Nonsurgical Nose Job: What You Need to Know

Pros

• This 20-minute procedure involves minimal discomfort (the tip of the nose is most sensitive) and has no downtime. 
• It's highly customizable—your doctor can inject a little, then a little more, until they achieve the result you want. 
• You’ll pay significantly less up front than you would for plastic surgery. 
• A liquid nose job can improve results from a previous rhinoplasty by correcting lumps, bumps, or slight asymmetries. 
• If you don’t like the results or have a complication, the filler can usually be dissolved (if your provider used a hyaluronic acid–based dermal filler). 
• It can be a good “test” for surgical rhinoplasty, giving you an idea of what you might look like if you decide to go under the knife.  
• The procedure has a high satisfaction rate: 97% of reviewers on RealSelf say their results are “Worth It.”

Cons

• In inexperienced hands, this procedure has potentially serious risks, including blindness and tissue death. For these reasons, fillers are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the nose. 
• Results last only up to 16 months, if you’re lucky—though some RealSelf members who rated this treatment “Not Worth It” say their results faded within weeks. 
• Over time, the costs of maintaining your results could exceed the price of a surgical rhinoplasty.
• Not everyone is a good candidate. There are many situations where improving the appearance of the nose is only possible through surgical means.

Related: Surgical Rhinoplasty vs. Liquid Nose Jobs: Doctors Weigh In on Which Procedure Is Right for You

• Average Cost:
• $1,270

• Range:
• $495 - $2,850

Your liquid rhinoplasty cost will depend on how much filler you get, which kind is used, your provider’s level of experience, and their practice location. 

It’s a strictly cosmetic procedure, so insurance won’t cover it. 

It’s never safe to bargain shop for treatments that involve injectable fillers—and that’s even more true with liquid nose jobs, which have serious risks if your provider doesn’t know what they’re doing. 

When you’re comparing costs between nonsurgical and surgical rhinoplasty, keep in mind that a series of nonsurgical procedures over several years could exceed the average cost of $7,750 for surgery.

You can finance your treatment with CareCredit.

See our complete guide to nonsurgical nose job costs

The nonsurgical nose job photos in our gallery have been shared by the provider who performed the procedure, with the patient's consent.

Both nonsurgical rhinoplasty and traditional rhinoplasty can create dramatic, natural-looking changes in the shape of the nose. However, there are major differences between the two procedures.

• A nonsurgical rhinoplasty procedure requires no anesthesia, has minimal downtime, and is usually reversible. That said, results are typically temporary and often aren’t as significant as the enhancementstraditional rhinoplasty results provide.
• Cosmetic surgery can address both cosmetic and functional issues, with permanent results. The biggest downsides are recovery time (typically about 2 weeks) and a much higher up-front price tag.

Considering that a nonsurgical rhinoplasty doesn't come with the same pain, aftercare, or downtime as a surgical procedure, it's understandable why many people are drawn to this option. Whether or not it will be worth it for you really depends on your preferences, aesthetic goals, and nasal anatomy.

Injecting filler along the nose won't disrupt your lifestyle as much as surgery would, but it's not a permanent solution, so ongoing treatments are necessary to maintain your new look. 

That being said, this procedure has a very high Worth It Rating from reviewers on RealSelf (higher than surgical rhinoplasty), with one member even calling it one of the "best experiences" of their life.

Dr. Lara Devgan, a plastic surgeon in New York City, says that the most common reasons she performs nonsurgical rhinoplasty are “to help people with a dorsal hump or bump on their nose, raise a droopy or bulbous nasal tip, or fix imperfections from a prior surgical rhinoplasty.”

In one study of 75 patients who had nose reshaping with hyaluronic acid fillers, the most common corrections were increased tip definition and straightening of a dorsal hump. 

People with asymmetry can also be good candidates. According to Dr. Alexander Rivkin, a Los Angeles otolaryngologist, “A symmetric nose blends in better with your face and doesn’t stand out like a nose with an obvious irregularity.”

A nonsurgical nose job isn’t right for everyone. Fillers add volume, so a liquid rhinoplasty can’t make your nose smaller. But by subtly changing the base of the nose or lifting the tip, it can create the illusion of a smaller nose.

Fillers also can’t correct functional issues or make your nose significantly straighter, like surgical rhinoplasty can.

“Surgery is the gold standard, because it’s inherently more powerful,” says Dr. Devgan. “It allows me to add and subtract, to reshape and recontour tissues. If someone has a deviated septum or a very wide nose, widely splayed nostrils, a very bulbous nasal tip, or a nose that’s just overprojected [or overly large for their face], those situations are really hard to fix with a nonsurgical rhinoplasty.” 

People with vascular rosacea and pronounced scarring in the nasal area also aren’t good candidates. Alert your doctor to any previous nasal surgery that could increase your risk of the filler being injected into a blood vessel.

