatomy in the context of your whole face: proportion, the definition of your cupid's bow, your existing lip shape, how your top and bottom lip relate to one another, and any lip symmetry you may not have noticed yourself. They should tell you what is realistic and, when needed, tell you no. An injector who agrees to everything is not being kind to you.
From there you will agree a treatment plan. That covers how much product to use, how much lip volume is appropriate for your face, and what it costs before anything begins. Most practitioners work towards natural-looking results at a first appointment and build from there. Our Newcastle lip filler price guide covers the numbers in more detail.
The treatment itself
Numbing cream goes on first and is left for roughly 20 minutes. Most dermal fillers used on the lips are hyaluronic acid based and also contain lidocaine, so the area continues to numb as the treatment progresses.
Your lips are cleansed thoroughly, then the injection process begins. Lip injections are placed using fine needles or a cannula, depending on which of the many lip injection techniques suits the result you want. Structural work to build lip volume is approached differently from lip contouring, which focuses on definition and border rather than size.
Your practitioner will work in small increments, sitting you up periodically to check symmetry and let you look in the mirror. The injecting itself typically takes 15 to 20 minutes. Afterwards your practitioner may gently massage the product to smooth it into place.
Does it hurt?
It is uncomfortable rather than painful for most people. The first injection is usually the sharpest sensation, and it settles quickly once the lidocaine takes effect. Common descriptions are a pinch, a sting or a strange pressure.
If it becomes genuinely painful at any point, say so. Sudden severe pain or blanching of the skin is something your practitioner needs to know about immediately.
The first 48 hours
Your lips will look bigger than the final result, and they may look uneven. This is normal and it is swelling, not the filler.
For the first 24 hours:
- Avoid alcohol, strenuous exercise, saunas and steam rooms
- Stay out of direct sunlight
- Skip makeup on the lips
- Do not fly if you can avoid it
- Sleep slightly propped up to help the swelling drain
Use a cool compress rather than ice applied directly. Drink plenty of water. Bruising is common, particularly at the corners of the mouth, and usually clears within a week.
Swelling, tenderness and bruising are the expected side effects of lip filler, and following your post-treatment instructions closely is what keeps them brief. Avoid pressing, pinching or massaging your lips unless your practitioner has specifically told you to.
Weeks one and two
Swelling drops significantly after two or three days, but lips are not fully settled until around two weeks. Small lumps in the first fortnight are usually normal and soften as the product integrates.
Do not judge your results before the two week mark, and do not book a top-up appointment before then either. Plenty of people panic at day three and end up delighted at day fourteen.
Most good clinics offer a review appointment at around two weeks to check symmetry and make small adjustments if needed.
When to contact the clinic
Get in touch straight away if you notice severe or increasing pain, skin that turns white, blue or mottled, unusual coldness in the area, or any change in vision. These are rare, but they need immediate attention rather than a wait and see approach.
Safety is the whole argument for choosing a medically qualified injector. Anyone can make lips bigger. Recognising a complication early, and knowing what to do about it, is what you are actually paying for.
Book your first lip filler consultation in Newcastle
At Oracle Aesthetics, injectable treatments are carried out by Nurse Ness Abbey and her team, with twelve years of postgraduate nursing experience behind the clinic and a deliberately conservative approach to first treatments. We treat patients at our Newcastle, Morpeth and Carlisle clinics, across lip enhancement and the wider range of facial rejuvenation treatments we offer.
If you have questions before you commit to any cosmetic treatment, that is exactly what the consultation is for. Book a consultation and we will talk it through.
