After getting lip fillers, the swelling tends to last for about 10 to 15 days. Following the 15-day period, you can return to normal activities like work, social events, or vacations. However, the lip filler healing process is not all smooth sailing.
The “swelling phases” can be mentally and emotionally overwhelming, especially if you are unprepared for the early intense stages. How long does lip filler swelling last?
Sadly, social media distorts the reality of achieving full, plump , and well-defined lips.
Most social media posts showcase the final results, leaving out the recovery period highlights. That’s why I’ve put together this guide to prepare you for the lip filler swelling stages. Venture further!
The Lip Filler Swelling Stages
Generally, before undergoing lip filler injections, your select injector must provide you with pre-treatment guidelines. For instance, your practitioner may suggest taking Arnica Montana supplements 3-5 days before getting lip fillers.
How long does lip filler swelling last? The practitioner may also instruct you to avoid blood thinners such as alcohol, aspirin, fish oils, or vitamin E supplements 1-2 weeks before the treatment. Why?
1. Getting ready: How to keep swelling in check
When the practitioner injects fillers into lip tissue, it shifts and stretches slightly to create room for fillers.
While such tissue disruption is temporary, it triggers inflammation, resulting in swelling.
Also, the practitioner may accidentally puncture a blood vessel, releasing blood to the surrounding tissue. We call this bruising.
So, to prepare your body for the injection experience, the practitioner recommends Arnica Montana — a natural herb that helps reduce swelling or bruising.
Then, you are instructed to avoid blood thinners because they slow down the blood clotting process. This poses a risk of excessive bleeding in case of bruising because the platelets take time before clumping together to form clots.
As a rule of thumb, always adhere to pre-treatment instructions because they influence how comfortable the following stages will be.
2. Instant swelling stage (0 - 32 Hours)
At the time of lip filler application, your select practitioner will use a topical numbing cream to reduce discomfort, especially because swelling begins immediately when they inject fillers.
Yes, swelling starts with the first injection.
Topical numbing cream minimizes the pricking pain or sensation, allowing you to go through the whole injection session with little to no discomfort.
After 30 to 60 minutes, the anesthetic effect starts wearing off and your lips feel tender, warm to touch, and firm. Some minor discomfort develops too.
What you’ll observe
Upon viewing your lips in the mirror, you’ll notice they look 10-40% larger than expected. You may also observe small red dots or purple coloring around the injection site (signs of bruising).
The extra 10-40% volume increase after lip filler injections is what we refer to as lip filler swelling. It results from the injection trauma, especially when the practitioner uses needles.
To minimize swelling, your practitioner may use a microcannula. Rather than pricking through tissue, a microcannula glides through tissue, reducing discomfort, bruising, and swelling.
Besides injection trauma, your lips swell because hyaluronic acid in lip fillers starts pulling more water to the lip tissue. This is because hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers are hydrophilic (water-attracting).
Here’s how you manage swelling within the first 32 hours.
Managing the instant swelling phase (0-32 hours)
Post-lip filler injections, your practitioner will leave you with specific after-care instructions. If you're wondering, "How long does lip filler swelling last?" it typically follows this timeline. Among them, these should help manage lip filler swelling:
● Gently put a cold pack over the lips
Right after receiving lip fillers, the practitioner should provide you with a cold compress to manage the discomfort and swelling. A cold pack constricts blood vessels within lip tissue, significantly reducing pain and swelling.
When preparing a cold pack at home, ensure you wrap the ice pack in a clean and soft cloth. Applying ice directly on skin can cause frostbite or ice burns, damaging blood vessels or lip tissue.
● Sleep with your head raised
As highlighted, lip injection trauma is what leads to lip filler swelling. This is because your body responds to the injections as minor injuries, kicking off an inflammatory reaction.
The inflammatory reaction leads to increased blood flow and leakage of plasma into lip tissue, resulting in uneven fluid buildup (swelling).
So, to ease swelling, you are advised to elevate your head while asleep to slow down blood flow to the treated area. If you don’t have a wedge pillow, use two pillows to prop up your neck and head.