The treatment itself typically takes about 20 minutes. Here’s what you can expect:

• First, your provider will apply topical numbing cream 20 minutes beforehand, and the area will also be iced to minimize discomfort. If the tip is being addressed, a dental block may be used to limit pain in this sensitive area. 
• If you’ve had dermal filler injections in your nose in the past, your provider may inject your nose with hyaluronidase, to dissolve any remaining filler before they add anything new. “We essentially start with a fresh slate,” says Dr. Philip Schoenfeld, a facial plastic surgeon in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “Otherwise, you’ll get filler that’s at different stages of dissolving—and that will lead to irregularities in the nose, over time.”
• Then, the filler injections will begin. You should be sitting up, as close to 90 degrees as possible, when the procedure is performed. 
• Your provider will make multiple “microdroplet” injections of filler, explains Dr. Rivkin. They’ll place small amounts of filler in the radix (where the forehead slope meets the nasal bridge), dorsum (bridge), sidewalls, tip, columella (the tissue that separates the nostrils), or alars (nostrils), as needed to achieve the desired result. Between injections, your provider will gently massage the filler into position.
• They will probably give you a hand mirror so you can observe the progress of the treatment and provide feedback. “I really appreciated that my doctor asked for my input while he was doing the procedure, to make sure the outcome was exactly what I wanted,” says RealSelf member britanycoletta. 

Complications, if they’re going to occur, often crop up quickly. Because of this, your doctor may have you wait a bit after the procedure.

RealSelf Tip: If you anticipate having a surgical nose job in the future, tell your provider in advance; this can influence their decision on which filler to inject. You may also want to limit the number of liquid rhinoplasties you have. Having too much filler can make nasal surgery—already one of the most complicated procedures—even more difficult by distorting the normal anatomy, so nose surgery may be prohibited for up to a year following dermal filler injections.

Related: Is the Nose Thread Lift the New Nonsurgical Rhinoplasty? Doctors Weigh In.

There’s no downtime after a nonsurgical nose job, but you will need to avoid pushing on, massaging, or applying pressure to your nose for 1 week.

As far as side effects go, you’ll have mild swelling for up to 2 weeks, and maybe some redness or slight bruising that makeup can hide. 

RealSelf Tip: Botox isn’t typically used for a nonsurgical rhinoplasty, but the neurotoxin does have its place when it comes to improving the nose, says Dr. Anil Shah, a facial plastic surgeon in Chicago. For instance, it can be used to relax the depressor septi, a small muscle that pulls the tip of the nose down and widens the nostrils. And if you get bunny-style wrinkles (often called “bunny lines”) on the bridge of your nose when you smile, Botox can temporarily soften them.

A number of different injectable fillers can be used for a liquid rhinoplasty, each with pros and cons.

Hyaluronic Acid–Based Temporary Fillers 

• Juvéderm Voluma and Restylane Lyft are the most popular fillers for this purpose.
• Both are thicker gels that lift and hold tissue well. 
• They’re dissolvable with hyaluronidase if you don’t like the results or have a complication. The biggest risk with a nonsurgical nose job is compromised blood flow, and the only way to reverse that is to dissolve the filler quickly—so that’s a big advantage. 
• Hyaluronic acid is metabolized by the body over several months, and the nose eventually returns to its original shape.  

Semipermanent Fillers

• Options like Radiesse andBellafill provide an immediate benefit and stimulate production of your own collagen, so your results may last longer than with hyaluronic acid fillers—about a year with Radiesse and as long as five years with Bellafill.
• Radiesse, which some surgeons prefer to use when augmenting the upper part of the nose, contains microspheres of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) suspended in a gel. Over time, your body absorbs the gel and metabolizes the CaHA, a substance also found in bone. 
• Bellafill is composed of 80% bovine (cow) collagen, which provides the immediate correction, and 20% polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microspheres, which stimulate your body to create its own collagen. (PMMA is a resin that’s been used in medical implants for decades.) “In order to get the correct level of stimulation with Bellafill, you have to have a couple of injection sessions, spaced about six to eight weeks apart,” explains Dr. Rivkin. 
• Using these fillers in the nose is controversial: Neither Radiesse nor Bellafill can be undone in the nose, so if there is a complication or you didn’t like the result, there’s no easy antidote. 
• Because of this, many doctors strongly discourage the use of semipermanent fillers in the nose. Beverly Hills, California, plastic surgeon Dr. Johnson Lee offers this advice for using semipermanent fillers: “The filler should be placed conservatively—with a little done at a time, spaced over several months—to maximize safety and results.”  

