This could easily be a story about how lip fillers changed my life, but I'm pretty sure that the ultimate lip filler glow-up belongs to Kylie Jenner and, you know, I just don't have it in me to compete with that. The trickle-down Kylie effect is much less fame-inducing (thank god) for me, but an adventure in injectable beauty is a dip into a lifestyle of rich girl lips (because as we all know, fillers are expensive!), and you know I love a good rich girl do-up.
This is the part when I make note of the how being a beauty editor means that I have access to beauty things that other civilians in my tax bracket would not dream of going into debt for — like the minor plastic surgery that lip fillers technically fall under. I should also note that my reasoning for getting lip filler is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. JK, it's flip, honestly. Part dare, part curiosity, when the offer came to try out lip fillers, I was like "Sure, why not? They don't last forever, right?" Yolo, etc.
I have never thought my lips to be particularly thin— they're not remarkably plump either but they've always been... nice. I've always liked my lips. I like them so much in fact, that the idea of increasing their mass for more lipstick real estate was reason enough for me to entertain the idea of getting jabbed in the mouth with a needle for The Cause. Consider it like a temporary add-on to an already sick bachelorette pad. You can justify a lot of invasive cosmetic procedures when you think of it as increasing property value!
Some of the top reactions I'd get when off-handedly telling people that I was getting lip fillers for the first time (on Allure's Facebook LIVE because I am lazily moonlighting as reality TV personality apparently):
"Why? Your lips are fine!"
"Oh my god, that's gonna be so painful!"
"Are you gonna end up with crazy-looking duck lips?"
Soured misogynistic attitudes would suggest that the only inspiration behind pumping your lips full of voluminous synthetic liquids stems from some form of self-hatred, but honestly, it's 2017 and to me it just seems that vanity's come a long way. Like eyebrows, the favorable girth of your lips seems to be dictated by some unseen fickle "trendsetter" anyway, so you might as well do whatever you want to your appearance anyway to whichever degree you wish to take it. But not unlike being offered the most decadently luxurious dessert on the menu, why say no if it's within my means? Desserts, like cosmetic fillers, are a temporary indulgence. Clear eyes, full lips, can't lose!
The place of injection: Dr. Melissa Doft's Upper East Side gorgeously chic practice. Dr. Doft was very reassuring and was quick to understand my lip-scaping desires, which is to say "just a bit plumper." As a first-timer, I didn't want to overdo it and was apprehensive to let 'er rip, so to speak, considering I liked the shape of my lips as is. She used Restylane Silk, which is a hyaluronic acid filler — a humectant that attracts water molecules to the site to enhance the plumpening. It's metabolized in your body within six to nine months (that depends on your own individual metabolism speed), hence the temporary part. As someone who regularly slathers on hyaluronic acid-rich serums and moisturizers on my face, I wasn't so weirded out about shooting it into my lips as well. Just the actual injecting...
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I had gone in prepared to have to grit my teeth and bear it, Saw-style, but Dr, Doft mercifully offered a topical numbing goo which REALLY numbed — I'm talking like full-strength dental-grade numb. As I waited for the goop to work its magic on my lips (unavoidably swallowing some of it, oddly numbing my throat too), Dr. Doft explained how the whole thing worked and how her usual technique was to start conservatively since even a small amount of filler goes a long way (we only ended up using half the vial). She pricked a fine needle under the very superficial top layer of lip skin, kind of parallel to the lip and then plunged the syringe as she simultaneously pulls the needle out to disperse the filler in that trail.
As for the discomfort level... it's not the worst pain I've felt, especially since I was numbed. But considering the injection is beneath the skin and therefore beneath the layer of numbeness, it was certainly felt. While bearable, every drag of the needle had my brain groaning, this suuuuuucks. It's like getting any shot — there's the prick of the needle and some unsettling icky feeling due to something being manipulated underneath the skin, but in my opinion, it was definitely not worse than getting a vaccination. That said, I imagine that getting lip filler without the numbing agent would actually be really fucking miserable.
Dr. Doft mostly filled my upper lip and just did a tiny bit on my bottom lip (most people's bottom lips are plumper than their top lips to begin with) and the whole thing was over in less than 10 minutes. The good thing is that she can see exactly where the filler is going and how it's looking immediately so it's not like you can overdo it blindly. There is however, considerable swelling afterward just from the fact that you've injured your body and your body tends to get mad about that and swell at injury sites.
Initially, this swelling period (which started about an hour post-injection and lasted the rest of the day) made my lips look rather alarming. I almost feared that we had flown too close to the sun and now I was stuck with two fat slugs for a mouth, but rest assured the swelling does subside (Dr. Doft mentioned that in some people it could last up to three days, but mostly goes down in the first day for most people). I think the swollen-feeling calmed down fully after two days. My lips did feel like there was something in there, but Dr. Doft suggested massaging any uneven texture and the filler would "melt" into my lips after a bit of time — and they did, probably after a week, fully.
Fast forward to three weeks later, swelling and funny uneven texture feeling also fully subsided, and my lips did indeed look like my lips with just a bit of a lifted plumpness to them like I'd just eaten something spicy. I'd almost forget that I'd gotten lip injections until I put on a bold lip color and then they really made themselves apparent (real estate!). Also, no one who I didn't mention I was getting lip fillers to seems to have noticed the "enhancement."
A month later (and pinker hair):
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Almost three months later, they've certainly faded a tad so they're slightly less apparent now, but my lips are still fuller than before. Or maybe my metabolism is just a lot faster than I thought it was. Either way, I don't feel that they really change my relationship with my face that drastically, but I've been enjoying my modestly souped-up lips — they wear any lip color like a dream and look great naked as well. I mean, being honest here, I don't think I'd necessarily budget the $800 (that's a ballpark cost, per filler vial, FYI) or so clams for undetectably plump lips, but again — this job has perks.
More Filler Info:
- Everything to Know About the Cupid's Bow Lip Filler Technique
- Kylie Jenner's Plastic Surgeon Says She's the Reason Lip Injections Are So Popular
- Lip Injections Are Most Popular in This City
Here, let a doctor explain lip injections:
