20 Yr Old Restylane Top Lip Patient - Claremont, CA

To start things off I wanna say that I've always want to get my nose and lips done. When I was little I didn't know about cosmetic procedures til I got older and at first was afraid of the idea of a needle or a knife or being put under. But now that I'm even slightly older than I was you can say I finally got a back bone (pun intended). I'm first starting off slow and getting the most minor thing done first out of the 2 which would be the lip augmentation. My first time getting it done was the day after I turned 20 (September 15 of this year). Why? Well ever since I was little I was teased by brothers, friends and cousins who meant no harm in the teasing but rarely knew how I felt on the inside about my insecurities. They would joking call my "Ms. Pouty Lips" or say "you sometimes remind me of a really pretty bird" because of how much my nose droops down like a birds does and how it has a hump at the top. My family is pretty sarcastic so I have relatively thick skin for joking around but when it comes to looks I try hard enough to look my best without anyone pointing out my flaws. It all came to a hault when I had went to a beauty audition (the name of the audition is private-sorry) and they rejected me.. For the 6th time in a row. I even have lost 40 lbs for this specific audition as still no luck even getting past to the 2nd round. The first round is based only on looks so that just proved to me I wanted a change for the best. My experience was pretty normal I'm sure compared to everyone else's. My doctor was very knowledgeable. I actually got recommend to go to him after my mom went there who got recommended by a friend before hand. The day I had my consultation was the day I had my procedure done. He put numbing cream all over my lips and let me sit there for what felt like forever. Finally he came in and injected me. I won't lie- it stung pretty bad. He said it's natural especially for the first time which I could understand why. He also gave me a very small amount of botox for above my upper lip which *Bonus* helped me with the gummy smile I have so I don't smile so harshly. After the procedure I drove myself home and put ice on it and only used one pill of Tylenol extra strength for the pain. The swelling looked so wierd and had me worried that it'd stay that way forever but it went down, of course, by like the 3rd day. I recommend taking at least 3 days off of work or school so that nobody sees your "puffiness" and "redness" if you don't want anyone to know. I also recommend staying indoor for the same reason as well. I'm the type of person who doesn't want a lot of unwanted attention, especially for something as embarrassing as fixing a flaw of yourself. I'm a shy girl, what can I say. Also- avoid any salt or high in sodium things, your Dr. will explain why but it helps a lot! So anyways, 3 weeks pass and I return for a follow up. I liked the change in my lips but didn't quite love them yet because I felt they were not that changeable looking. However I'm glad the Dr. put less in me rather than more the first time because then its hard to redue what has already been done. So the doctor repeated everything he did last time but no botox. He put a very small amount near the middle and corner of my upper lip like I wanted and bam! I was all done and happier than every before :) the second time also didn't even hurt that much and I didn't even need to ice on my lips or take Tylenol. Better yet, the swelling even went down in 2 days instead of 3. The Restylane is so amazing and doesn't make your lips look bubbly of puffy 24/7 like Juverderm does to lips. I even have my Cupid's bow on my lips that I love :) I would totally recommend this to anyone who feels they need it for the right reasons. It's also the first ever FDA approved injectable which make it even more awesome! My doctor was also amazing and I'd probably won't go to anyone else but him for my lips :) hope all this info helps anyone out there. Sorry for the book I just wrote about my experience, there was just so much to it and more. Thank you!