Lip Treatment Aftercare

Lip treatment aftercare is an essential part of achieving a smooth, balanced, and natural-looking result following cosmetic lip treatments. It is completely normal to experience swelling, bruising, tenderness, and temporary asymmetry during the healing period. Understanding what to expect, what to avoid, and how to care for your lips after treatment helps support proper healing, reduce downtime, and ensure the best possible outcome.

Congratulations on choosing to improve the appearance of your lips. Here we will discuss what to do over the healing period after lip treatments.

Please see our aftercare for skin volume and contour enhancement instructions.

After Lip Treatment

After lip treatments you may notice some of the following signs and symptoms

• Swelling
• Bruising
• Red needle puncture marks
• Asymmetry
• Tenderness
• Pain
• Itching in the area
• A much larger upper lip compared with the lower lip
• Swelling in the philtrum, the skin coloured area above the upper pink lip
• Significant projection increase of the upper lip

The above signs and symptoms can typically occur after lip treatment. Also, If you have had numbing cream you may feel some numbness on the skin surface. If you have had local anaesthetic, you may also feel numbness and may not be able to move your mouth as normal until the block has worn off.

The issues above should wear off over the next days to weeks. The time that is takes to settle lips after treatment is approximately 4 weeks. Although a lot of the swelling will improve within 2-3 days.

Things to avoid:

• No intense heat exposuer (eg solarium or sauna)
• Avoid pressure on the treated areas for the first few nights (i.e. sleep on back of possible)
• Avoid strenuous exercise and alcohol for 24 hours.
• Do not use active cosmeceuticals eg AHA, Retinols/Vitamin C therapy or oil based make-up for at least 24 hours
• Avoid facials, facial waxing, Glycolic or AHA peels, IPL or energy based treatments and microdermabrasion for two weeks after treatment. Please check with your physician before undergoing other facial treatments within this time.
• Avoid makeup if possible until the day after your procedure if possible. There are makeup brands which are created for post-procedure application.

Pain Relief

Don’t use aspirin. Use Panadol or as advised by your practitioner. There is often pain for several days after your lip treatment.

Swelling Relief

Please use a cold pack regularly on the day of your treatment (no ice directly on skin). Arnica is also used by many patients

Bruising relief

Patients on some medications, including aspirin, fish oil or other drugs associated with increased bruising, may find their risk increased. For the treatment of bruising, there are several over the counter topical treatments available, including Hirudoid.

Some patients take Bromelaine as a preventative for bruising.

Massage

Some patient may be advised by their practitioner to gently massage after their procedure and some may not. Please discuss this with your practitioner. If patients notice lumpiness, then massage is often indicated.

Cold Sores

Oral herpes is a common complication of lip treatments. Some patients choose to go on Lysine or an antiviral preventatively. If you do notice that you’re getting a cold sore after your lip treatment. Please call your practitioner for an assessment. Antiviral oral drugs or topicals may be required and also a special dressing for oral herpes sores can be helpful.

Are you happy with the results?

This question should not be addressed until 4 weeks after the treatment, as the results will take that long to settle, particularly in the case of symmetry issues, which it is inadvisable to address too early as doing this can create greater symmetry issues. After your first treatment we advise a review at 4 weeks. If at that time you would like further treatment, it can be performed (there are no “free top ups” with treatment, all product is paid for by the patient).

Symmetry Issues

We are all asymmetrical to start with and your practitioner will do their best to improve on your natural symmetry. Symmetry after a treatment should not be assessed for at least 4 weeks.

Retreatment

Retreatment should occur at 1-6 months after your treatment

Once you have reached your aesthetic goal, treatment may need to be performed only once per year or less.

Complications

Common complications have been discussed already. The more serious complications include vascular occlusions. What happens with a vascular occlusion is that the treatment enters a vessel and blocks off the blood supply to the skin. The area may go white or blue or dark and may have a fishnet appearance. Another feature of a vascular occlusion is that it may not be at the treatment site, it may be at a more distant location.

Early infections may occur after a few days after the treatment. The patient might notice increasing redness, tenderness, swelling, pain, heat, nodules or pus. Patients call the clinic immediately for an appointment if this occurs.

Please call the clinic immediately if you are worried about any of these issues above.

If you are concerned post-treatment, please call your clinic. If you are unable to contact your clinic and you are concerned that it is an emergency, please visit the emergency department of your local hospital.