The beauty market has seen an increase in lip filling injections in recent years.
What some people do not know is that the aftercare is as important for a good outcome as the procedure itself. Taking care of the injected area after the procedure makes all the difference to the healing process.
But what is the best after care for lip injections? How to take the best care of your lips after the procedure to make sure the best results can be achieved?
Let’s take a closer look on what are the best aftercare practices after lip filling injections in Syracuse.
But First: What Are Lip Fillers and Lip Injections?
A Lip Filling Injection is a procedure that consists of using a small needle to inject a filling substance into the patient’s lips to make them plumper and fuller. And, when done correctly, with a good professional, it has shown great results.
Some of the most commonly used substances for lip fillers are hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxylapatite, poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).
What Are the Best Aftercare Practices After a Lip Filler Injection?
Eat Healthy & Easy Food
After a lip filling session, your lips need a little time to heal. So it’s a good idea to eat things that won’t demand a lot from your lips. And remember to eat healthy, since it helps with the overall healing process.
Stay Hydrated!
Keeping your body hydrated is key for a successful healing process. Besides, excess sodium can worsen the swelling and keeping yourself hydrated will avoid that. So make sure to drink plenty of water. You can also eat hydrating fruits and vegetables!
Apply Ice to Your Lips
To help with the swelling and bruising in the first 48 hours, a great idea is to apply an ice pack wrapped in a piece of cloth.
Apply Creams
Aloe Vera, vitamin K and arnica creams have shown to be helpful with bruising at the injection site. However, always check with the professional who performed your lip injection procedure before applying any products.
Keep Your Lips Sanitized
Especially within the first 48 hours past the procedure, it’s important to keep your lips clean and always wash your hands before touching them. A lot of infections can be avoided that way.
Sleep Right
Try to not sleep on your face to avoid discomfort and use an extra pillow to keep your head elevated to reduce chances of swelling.
Talk to Your Doctor
If you experience any pain or considerable discomfort, always talk to your doctor about which painkillers can be taken to ease the pain. Some of them can have blood-thinning medication, which should be avoided, so always talk to your doctor before taking medication during a recovery process.
Be Gentle With Your Skin
Remember: your skin is healing. So be gentle with it, especially while washing it for the first couple of days.
Be Gentle With Yourself
On the first couple of days following the lip injection procedure, it is normal for your skin to look somewhat swollen, bruised or puffy. It’s also common for the skin to feel numb, itchy or a little painful. Don’t worry! It’s part of the skin’s healing process and it will go away.
Another important thing to highlight is that the final results can be fully seen after the swelling subsides. So be patient with the process. If they look too big, just wait a few days and they will get smaller as the swelling goes down. And, if you wish they looked fuller, you can always book a small touch-up session later on.
What Should Be Avoided After Getting a Lip Filler Injection?
Flights
The air pressure in airplanes can worsen the swelling and the bruising. So it’s a good idea to wait, at least, a week before catching a flight.
Trauma to the Lips
As stated earlier in this article, your lips are healing and you should be gentle to them on the first few days. So it’s better to avoid biting the lips, sleeping on them and touching them too much to decrease the chances of worsening the swelling and the bruising and, especially, interfering with how the filler will settle in your lips.
Still on that note, avoid any sort of dental work or treatment for at least 2 weeks past the procedure.
Exposing Yourself to High Temperatures
Avoid exposing yourself to high temperatures such as an excessively hot shower or a sauna, because it can make the swelling worse.
Food That Is Too Hot or Too Cold
Just left the procedure and want to eat a snack? Watch out for food and drinks that are too hot or too cold, because they can cause frostbite or burn your lips since they will probably be numb right after the treatment.
Drinking Alcohol
Alcohol consumption thins the blood and can worsen the bruising. So it’s best to avoid drinking alcohol for the first couple of days after the procedure.
Using a Straw
Using a straw requires a certain motion and amount of pressure from the lips that can cause the filler to distort. So avoid using a straw for the first 48h after the lip injection.
Heavy Exercise
Try to avoid intense exercise sessions for the first 48h after the procedure. Intense physical activity raises the heart rate and the blood pressure, increasing the bruising and the swelling.
Makeup
Do not wear any sort of makeup for the first 24 hours post-treatment. That avoids the risk of a potential infection.
Exfoliating
Once again, be gentle to your lips. Do not exfoliate your skin and lips or use any harsh cleaning brush for the first 24 hours past the treatment.
Kissing
Just like sleeping on your face and causing any sort of trauma to the lip, kissing may worsen the swelling, bruising and interfere with how the filler settles into your lips. So the best thing to do here is to avoid kissing for the first 24h past the procedure.
Smoking
The smoke that comes from cigarettes can distort the filler and the way it settles into the lips because it can cause vasoconstriction, which narrows the blood supply. Doctors usually recommend that you stop smoking for, at least, a week after getting a lip injection.
Facial Massage
When the face looks swollen, it can seem like a good idea to get a facial massage or a facial lymphatic drainage. But it isn’t. It’s best to avoid any sort of facial massage for at least two weeks.
If a lip filling injection is in your plans, now you have all of the information you need to take the best care of yourself after the procedure!