More than 2 million lip injections were performed in 2018 alone. That number has continued to increase in recent years, and lip injections seem to be more popular than ever. After all, many people are self-conscious about their lips because they are too thin, small, or asymmetrical.
Dermal fillers for your lips can fix all of these problems and give you the plump, attractive lips you’ve always desired. But if you do plan on getting lip fillers, you might be wondering what you should expect. Does the procedure hurt?
What about the downtime? Keep reading and learn more about what you should expect from lip injections.
What You Need To Know About Lip Injections
Getting this kind of beauty treatment is a very simple process. To make sure that the procedure doesn’t hurt, the person administering the lip injection will apply a local anesthetic to your lips. This will completely numb your lips so you won’t feel pain when the needle enters your lips, although, you may feel some pressure or tugging in the area.
The main tool for this procedure is a very thin needle. It is this needle that will administer the dermal fillers into your lips. Your healthcare provider will administer the fillers in very particular places throughout your lips. The placement of the fillers is important.
If the fillers are placed randomly, your lips will look lumpy and uneven. The main places where the dermal fillers will go are around your vermillion border (the edge of your lips), your Cupid’s bow, as well as the corners of your mouth. These key areas will make your lips look very natural and plump once the dermal fillers are injected into them.
Again, this should not be painful for you. If it is, your healthcare provider may not have given you enough local anesthetic or the numbing cream may not have had enough time to work yet. Instead of being painful, you should only feel very light pinches as the needle enters your lips.
You may also feel some pressure as the fillers enter your lips. The needle insertions may cause your lips to swell or become irritated for a day or so. While administering the injections, your healthcare provider may have you hold a cold pack to your lips.
The Details
The cold should diminish most of the swelling in the area and it will keep the area numb for a short period of time. The entire procedure should not take very long. On average, it will last around 30 minutes.
However, if you plan on getting many injections at once, the procedure may take around an hour. It would be unusual for the procedure to last any longer than this unless you plan on getting fillers for the rest of your face as well. Once the procedure is over, your healthcare provider will have you stick around for about 15 minutes.
This is important to ensure that you don’t have any adverse effects such as an allergic reaction to the fillers. As long as you don’t have any side effects from the fillers, you should be free to go home. You shouldn’t have any problem driving yourself home since the numbing cream or local anesthetic will not make you feel drowsy.
Once the procedure is over, it will be time to start caring for your lips until they completely heal.
How to Care For Your Lips After Getting Lip Injections
After getting your lip injections, you will immediately be able to tell that your lips are plumper than before. However, you won’t be able to see the final results right away because your lips will be quite swollen for a few days. Swelling, light bruising, and soreness are all normal side effects that you will experience for a few days after the procedure.
They occur due to the irritation of your lips caused by the needle. Most of the swelling should start to go away after a day, but for some people, the swelling may last for as long as a week. It is important to monitor your pain levels.
The pain following the procedure should be relatively mild. However, if you find that the pain is only getting worse, you should contact your healthcare provider as you may have an infection. If you do have an infection, it is important to get it treated as quickly as possible since it can have disastrous consequences for your lips.
What You Need to Know
Fortunately, it is not common for an infection to occur after getting lip injections. However, to minimize the risk of infection, you should be gentle with your lips and keep them clean. You should avoid anything that might make you sweat such as hot weather, since sweat is full of bacteria and can cause an infection if it touches your lips.
Using a cold pack on your lips can help reduce the swelling and also minimize any pain you may be experiencing. You should also avoid pursing your lips as this movement can displace the injections during the first few days. For that reason, you should avoid whistling, smoking, kissing, and drinking out of straws.
Your lips should be healed after a week and then you can admire the final results of the injectables.
All About Lip Injections
Lip injections can give you the big, supple lips you’ve always wanted and the procedure is very simple. Usually, the procedure only takes around 30 minutes and it is quite painless. The recovery process is also quite simple and as long as you don’t disturb your lips, they should heal perfectly.
To learn more, check out our lip enhancement services here.
