Swelling, tenderness, small lumps and bruising are all normal in the first 48 hours after dermal filler, and most of it settles by itself. What is not normal is skin turning white or blotchy, pain that is getting worse rather than better, a dusky or mottled look to the skin, or any change in your vision. If you notice any of those, call 07441 371504 straight away, at any hour.
Below is what to expect at each stage, and what to avoid and why. Keep it with the written instructions you are given on the day.
What is normal in the first six hours after filler?
The treated area will look fuller than the final result, and there may be small red marks where the needle or cannula went in. Numbing cream goes on before treatment and the filler itself contains lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, so the area can feel numb or slightly odd until that wears off.
For swelling, use a cold pack wrapped in a cloth, for a few minutes at a time. After lip filler you are given an ice pack. Keep your hands off the area, and do not press, rub or massage it unless you have been told to.
What should I avoid for the first 24 to 48 hours?
For 24 to 48 hours after treatment, avoid:
- strenuous exercise
- alcohol
- heat, including saunas, steam rooms and hot baths
- and facials or other treatments on the area.
Exercise, alcohol and heat all increase blood flow to the face, and more blood flow means more swelling and more bruising while the filler settles. A facial presses on and works the skin in exactly the place that should be left alone.
Try not to sleep face-down at first, so you are not lying on the treated area.
What happens between 24 and 48 hours?
Swelling usually peaks now. After lip filler it can be significant, particularly after a first treatment, and it is easy to think you have had too much. The lips you see on day two are not the result.
Other areas behave differently. After cheek filler, expect swelling for three to five days. The skin under the eyes swells and bruises more readily than anywhere else on the face.
Small lumps you can feel, and sometimes see, are common while filler settles. Leave them alone. Many settle as the swelling goes down, and anything still there at two weeks is checked at your review, when lumps and unevenness can usually be corrected.
Tenderness is normal too, when you touch the area or, after lip filler, when you eat or smile. It should ease day by day. Pain that gets worse instead is one of the warning signs below.
What should I expect in the first week after filler?
Bruising is possible and settles within a week or two. It is more likely where a needle rather than a cannula was used, and under the eyes.
Avoid dental treatment for two weeks after filler. Dental work stretches the mouth and presses on the lips and jaw while the filler is still settling, and treatment inside the mouth carries a small risk of introducing infection. If you already have a dental appointment booked, say so at your consultation, so the two can be planned around each other.
Judge the result at two weeks, not before. Filler settles, and what you see in the first days is swelling as much as result. The two-week review is included with every injectable treatment, and it is the time to raise anything you are unsure about.
If something does not seem right before then, and it is not on the list below, call anyway. You go home with a direct number for exactly that reason. The clinic's full aftercare and complications policy, including how to raise a concern, has its own page.
If anything about how you are healing worries you, call 07441 371504, at any hour. For anything that can wait, every other way to reach the clinic is on the contact page.