Improved Lip Asymmetry | Good Alternative to Lip Lift

It's been a few months and I got the touch-up in April. My lips still look the way I'd like them to! The lighting is a light blue so they look lighter than they normally do, but the shape is what I'm most pleased with.

The swelling is completely gone and I'm going through a secondary peeling stage. The first night, I woke up with my lips peeling and that skin eventually sloughed off. It's the second day and that's happening again, but slower. My lips still aren't perfectly symmetrical, but the right side has definitely improved! I've been religiously using aquaphor over sunscreen. I cannot wait to wash my lips tonight, as I was instructed to only do so every other day. My philtrum length has slightly shortened to 12 mm as compared to 13 mm before. The shape of my lips is still slightly distorted because they are so dry even with the aquaphor is on, so I am still cautious to judge the asymmetry until the skin on my lips heal.

I researched a lot of different options as my main gripe with my lips wasn't so much their 3D shape, but more the vermillion border as it was uneven on my top lip on the right. It was smaller than my left side, and I was looking for a way to even my lips out, essentially. I realized that filler would not necessarily even that border out, and I didn't really mind the shape of my lips. I also thought about lip lifts, but I realized that again, that would not necessarily fix the asymmetry, it would only lift the lip evenly on both sides and thus not cure the asymmetrical appearance. When I researched lip blushing, I realized this would be the best option for me because I just wanted my lips from the front-on view to look even. Unfortunately, there's not a great amount of good providers in Riverside for beauty services in general, but I looked through various instagram accounts for consistent results. In Your Dreams Ink fit the bill, and I went with Alejandra Oyarzabalink. She has a great bedside manner and explained the aftercare and procedure in depth, answering any questions I had. She was attentive to my goals for this procedure and she also is sensitive to her client's level of comfort. I personally didn't mind the pain, so I didn't ask for more time for the numbing cream to set (even though she asked if I wanted more time). I'd say the pain on the lips is eye-opening. I've had relatively long tattoo sessions elsewhere on my body (6-8 hours) but the pain, even with the numbing cream, is definitely an experience in of itself. It's the type of pain where your body reacts regardless of the level of pain; I started tearing up even though I didn't feel like crying, for instance. The results already look so great that I'd say it's definitely worth it. There is still a bit of swelling, but it's reduced significantly by now. You will look a bit clownish right after, so bear that in mind when you get this procedure done. The color is quite intense, and I will update in 9-10 days with what the color actually looks like. However, I can already tell the asymmetry is significantly improved, and that alone was my goal with this procedure. Compared to other options, this is way cheaper and it doesn't impact other aspects of facial harmony, so I would absolutely recommend this procedure and definitely at In Your Dreams Ink. Thank you, Alejandra!