Procedures that enhance your lips—fillers, implants, and more—often have the added benefit of making your mouth appear more kissable, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to pucker up immediately after your appointment. You may feel silly asking your provider when it’s okay to kiss your partner (or do a little more) and whether said partner will be able to feel that things are freshly enhanced, but these are common and reasonable questions.
Ahead, doctors break down exactly how long you should hold off on that make-out session after getting five popular lip-enhancing treatments.
The treatment: lip filler
There are a few reasons to resist kissing after getting filler in your lips, the first being the risk of infection. “Anytime you’re putting a needle through the skin, you want to avoid anything that can cause infection or inflammation for 12 to 24 hours. That includes kissing,” says Dr. David Shafer, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City. You need to allow time for the holes from the punctures to heal so that bacteria can’t travel through them, adds Dr. Michael Schwartz, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Westlake Village, California.
The second reason is to allow enough time for the filler to fully integrate with the lip tissue, as the pressure from kissing can (potentially) cause the filler to migrate. “This can lead to unevenness, where one side of the lips is fuller than the other because the product has moved to that side. The filler can also travel past the upper lip to above the Cupid’s bow, creating a ‘monkey mouth’ appearance. In these cases, your provider may need to dissolve the migrated filler and start over,” Dr. Schwartz explains. For that reason, Dr. Jessie Cheung, a board-certified dermatologist in Willowbrook, Illinois, advises waiting even longer to kiss after filler injections. She says three days is an adequate amount of time, so long as you’re keeping the kissing technique gentle. (In case you’re wondering: oral sex puts even more pressure on the lips, so the doctors we spoke with suggest waiting three to seven days in order to reduce the likelihood of filler migration.)
Will your partner be able to tell that there’s something in your lips? “Some swelling, unevenness, lumps, and bumps can remain for up to two weeks,” notes Dr. Schwartz, which your partner may or may not notice. Once things settle, it will depend on which particular filler your provider uses. Thinner ones, such as Juvéderm Volbella, don’t add a lot of volume, and you can’t really feel them under the skin, notes Dr. Shafer. Thicker ones such as Juvéderm Ultra offer some plumping but feel nice and soft, whereas thicker ones such as Juvéderm Voluma provide great volume and structure, though you will be able to tell there’s some filler in your lips, he says.
The treatment: lip lift
Lip lifts have been around for decades, but they’re experiencing a comeback these days (thanks to social media, of course). The procedure involves removing a strip of skin from just under the nose in order to shrink the space between the base of the nose and upper lip, thus subtly plumping the lips and balancing facial proportions—a sign of a great lip lift. It can take some time to heal, since it involves an incision.
“Depending on how much skin is removed, wait at least two to three weeks before attempting to kiss,” says Dr. Cheung. One thing to consider is how comfortable you feel while pursing your lips, since it can be painful to do just that while they’re still swollen and sensitive. “You may still feel slightly numb or tight even weeks later, but that shouldn’t stop you from kissing,” she says.
Also worth keeping in mind is the type of lip lift you get: Patients who get the bullhorn lip lift, which involves removing skin just under the nose (and is the most common technique), tend to heal more slowly than those who remove skin at the border of the lip.
The treatment: lip flip
This popular injectable lip enhancement option uses neurotoxin, such as Botox, and has the least downtime of all the treatments here. Dr. Cheung says you need to wait only 30 minutes before kissing; the latest research suggests that the binding of the neurotoxin to the nerve receptors occurs within minutes, she adds. After that, “you can do whatever you want.” Dr. Schwartz agrees, noting that the superficial way the Botox is injected and the small amount used during a lip flip minimizes the likelihood of any risks, such as muscle atrophy. Per the earlier point about injectable puncture holes and infection, these are much smaller than those needed for filler. The skin reepithelializes (aka the holes close up) very quickly, so that’s not a concern.
The treatment: lip threading
Again, there’s the risk of infection to consider here, but the biggest concern is a migration of the threads, says Dr. Cheung. “With PDO threads to the lip, there is less risk of migration compared to filler, but you do want your threads to settle into place properly,” she explains. “Smooth threads and coiled threads are commonly used on lips, and although they don’t tend to move after placement, the ends can irritate or even poke through thin skin if they haven’t fully settled, like an ingrown hair.” That means gentle kissing is okay on day three, but you should avoid oral sex until day four, she adds, noting that your lips will likely be swollen and sore until then.
The treatment: lip blushing
How long you need to wait depends largely on your tattoo or makeup artist’s technique–some go more superficial when placing pigment, while others go deeper into the lip, causing more swelling, says Dr. Cheung. In either case, your skin will be very delicate and fragile afterward, so she advises avoiding both kissing and oral sex for four days. That being said, once everything is healed, your kissing partner likely will have no idea you did anything to your pout.
The treatment: lip implants
Dr. Cheung advises consulting with your surgeon on specifics, but waiting four days for kissing and a week for oral sex is a good general rule. (This is to minimize the likelihood of the implant shifting out of place.) It also bears mentioning that, of all the aforementioned treatments, implants are what your make-out buddy is most likely to notice. “These are foreign devices that, unlike hyaluronic acid filler, will never integrate with your tissue and are more likely to be felt,” says Dr. Schwartz. Dr. Cheung adds that the greater the trauma to the lip tissue, the more noticeable the swelling will be, meaning implants are going to be both most noticeable to the eye and the most palpable to your partner’s lips.
A few other things to keep in mind
Take cold sores into consideration
“Even if you’ve never had them, the trauma to your lips that comes with any of these procedures can trigger a cold sore outbreak,” notes Dr. Chueng. “If your lips feel tingly or extremely sensitive or painful after a procedure, let your provider know. It’s much easier to treat cold sores early on.”
Put off dental work too
Avoid scheduling any type of dentist appointment for two weeks before and two weeks after any kind of lip enhancement. “Cleanings and dental work can stir up bacteria in your mouth, putting you at risk for infection,” says Dr. Schwartz.
