Would less filler mean less swelling for lip injections?

 Thank you for your question. I do tend to find that there is less swelling with less product in the lips. You can very well consider doing this in the staged fashion.  I also find that less manipulation of the lip both during the injection as well as afterwards results in less swelling.  Best of luck 

Avoid alcohol, advil, aspirin etc.... prior to facial injections and you will get less bruising and therefore less swelling as well. The more product you inject, then also the more swelling you get as well.

In my experience lip swelling is mostly due to the trauma of the procedure and less to minor changes in volume of product injected.  Any bruising caused by the procedure will also tend to be associated with more swelling.  Patients that have significant swelling with previous injections tend to swell about the same with each injection, but this is not always the case.  I have found that patients swell less when I use a blunt-tipped cannula for injection, however I would not guarantee this, and I would recommend you have a solid 3-4 days to test your reaction the first time around.  Avoiding agents that increase risk of bruising (e.g. NSAIDS, alcohol) and taking Benadryl just before and after the procedure, and icing regularly afterward can all help.