As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become meticulous about maintaining my appearance. I’ve had bags, and circles under my eyes since I was a teen. The bags reduced significantly once I changed my diet. Cutting out dairy, improved my skin, and cutting down on salt improved the bags under my eyes. However, I once the bags were gone, I realized the darkness wasn’t just circles, it was a shadow caused by hallow under eyes. No matter how much concealer I applied, it wouldn’t go away.
There is a method of applying highlighter at the top of the cheekbone, to cause a reflection, and mask the hallowness, but I wasn’t going to do a full face of makeup every day, and the plumping serums weren’t long term. I looked for another solution, and decided to get some dermal filler. I made my appointment, and got a half syringe of Radiesse split between both eyes. Since you had to buy the full syringe, and whatever you don’t use goes to waste, the doctor offered to inject other parts of my face. He examined my face to see if I needed filler in any other places, but I didn’t. He offered to put the rest in my lips, and I declined. I was good with just my eyes. They weren’t perfect, but it was an improvement. You don’t want to over fill them, because you risk creating a bubble. It lasted about two years, until I felt I needed a refill. But by that time, we were in the midst of Covid-19 (aka “The Ronies”), a lockdown, and the doctors’ offices were closed. When they reopened, most other places were still closed, and I didn’t think it made sense so get it done, because, well…THERE WAS NOWHERE TO GO!!!
Eventually, I gave in, since I was going to be doing photoshoots regularly for my online boutique. Plus, I believe in doing whatever you need to do to feel good when you look in the mirror, as long as the work looks good. This time, I was looking forward to getting the extra filler in my lips. I didn’t think I needed it, but my lips were slightly less full than in my younger years, and I was interested in trying it out. Since I was already paying for the full syringe anyway, I didn’t want it to go to waste this time. I wasn’t going to waste good filler in the midst of a pandemic. The doctor went with Juvederm this time, since I expressed interest in getting my lips filled. Again, I only needed a half syringe split between both eyes. Then, the doctor prepared me for the lips. He warned that the lips are very sensitive, and the pain would be much more intense. I could handle the pain from the eye injections. It was a tiny pinch, and slight discomfort and pressure from the filler being injected.
I was NOT prepared for the pain from the lips. He offered me some Nitrous Oxide. I initially declined, then thought about it, and requested it. After a few deep inhales of N2O, and holding a squeeze ball, the injecting began.
JESUS CHRIST, it was horrific!!!!
It was just as bad as the Novocaine needle from the dentist. In fact, since the lips are soft, you can REALLY feel the needle in your lips. He told me not to get freaked out if they swell overnight. That’s normal. I didn’t have any swelling immediately following the injections, but the injection points were sore. I was pleased that they weren’t too big, and I just got a little bit on the top to give me a philtrum, and some on each side of the bottom lip to fill them out, and make them symmetrical.
A few hours later, the swelling began, and I was regretting having it done. It didn’t help that I had a bit too much wine the night before, and the drinking makes the swelling even worse. I put an ice cube in a ziploc bag, and iced my lips until the ice melted. I did this twice that day, and took Benedryl before bed. I woke up hoping the swelling would be gone. NOPE! The following day was full of ice every 3 hours, one Benedryl which I hated, because it made me drowsy during the day, and no wine. I applied Aquaphor regularly. I was supposed to start shooting the clothes for my boutique, but obviously couldn’t with a swollen face. I texted my assistant, and told him we would have to postpone until the next day. I woke up the next day, and the swelling wasn’t nearly as bad, but the injection sites were still swollen. I bought some Claritin-D from Target, and took one with the hopes it would go down before that afternoon when we started shooting. That, plus the ice did a decent job, and 48 hours after the injections, I was still regretting it, but I felt I looked somewhat normal again.
This was on Monday, and I am doing this blog post on Friday. The injection marks are still slightly swollen, but I feel normal again, and my lips aren’t huge, which is great. Overall, I’m still on the fence about doing it again, so I’ll have to wait a few weeks to see if this will become a regular part of my beauty maintenance.
Before and After Juvederm