A Few Minor Complications, but Fixable....wonderful Results, Doesn't Last As Long As Hoped.

I saw a special two-for-one deal with a Medspa, and so jumped at the chance to get 2 syringes of Restylane done. I am 34, and within the past 5 years I have been steadily getting nasolabial folds that make me feel much older than I want to. I have also, all my life, wished I had thicker lips than the prissy thin line I was born with. My consultation went well, and I made an appointment. The technician took 'before' photos, asked me what I wanted done, and we discussed what the results could be (evidently, the natural shape of your mouth will help determine results). I decided to have just one syringe used, for the lips, to see how things went. I am not bothered by needles, and she used a nerve block. As a result, there was no more pain than one might experience in a dental chair. A sharp pinch of the needle, and you can feel the substance go in (like a flu injection), but it's not terrible. Just as one other poster had mentioned, she put a lot into the upper lip (I will say, it made a lovely cupid's-bow), but not enough in the lower. Additionally, my lower lip is naturally crooked, and the Restylane exaggerated this, once the swelling went down. There were some lumps (not visible, just felt) in the lower lip that remained from the filler. The swelling went away for me VERY quickly; half of the swelling was already gone by that night, and by the second day, it was fully gone. All the same, I could see the problem, but the spa insisted I wait two weeks before topping up/fixing. I was not satisfied with the initial results. At the second visit, I decided I would use the second syringe in entirety. I insisted that the lower lip be evened out, and the NL folds be taken care of. As it turns out, she made suggestions that gave me wonderful results, that I never would have thought of -- she told me that the 'thumbprint' hollows under my mouth were a sign of age, and filling those would help as much or more than the NL fold filling. We compromised, and used half the remaining syringe in each. She was right, the results were amazing. I have to say, this was done at the beginning of June, and it's late August now. I am already seeing the results beginning to fade. She missed one spot, the smile-wrinkle at the corner of my mouth, but aside from that one nagging irritation, I absolutely love the results. I am wistfully saddened as I look in the mirror and realize I probably can't afford to ever do this again...and that my fresh 'new' face will be gone in months. I feel younger, and have had people mention (unprompted) that I look good. If this were more affordable, I would not hesitate to do this again. But I have read that the company that created Restylane always charges the same rate, and never discounts, so it's dubious I will ever have this chance again, especially with such transient (if lovely) results.