Lip Augmentation: Stories

As I've gotten older (43), my never-voluptuous lips have lost almost any volume they once had. I'm tired of their thinness and have been thinking about doing this for at least a year.

I want to freshen up my face up bit (am not ruling out filling my naso-labial folds at a later date), have enough lip to wear lipstick without it looking like two slashes of color across my pie-hole, and just feel a little prettier.

Restylane or Juvaderm I think is Dr. Peters' filler of choice.

I've never had filler of any sort, so am a little nervous about the pain.

May 8th:

I had my lips filled today! I had so much guilt going into it because of the money I was spending. I did it anyway, though.

She used one syringe of either juvaderm or restylane. Not sure which! We had a teensy misunderstanding, where she thought I only wanted my upper lip done, but I really wanted both upper and lower done, hence she used 7/10s of the syringe on my upper lip.

I'll see how I feel tomorrow about the look. So far it's pretty swollen on top and I have one lump (which is normal) on one side of my upper lip.

The topical lidocaine really, really helped with the pain. I know because I had a lot less on my bottom lip than my top and could really feel those pinches in relation to my top lip.

Apparently, you need to be careful of lipstick, etc. for 30 minutes after the injections because you don't want to re-mold the lips. Dr. Peters said it takes about 30 minutes for the lips to "set".

I'll post some after pics. I love the fullness in my lips. It's not super dramatic, but I feel it really helps balance out my face.

We'll see what I think when the swelling goes down.

May 9th:

Tons of bruising and one huge lump in my upper lip. I feel like a muppet, or Donatella Versace. Really, barely want to be seen publicly. This morning I panicked and called Dr. Peters's office to get in to get more injected into my bottom lip. They gave me an appointment and were very sweet. I called back and canceled it though. While I do wish my bottom lip had as much filler as the top (I'm pretty sure the normal ration is 2/3 bottom to 1/3 top), I think it'll look a lot better when the swelling goes down and that lump disappears.

Props to the receptionists I talked to who were very nice despite my freak out.

May 11th:

Still the bruising and bump, but the swelling has gone down and I don't feel like I belong on The Real Housewives of Seattle anymore. I think I'm really going to like this once the bruises fade.

If you're considering doing this, be aware that you will look freakish the first day or two, there can be a lot of bruising and lumps are normal.

June 6th:

It's been a month since the injections. It's fun to have lips and be able to wear lipstick. I still feel my upper lip is a little too large in proportion to my lower lip, but I think I look better than before. My upper lip still has a lump (though it is softer and more spread out than in the beginning). I don't think anyone notices but me. The pain, hardness and bruising is gone. I would definitely do this again.