My First Time Getting Lip Filler (or any injectable!)
I have always been a very indecisive person, whether it be what to have for breakfast or what to wear to work I always factor in time to ‘make up my mind’ every day. Sometimes what I think I want is just a phase (think florescent dip dyed hair or yellow fur lined crocs), but I had been conscious of my lips for as long as I can remember.
I love a bold red lip look on others, but I always stop myself when I get to that point in my own makeup routine. I’ve never had the confidence to draw attention to my mouth in case I look silly accenting something that isn’t there to begin with! However ultimately it wasn’t wallowing in some sort of lip-less self-loathing bubble that prompted me to finally book in for filler (I had survived 26 years just fine and had become a dab hand at lip lining within that time), it was finding a clinic that made me feel welcome and a practitioner who really got me!
Finding The Right Clinic
After sifting through an abundance of London aesthetic clinics I came across Look Lovely London. Their reviews were what stood out to me first – with over 350 5-star reviews it clearly wasn’t just employees leaving these! I’m a sucker for a before and after picture so straight away I tracked down the Look Lovely London Instagram and TikTok pages. What I really appreciated was that along with these photos they had several detailed videos of Doctor Davina and her team explaining their treatments in a very genuine and transparent way. As someone who has never had any kind of aesthetic treatment done I was nervous of making changes to my face, but I liked how their practitioners described the process as ‘creating’ and how collaborative their approach seemed. I thought maybe a consultation in person might help me find out once and for all if my hopes were silly or realistic.
Consultation
During my consultation with Hannah, I almost managed to forget that I was a total novice who knew very little about filler because as a Nurse she was able to answer all my questions and fully outline where the filler does and definitely does not go! She took a picture of my own lips and talked me through the specifics in lots of detail, marking the shape I wanted and where she thought she could inject to achieve that shape. With my concerns being my top lip and my hopes of gaining a more well-defined cupids bow; it was nice to speak to someone who was just as detail orientated about my mouth as I was!
The Treatment
To my surprise, lip filler is a lot less painful than I expected it to be! The process itself isn’t exactly comfortable, but it’s far from unbearable. Hannah started by applying a thick layer of numbing cream to my lips and left it to work for about 10 minutes which I think really helped. In certain areas I felt more of a sting than others, but it was only a small pinch for a split second as the needle went in. Wincing was minimal, my stress ball was still intact by the end and the treatment itself only took about 15 minutes. Hannah gave me an icepack to apply right away and an extra one to take home too. I was worried about bruising and asked for her opinion in terms of what I could buy myself from the pharmacy just as a precaution – it was a Thursday afternoon and I didn’t want to cancel my weekend plans! She suggested Arnica and I would also highly recommend this as it really helped.
The 48 hours after
That evening, my lips – especially the upper – were definitely swollen! One side actually appeared larger than the other, but I reminded myself that Hannah had said this was completely normal and that it did not mean one side had been filled more than the other. She was correct and my swelling had gone down significantly by the next morning. I did have a bruised upper lip but luckily it only appeared on the lip itself (no moustache bruise in sight) so it was really easy to cover up with a little bit of lip colour. We all tend to overanalyse our faces but honestly, I didn’t receive a single strange look in Sainsburys or on the tube!
The Results
Over the next two weeks my lips settled into a new yet still very natural looking shape! Now I finally have a cupids bow and rather than looking ‘full up’ my lips simply have a nourished plump look. My top lip no longer disappears when I smile, which has only encouraged me to smile even more! If you are thinking about lip filler (or injectables in general) I highly recommend booking a consultation. I was only confident enough to go through with my treatment because Look Lovely London made me feel understood and safe – they have a personal yet professional approach which made me trust their team every step of the way. I have no regrets except I almost want a little more!
Ready to book? Simply give us a call on 020 3900 2756, or book your lip filler online.
Not sure if this is the right treatment for you? If you would like a personalised treatment plan or advice, then please don’t hesitate to email us some clear pictures of the area you are looking to treat, and we will happily review for you. You can also read more about lip filler here