● Refrain from pressing or touching your lips
Touching your lips is more likely to worsen the swelling. First, there’s the possibility of filler movement or migration. Since hyaluronic acid fillers are gel-like, they easily move under pressure, leading to asymmetry or the formation of lumps.
Other than filler migration, touching your lips may introduce bacteria. This increases the risk of infections and other complications that may require the practitioner to dissolve the lip fillers to resolve the issue.
● Skip high-intensity workouts, alcohol, or hot conditions
While high-intensity workouts and hot conditions increase blood flow to the treated area, alcohol interferes with blood clotting. Both outcomes are negative as increased blood flow leads to further fluid buildup, intensifying swelling.
Inefficient blood clotting, on the other hand, leaves you vulnerable to more bleeding or bruising. Commit to avoiding alcohol and intense exercise for about a week.
3. Swelling climax phase (32 - 84 Hours)
If you're wondering, "How long does lip filler swelling last?" it typically follows this timeline. Following the instant swelling phase is the peak swelling phase. This phase kicks off around day 2, with dramatic changes.
Even though most of the changes in the appearance of your lips may be alarming, it is crucial that you stay calm. Your body will resolve the changes on its own.
What you’ll observe
First, your lips will feel tight, tender, or warm. Even talking or smiling may become slightly uncomfortable.
The size of the ridges or lumps on your lips also increases, making some parts of your lips look disproportionately ‘overdone’ or large.
The more fillers you receive, the more prominent the changes are. For some, the extra swelling obscures the top lip curve. Also, the discoloration as a result of bruising darkens to deep blue or purple.
These changes occur because the inflammatory reaction climaxes — a sign of your body repairing damaged tissue. At this point, your lips will have a ‘plastic’ or ‘stiff’ look because hyaluronic acid is drawing in more water and there’s more plasma leakage into the surrounding tissue.
Despite the unsettling nature of this phase, stay patient as it’s part of the process and recovery is underway. Here’s how to manage this phase:
Managing the peak swelling phase (32 - 84 hours)
Like the instant swelling phase, gently apply a cold compress, avoid touching or pressing the lips, avoid strenuous workouts or taking alcohol, and prop up your head while asleep.
You may have to increase the number of times you use a cold pack because inflammation is at its maximum.
Moreover, have more water to support the lymphatic system as it works on moving the drained fluid away from lip tissue back into the bloodstream.
4. Receding phase (4 - 8 days)
By the third day of peak swelling, the major changes should have settled. The excessive swelling should have reduced significantly, making it easier for you to move your lips. And, the bruising discoloration should have faded or started changing color to green or yellow (this means they are healing).
What you’ll observe during the receding phase
As you get into the fourth and fifth day, your lips would feel less tense.
Your lips soften as filler material is now fusing with lip tissue and the body is gradually reabsorbing excess fluid. Both of these actions decrease inflammation, reducing swelling by about 40-60%.
As the swelling decreases, so does the lumpiness or unevenness. Plus, the natural contours of your lips become more defined or noticeable, especially the lip curve.
Due to the positive observations, some practitioners may recommend gently massaging the lip body to distribute filler uniformly. Rather than doing it by yourself, arrange a massage session with your practitioner.
Aside from massaging, here are more management tips:
Managing the receding phase (4 - 8 days)
At this stage, you don’t need to apply a cold compress as much because the swelling is minimal and the discomfort is gone. Nonetheless, you should still avoid alcohol, strenuous activities, and pressing or touching the lips.
Hydrate even more to supply hyaluronic acid fillers with the water needed to retain that fuller look. Bear in mind, that dehydration reduces the water-retention power of hyaluronic acid.
Not forgetting, keep your head raised when asleep to further lower fluid buildup, allowing the lymphatic system to clear what’s remaining from lip tissue.
5. Final outcome (8 - 15 days)
After a week, there should be no discomfort at all. Your lips should feel smooth and natural to touch.
By the time you reach the second week, the signs of trauma would have cleared. From the red dots to the bruising, your lips regain a balanced complexion.
