I have never been afraid of needles. I suppose this is a good and bad thing, as it means I've never been afraid to have my blood drawn, but it also means I have been endlessly curious about things like piercings, tattoos, and injectables. Up until December, I had plenty of the first two: My nose has been pierced 11 times in various spots, my chest is pierced, and I have a few large tattoos as well as several small ones. But the injectables didn't start for me 'til late last year — and now I love them.
About a week before Christmas, I headed to the Upper East Side office of Richard Swift, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon who has been practicing in Manhattan for over 12 years, and we talked about everything pertaining to lip injections, from the cost to the healing time. Thinking about getting fillers? Here's what you need to know.
How to Prepare
Okay, so you're thinking of getting lip augmentation. "Lip injections are good for anyone who wants to alter their lip shape, or just plump their aging lips," explains Dr. Swift. "They can also balance out an uneven shape."
Long before you ever step foot into a doctor's office, it's essential to find the proper person to do your lip injections. While plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and nurse practitioners can all administer lip injections and other injectable treatments, Dr. Swift recommends finding someone who is board-certified in plastic surgery, as well as one who specializes in aesthetic treatments in order to get the most natural-looking results. That's right: lip injections can look natural!
Fillers and injectables have a reputation of looking fake, but that can often happen when folks go overboard with them — or go to a discount doctor who won't do a great job. "When lip injections are done by a licensed and trained, board-certified professional who understands facial anatomy and is experienced in administering the products, the results can be very natural and not overdone," explains Dr. Swift.
Lip injections administered by a highly-qualified pro can cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000. This may be more than you want to pay — but for a medical service like this that affects how your face looks, you wouldn't want to cut corners, would you?
Additionally, and this is a far more complex topic, make sure you're getting injections because you want to, not to please somebody else. I went this route because I wanted to experiment with my look, not because I thought I felt bad about my appearance beforehand, and certainly not because someone told me to. While I could just overdraw my lips, I was curious to see how fillers might look and feel.
The Risks
As with all procedures, however noninvasive, you should know the risks to having your lips injected. "There are risks with any procedure, but the risks are minimal," explains Dr. Swift. "Some may experience bruising, swelling, and redness — they are the most common side effects after the injection."
I've experienced some bruising from injections, including the last time I had my lips done (which was during a separate appointment with a different doctor in May). More on that in a minute, though.
There's also a common fear that your pout will wind up looking terrible if you start getting injections, then stop, but this simply isn't true. "Your lips will not get saggy and wrinkly if you discontinue getting fillers," says Dr. Swift. "They will just go back to how they looked before you got the lip injection."
Before the Fillers
After I arrived at Dr. Swift's office, we had a consultation about the type of look I hoped to achieve. I initially cited Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as inspiration. However, Dr. Swift informed me that trying to go as large as the Victoria Secret model's lips would wind up looking fake on my face — valuable feedback that I was happy to receive. While I'm by no means ashamed of my fillers (I'm writing this, after all), I don't want a stranger to be able to look at my face and say, "Wow, they have a whole lot o' filler in their lips."
Once we had settled on my desired shape and volume, Dr. Swift applied a topical anesthetic to my lips. Some doctors opt for an injection to num the lip area (similar to one you might get at the dentist's office). While we waited 15 or so minutes for it to kick in, the doctor explained to me that we would be using Juvederm Ultra XC, a filler made of hyaluronic acid that lasts three to six months.
Getting Injected
As I said, I'm not afraid of needles, so I was able to stay pretty relaxed throughout the process. Honestly, I was more anxious about how it would look than how it would feel. Still, it's a pretty intimidating needle when it's coming towards your face.
Using a syringe, the doctor injected the filler into both my top and bottom lips. Each time the syringe entered my lip, it felt like a small prick, but that was it, surprisingly. At most, it felt like a mild pinch, not dissimilar to what it feels like if you press the tip of a pencil lightly into your skin. In a manner of minutes, the injections were done. Dr. Swift massaged my lips a bit to shape them, then showed me a mirror — and I absolutely loved 'em.
How They Turned Out
Voila! This is what my lips looked like before and after my injections in December:
And, just for good measure, here's another before and after. This one shows what my lips look like after my most recent round of lip fillers:
After the Injections
After the injections, the doctor sent me on my way and I felt totally fine. I didn't require any pain medicine whatsoever, though I could have taken Tylenol had I needed it (others can thin your blood). In the two times I've been injected, I've experienced minimal pain, but a bit of bruising and tenderness has been present. A couple days after my most recent appointment, my lips looked like this:
It looks more painful than it felt, but there was definitely a bit of tenderness whenever I would, say, apply balm and rub my lips together or kiss someone. This lasted about five days, so I often applied bright red lipstick at times to cover up the bruising — and to have fun with my new lip shape:
If you're curious to know how long my injections lasted, here's a brief rundown of what my lips looked lip, month by month, since December.
January:
February:
March:
April:
In short, my lips stayed full for quite a while, all the way 'til my second time in May. To see what went down at my last filler appointment — and to see what the lip injections really look like when they're being done, watch our full Facebook Live:
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Sam's enthusiasm for makeup is only rivaled by their love of all things relating to cats. In their spare time, they enjoy watching scary movies, putting avocado on everything, and seeing how many shades of the rainbow they can dye their hair before 30.