Permanent Fillers 

• Liquid silicone, primarily medical-grade Silikon 1000, is the most commonly used permanent filler in nonsurgical nose jobs. 
• It’s injected in very small amounts called microdroplets (during at least three sessions, scheduled six weeks apart) to minimize the volume injected in any one session. 
• This approach allows the silicone to diffuse throughout the injected area and prompts collagen to grow around it, which creates the filling effect.
• “Using it this way avoids the risk of undue pressure on circulation in the skin of the nose and is a hedge against inadvertent overinjection,” explains Beverly Hills, California, otolaryngologist Dr. Robert Kotler. “It also allows the patient to evaluate the outcome as it’s emerging over time and perhaps modify their end result.” Dr. Kotler is among the doctors who say they’ve been successfully doing nonsurgical rhinoplasties with microdroplet injections of silicone for decades, with excellent results. 
• Many other doctors on RealSelf say that using the substance in the nose is too risky. Complications like granulomas (tiny lumps of inflamed tissue) are known to occur, and the FDA warns about silicone migration. 
• As previously mentioned, blocking a blood vessel is a risk with any filler used in a nonsurgical rhinoplasty, and it’s the reason many doctors who perform the procedure won’t use permanent fillers like liquid silicone. Mississauga, Ontario, plastic surgeon Dr. Jamil Ahmed advises, “If you want a permanent result, consider rhinoplasty surgery.”

RealSelf Tip: To get an idea of how a nonsurgical rhinoplasty will look, ask your doctor about injecting ordinary saline (saltwater) into your nose, to test-drive the results. The saline is absorbed by your body after a few hours, but that’s long enough to give you a preview of your potential new nose.

You’ll see a difference right away and final results up to two weeks later, after the swelling has gone down. 

The volume effect of most fillers decreases by about 25% within the first couple of weeks. Some providers will do a touch-up if you don’t see a dramatic enough change, after this happens and the swelling resolves. 

Before your treatment, ask your doctor about their policy on touch-ups and whether you’d be charged extra.

Related: 5 Things to Look for in Nonsurgical Nose Job Before & Afters

How long results from a temporary filler will last is hard to predict, because everyone’s body metabolizes fillers differently, but Dr. Devgan gives her patients an estimate of 8 to 16 months. 

“Most of the fillers doctors use for this, like Juvéderm Voluma or Restylane Lyft, can last one to two years, in an ideal situation,” she says. “But for some patients, those fillers don’t last that long. I try not to disappoint people by giving a long range. I’ve seen patients after three years who still have good results and patients after three months who need to do it again.”

A nonsurgical nose job is much less invasive than traditional rhinoplasty surgery, but still carries risks and possible side effects. 

The most common side effects are swelling, mild bruising, and redness, which resolves on its own within a week or two after treatment.

Too much volume, nodules, and bumps are all possible unintended outcomes. Your doctor might be able to use more filler to correct bumps, smooth the filler into the right shape with their fingers, or dissolve it with hyaluronidase.

The most worrisome risk is vascular compromise, which happens when filler is accidentally injected into a blood vessel and the blood flow is blocked. 

All facial filler injections carry this risk, but it’s a more serious concern with nasal injections because the arteries that feed the retinas are located around the nose, so blocking blood flow can potentially cause blindness and tissue death. 

Dr. Schoenfeld explains that “Although retinal artery occlusion is the most serious potential complication, vascular compromise leading to nasal skin necrosis [tissue death] can also occur if injections are inadvertently placed into the arterial system of the nose, when the injections are placed too superficially, or when the injections are performed overzealously and essentially strangle the soft tissue, which leads to pressure necrosis.”

Intense pain and skin discoloration after your procedure can be a sign of a blocked blood vessel and tissue death. 

If you’re still at your provider’s office and had a hyaluronic acid–based filler, they can give you a shot of hyaluronidase to dissolve it as well as take other measures—heat packs, nitroglycerin, hyperbaric oxygen, and aspirin—to manage any impending complications. 

If this happens to you after you’ve left your doctor’s office, go to the emergency room right away.  

Prior nose surgery can increase your risk of vascular compromise, so be sure to share your history with any physician that tends to you.

Dr. Devgan sees the biggest risks with permanent silicone fillers, like Silikon 1000. “If you accidentally inject a blood vessel around the nose, you are just stuck—there’s nothing you can do to reverse it, she says. “Even though that’s an extremely rare event with an experienced injector, it’s really not worth the risk. You can also get distortion, enlargement, and disfiguration over time.”

Dr. Ali Sajjadian, a plastic surgeon in Newport Beach, California, and past president of the Rhinoplasty Society, agrees. “I honestly cannot recommend anyone place Silikon 1000 in the nose or face.” He cautions that “no matter how small the particles are, they can form clumps, which can block important arterial blood supply for the eyes and nose.”

Because of this, the standard of care for nonsurgical rhinoplasty is hyaluronic acid fillers, with many doctors arguing that the risks of permanent fillers are not worth it. 

There are others, however, who insist that Silikon 1000 (which is FDA-approved for injection in the eye), can be injected safely by a highly experienced provider, using the microdroplet technique. 

“There are no reported cases of migration, necrosis, tissue loss, blindness, infection, or clumping with this product, unlike with hyaluronic acid and other temporary gel fillers,” says Dr. Eric Joseph, a facial plastic surgeon in West Orange, New Jersey. 

If a problem does occur, Dr. Kotler says, steroids can be administered to reduce some or all of the filler. “This treatment isn’t always totally successful, but it’s been excellent in the very few cases where it was indicated.” 

If necessary, he says, silicone can also be surgically removed, though that procedure can come with its own challenges.