So you want lip filler?
Two weeks ago I got lip filler. If you caught the process over on instagram, you already know… but I wanted to share the questions I received from you guys about the process, pain level, expense, etc. I’m so happy to be working with Dr. Lucas of The Lucas Center to share more information with you guys about filler and plastic surgery and I know this is going to help answer the questions you’ve been sending in via DM the last couple weeks.
I took this photo at my filler appointment. What you’ll notice most is that my top lip has a lack of volume and little protrusion. It certainly isn’t terrible by any means, but I started to notice a lack of confidence when applying makeup especially.
I truly didn’t start to notice this until about two years ago when I was so into liquid lipstick. I always over-lined my top lip because I didn’t love how the lipstick looked. As I learned more about fillers I knew this was something I eventually would want to do.
Consultation:
At every visit you should always be given a consult first. I appreciate Dr. Lucas so much because his attention to detail is out of this world. Everything is very scientific and backed with knowledge and facts about the body, how it works, and how to create the perfect natural sculpt.
I let Dr. Lucas know that I just felt like a had a huge lack of volume. This was a bigger issue for me with my top lip than bottom. He totally understood and created the perfect shape for my lips that followed my natural lines.
What we used:
As I mentioned in my undereye filler post (see that here), Dr. Lucas absolutely loves the Juvederm Ultra Plus. I truly believe this is the best product for me as well because my body seems to metabolize filler much faster than other people I know.
We used one syringe to create the look we did. It was the perfect amount of filler to create the look I was going for.
What to Expect (Pain, Swelling, Cost, Etc.):
The biggest question I got from you guys was how painful it was, what the swelling was like, and cost. I’m going to break that down for you here.
- Pain: I truly did not think this procedure was painful. I think that really surprised Dr. Lucas. I spent the procedure chatting, laughing, and sneezing (for some reason the injection points triggered sneezing for me). The only “pain” I felt was the first injection (slight pinch + sting) top and bottom lip. It truly didn’t hurt though. It was just a little uncomfortable. I really didn’t feel discomfort until that night when all the numbing had worn off. My lips did feel a little achy because filler does stretch the skin and I had swelling that was increasing that. I felt no discomfort the next morning unless I smiled too big and stretched my lips.
- Swelling: As you can see from the above photos, I didn’t have a ton of swelling. A lot of that is from the additional lidocaine in the Juvederm. That goes down quickly and day two and three just got better for me.
- Bruising: As with everything else, this will differ patient to patient. I had minimal bruising in two spots. (I also don’t usually bruise with injections in other spots… so this makes sense). Dr. Lucas also uses Arnica which helps a lot to minimize bruising. I also think that the hand of the person injecting makes a huge difference. Dr. Lucas has a plethora of knowledge about human anatomy and how the body works and reacts so he uses that when injecting. This is a game changer and why I think you see huge differences in lip injections based on where someone goes.
- Cost: It depends on where you go, what specials they have going on, etc. Dr. Lucas has a competitive pricing menu and one syringe of the Juvederm XC is $677. Seeing that this can last for up to a year that really isn’t bad at all. That averages out to $56/month. Putting that back every month would make this easily affordable for most.
Final thoughts and procedure details:
I also wanted to share procedure specifics with you, because that is the game changer here and why my lips look so natural. Dr. Lucas often refers to botched lip injections as platypus lips. I laughed when he said that but it’s true. The reason this happens to so many is because often people directly inject across the lip creating a straight line within the lip horizontally with both the top and bottom lip. That creates that duck-like look he’s referring to.
With my injections Dr. Lucas followed my natural lines and injected multiple places to create the shape and look we wanted. In scientific speak, this is what we did.
- Outlining of the vertical Phyltral Columns ( the bridge between lip and nose) to create definition and give a lifted effect.
- Using a central pout focus.
- Following the natural tubricals in the bottom lip. (rather than one big injection across the area)
This really did make a huge difference in my final result and is why you see such a natural look to my lips in the before + after. My lips are still my lips (just fuller!).
Thank you so much to Dr. Lucas and The Lucas Center for partnering with me on this series. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.
