Sometimes a Light Touch is Just Exactly What You Needed.

Lips look great. I get compliments on my "lipstick" because people notice they look good but can't pinpoint why. I just love that they don't look chapped anymore. I don't have any lumps like some people complain about and I have had no problems whatsoever so far. I am happy that I did it. I was on the fence about doing it but it was just what I needed.

They say the final result is visible at the 2 week mark. I love my final result. Dr. McNeel and the 1/2 syringe accomplished just what I wanted. Goodbye chapped lips look! And ... natural. So happy.

Why did I do it? Let me start off by saying, I have always loved my lips. They are not too big, not too small but as I aged, they looked permanently chapped all the time, the natural wrinkles on them became extremely deep (I realize they lost a slight bit of volume and that's normal over the years). Lip balm was gathering in those deep wrinkles on my lips and driving me nuts. My lips were soooo itchy all the time. So I decided to ask my doctor about maybe using a filler there to solve my problem. I didn't want any reshaping or adding extreme volume. I just wanted them smooth enough (like they were years ago) where my balm wasn't settling in and driving me nuts.
THE PLAN: Dr. McNeel knows that I am a "light touch" patient so I don't want drastic change. I don't really want anyone to notice I've had anything done. As far as plastic surgery goes, I am a "refurbisher" over being a "remodeler." Dr. McNeel knows that about me and recommended that I do 1/2 a syringe. That sounded good to me. Start off light and if I need more, then I get more. A good plan. PROCEDURE: Now as far as the procedure, Dr. McNeel also does tear trough filler for me so I am no stranger to filler injections. The lip injections are more painful than my tear trough injections probably because the lips are just a more sensitive area. The procedure doesn't take long. You are numb but you do feel it here and there for a few seconds but it is tolerable for me. All of my injections were into the meat of the lip and not into my borders or cupid's bow. AFTERCARE: A little icing on the day of on and I kept my lips moisturized with a bit of Aquaphor Lip Ointment. I did not use any Arnica because it doesn't work on me (probably my body chemistry). I bruise all the time and using it does absolutely nothing for my bruising. I just wait it out. Most of my bruises go away after 1 - 2 weeks. My lips were sore for about 2 days. Not bad sore, just you didn't want to rub them together. Day 3 they looked really swollen but they did not hurt. Of course, they were bruised. It looked like I "chewed" my lip but I expected bruising. The bumps that some reviews talk about, I experienced them but they go away after a few days. It's probably is just the filler settling in combined with the injection swelling. Otherwise, healing has been a breeze and my bruising is almost gone as I am writing this review at Day 9. I took pictures after my shower with no makeup, no lip balm so that you could see the natural process of healing over a week's time not just some before and after. WAS IT WORTH IT? At Day 9, I am happy with my results. My lips look natural (actually they look like they did in pictures from 20 years ago), and I am not experiencing the itchy lips from the lip balm settling into the cracks like before so problem solved. At this point, I think I would definitely have them retouched with 1/2 a syringe once a year. It is nice not having that itchy lip feeling and not having my lips look chapped all the time.