Neekan Rivera: The Only Injector I Trust with My Face (LEARNED THE HARD WAY!)

Neekan does not need this review because she has an overflowing wait list of returning and new clients, works at 3 centers (one of which is her own new clinic in Denver), & has an established Instagram following of >30k where she shares her balanced aesthetic philosophy, countless before-after transformations, behind-the-scenes, and nuggets of knowledge teaching other injectors who follow her. When she isn't injecting, she trains other nurses, PAs, NPs, and doctors (she's a national Allergan & Galderma trainer). I highly recommend you follow her Instagram because you can see for yourself whether your aesthetic goals align. She's the only person I will trust with my face, and I'm lucky to have her be the first to inject me with filler. Her philosophy: facial harmony, global balance, safety, transparency, natural beauty, gradual and layered approach, you on your best and well-rested day, a long-term facial plan, splits syringes into areas based on what you need, expert with needles and cannulas

I first saw Neekan in Feb to get my first lip job. She is a LIP QUEEN. I thought my original lips were very similar to m-shaped lips, which are notoriously difficult to treat, so I knew I had to find someone with a before-after I liked. I'm very scrutinizing with aesthetic procedures and have a very sharp eye for what I want and I needed to find someone who could deliver a natural SHAPE change (vs size or volume). I'm also very suspicious of med spas and injectors who downplay the difficulty and complexity of these procedures, and wanted to find someone who acknowledged these risks and prioritized safety.

Prior to this appointment I had been obsessively researching for 4 months, looking at post-op healing photos and screenshotting pictures of lips and shapes that I loved and hated.

I showed her a huge bank of pictures. She understood my vision perfectly, recommended Restylane Refyne for its extremely natural look and feel, and delivered the lips of my dreams. I asked for increased vertical height, softening/flattening of my m-shape lips into a more bow and arrow look, heart shaped lips, and a defined cupid's bow. She used a cannula on me because my lip borders were pronounced, and shaped my cupid's bow with a needle. Because I was focused on a natural look and it was my first time, we decided to only put about .8mL and the rest were feathered into my undereyes with a cannula.

Now after seeing a lot of post-op photos and videos, I expected big purple sausages the morning after. But when I woke up, I had some swelling and only a little bruise. Unlike some people, it took me closer to a month for my lips to settle into perfection because I don't prefer the swollen look, but once it did, my confidence shot through the roof. These lips balanced my entire face and I woke up everyday ecstatic, even as we were going under quarantine. I could care less that no one was going to see my lips, because every time I looked in the mirror, I just felt so incredibly happy and confident.

Because Neekan was my first ever filler experience, I made the mistake of assuming that as long as I went to a place with good RS/Yelp reviews, I would also see life changing results. I wanted to look well-rested, so I purchased 2 fillers for undereye and cheek at a different, well-rated medspa in beverly hills with a different nurse and as soon as offices opened up, I got it done.

I GOT BOTCHED. I cried every day for a whole month. The nurse overfilled my cheeks, and the heaviness restricted my smile. This made my face shape look more square because when I smile, my cheeks lift up. Worse, this meant I couldn't fully and freely smile for a whole month, which definitely impacted my mental health. I got Tyndall effect in my undereyes (my eyebags were reflecting a blue purple pigment so they looked even worse than before), and my ligaments under my eye were popping out more because of the filler. For the record, this injector used a needle, not a cannula, which requires more skill. Luckily we were under lockdown, but my family, who didn't know I got anything done, commented on how tired and SICK I looked. :'(

I went back to the same nurse to get it dissolved twice, and patiently waited for Neekan's schedule to open so she could rescue my face. I am very blessed that I didn't experience serious complications, and I learned a very valuable lesson about price hunting and the value I put on my safety and face. I learned to appreciate how naturally flawless my face already was, because I woke up everyday praying I could go back to the way I used to look.

I have nothing against this nurse and did not write any reviews, but the problem with many aesthetic injectors is that they try to execute the same "it-girl" look on different people, and that's not what Neekan is about.

I just saw Neekan when she came back to LA for a few days, and I got my lips maintained, my undereyes FIXED, and a PDO thread lift for my nose. Clients have been practically fighting to get seen by her, but I cannot emphasize how much care and attention she gives each patient, even though her schedule was packed to the brim and she was running late.

Needless to say, Neekan FIXED my undereyes. There was a bit of filler still leftover that was accentuating my ligaments when I smiled, and she blended it out. MAGIC. What took the other injector 1 whole mL to BOTCH, Neekan fixed with just some leftover .2 ml we didn't use for my lips.

I inquired about nose filler, and Neekan carefully explained to me the complications, how it's the highest risk area, and can cause blindness. If Neekan thinks you are a good candidate for nose filler (and a lot of people AREN'T), she will probably go slow and in stages. For what she could do for me with filler, she instead suggested PDO threads, which would give me the results I desired (slight bridge definition, lifted nose tip) immediately, without stages, and without the dangerous complications. Again, I showed her pictures of what I didn't like, and she delivered exactly what I wanted.

I appreciate her honesty, and recommend that you look for this transparency in injectors. I see deals from IG famous, influencer-marketed med spas that are giving away NSNJs for 499$. That scares me, because 5 months ago, I would have jumped at that deal - unaware that I'm not the ideal candidate - and put my face and health on the line for a medspa that just wants my money.

If you're looking for natural, sustainable results from a skilled, down-to-earth medical professional, get your name on Neekan's waitlists before she closes it. Or not, because I'm still fighting to see her too ;) And again, I recommend you follow her on instagram. I think it's so important to know exactly how your injector approaches aesthetic beauty, to see what you align best with.

My photos speak for themselves. Most importantly, I feel and look like me. No one believes I ever got anything done even when I tell them, because the results are so natural and improve my facial harmony. I've always loved the face I was given, but Neekan truly SEES your unique natural beauty, and simply accentuates it. I will never let anyone else touch my face again <3