Aside from complexion, lip fillers blend in with lip tissue, resulting in a plump, soft, even, and hydrated look. Lip volume matches your desired look and the lumpiness disappears completely.
Overall, as from day 8 onward, you are to start seeing the transformation, specifically lip shape and volume aligning with your aesthetic goals. Also, the management demands lighten:
Managing the final outcome (8 - 15 days)
Like the receding phase, you rarely need cold compress at this phase.
You can touch and massage your lips but don’t be rough because filler material is yet to fully integrate with your lips. It may take about 3 more weeks after this phase for this to happen.
You can also slowly return to mild physical activity and having alcohol. And, to improve the functionality of hyaluronic acid lip fillers, keep up your fluid intake.
Lastly, this is the phase to plan follow-up appointments with your injector to assess results and schedule touch-ups if necessary.
Please note — each phase’s timespan does not apply to everyone.
Your lip filler healing process may take longer or shorter based on various factors including filler types, injection technique, and pre-treatment instructions. Keep exploring!
Can Lip Filler Swelling Last Less Than 15 Days?
The following factors determine whether filler swelling may last for less than 15 days:
1. Abiding by pre-treatment instructions
As noted earlier, your practitioner must give you specific pre-treatment instructions before you undergo lip filler injections. If you ignore the instructions, your lips are likely to swell beyond the two-week mark. Why is this the case?
Pre-procedure guidelines are there to enhance safety and effectiveness. For instance, not knowing that taking alcohol a week or two before the procedure increases the risk of severe bleeding or bruising, prolonging the swelling and healing period.
2. Injector’s mastery of aesthetic injections
Before proceeding with lip filler injections, assess the practitioner’s skill level.
Examine client feedback, review certifications, and inspect past clients’ lip fillers before and after photos. Aim for an injector with a solid track record because lip tissue is highly delicate.
An experienced or skilled injector customizes injection depth and filler amount to suit your lip shape. Moreover, they know what injection technique would minimize lip trauma (the main reason your lips swell after lip fillers).
3. Lip anatomy
The traits and structure of your lips also matter. If your lips have thin skin, less muscle mass, or low-fat distribution, the swelling period is going to last longer because it takes time for lip fillers to settle into the lip tissue.
Lip filler blends with lip tissue pretty fast when the tissue is thicker with more fat and muscle mass. Such structure allows for precision injection techniques, cutting down on trauma and lowering the risk of injury or bruising.
4. Filler consistency or viscosity
The thicker the lip filler, the longer the swelling phases. This is because thicker lip filler formulations have stronger molecular bonds, requiring more time to settle and integrate with lip tissue.
Moreover, thicker lip fillers are generally more resistant to metabolic erosion, increasing the time taken to break them down. They also increase volume, putting additional pressure on surrounding tissue.
5. Metabolic rate
Metabolism, in this context, refers to how fast your body processes or breaks down lip fillers. Hormone levels, genetics, age, and physical activity all affect your metabolic rate.
Generally, the faster your metabolic rate, the quicker the recovery time. Slower metabolism results in filler staying within lip tissue longer, extending the inflammation or swelling period.
6. Adherence to post-treatment instructions
Not following after-procedure care instructions prolongs the lip filler swelling stages, at times leading to complications such as infections.
So, avoid touching or massaging your lips, avoid alcohol, and stop working out right after the procedure. These mistakes and more irritate the treated area and prolong swelling.
After lip filler injections, ensure you review the phases we’ve discussed to learn the dos and don’ts for each one. Then, follow them for optimal recovery and results.
Final Words
Wondering how long does lip filler swelling last? Well, for many, the number lies between a week or two. Nonetheless, certain factors like not adhering to pre-care and post-care instructions may prolong the time.
Explore this piece to discover the lip filler swelling stages and how to manage each. I’ve also covered the factors determining the longevity of lip filler swelling.
Remember, only hyaluronic acid-based lip fillers are approved for lip injections. And, always entrust your lips to an experienced practitioner.
Your practitioner will guide you through the whole process and provide personalized instructions to promote proper healing.
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