I have a lot of patients who come to get filler injected and are not nervous about the results or what they will look like nearly as much as they fear the procedure of being injected. It really is so simple. Most people say, “that wasn’t bad”. I’ve never had anyone not get filler again because of the pain. These are my personal pre, during and post procedure tips to have the best experience possible once you take the plunge into the filler world.
Pre-Procedure
1. Pick a date that won’t conflict with upcoming events. Chances are you won’t bruise or swell to a point that people will notice but some people are just more prone to bruising. Be prepared to have some bruising. If you don’t bruise, great! But if you do, you don’t have to worry about being in your biffle’s wedding two days later with bruises on your face.
2. Don’t stop your meds-If your doctor has you on blood thinners, it’s for an important reason. Don’t stop them, we can still inject you safely.
3. Take a selfie- Of course at Johnson Dermatology we take before and after pictures but it’s really fun to have your own on your phone. Remember, filler is immediate so you can take after pictures as you walk out to your car and see the difference before you get home!
4. Come as you are- We will wash your make-up off with a gentle cleanser. We then wash your face off with a surgical scrub. During the procedure we will use alcohol to keep the area clean.
During the procedure
1. Breathe- Don’t hold your breath, that’s how people pass out.
2. Talk to me- Tell me if you feel something weird and I will explain to you what is going on. For instance, sometimes when injecting the cheeks the numbing medicine will numb the lip because of nerves that start in the cheek and go to the lip, don’t freak out. I can talk you through most of the things you don’t expect. Conversation is distracting you from pain and makes it more fun for me too!
3. Pain prevention- We will ice you to numb the area with coolness. We can use numbing cream as well. We can do a dental block (shots in the gums like at the dentist) to numb your lips before injection. The fillers come with numbing medicine in them so after the first few sticks you start to feel numb. We tap you on the face to trick your nerves where to send pain signals which decreases the pain during injection. We use the smallest needle possible that is compatible with the filler particles.
4. Time- Usually you will be at the clinic for 30 minutes to an hour but the actual injection may only take about 15 minutes.
Post-procedure
1. No strenuous activity the day of injection. This prevents/decreases bruising. No heavy lifting, no straining, no crossfit.
2. No rubbing, no massaging, no sleeping on your face. This is mostly precautionary. We don’t want you to move your filler which is fairly hard to do once we have injected it but better safe than sorry. For real though, don’t schedule a facial or massage the same day after you’re injected.
3. For bruising- Eat pineapple. Use Arnicare gel up to four times a day. This is a homeopathic gel used for swelling and bruising. Come to the clinic the next day and let us laser the bruises to make them go away much quicker.
4. Come back in two weeks- At two weeks most of your swelling and bruising should be resolved. We can look at your before and after pictures together which is the best part! We also can make sure we have you on a longterm plan because you’re always going to be getting older and we want to be preventing drooping, sagging, dull skin, brown spots, fine lines and wrinkles slowly over time.
Filler really is an easy procedure. Last time I was injected I threw some powder on and went and saw patients and no one even noticed I had just been injected. Want to see how easy it really is? This Thursday, February 19th at noon Johnson Dermatology is hosting a lunch and learn. You can come grab a bite to eat while watching me inject a patients lips with Juvederm Ultra Plus (my favorite lip filler!). You can ask me all the filler questions your heart desires. Live demonstrations are so much fun! I hope to see you ALL there. Just call or e-mail the clinic to reserve your spot, they fill up fast so hurry!
Hope your Valentines Day/Galentines Day/Single Awareness Day was full of lots of LOVE!
Stay LOVE-ly, Nina
