Filler Pre and Post-Care Instructions

Pre-Treatment Instructions

  • Do NOT consume alcoholic beverages at least 24 hours prior to treatment (alcohol may thin the blood and increase the risk of bruising)

  • Avoid anti-inflammatory/blood thinning medications, if possible for a period of 2 weeks before treatment. Medications and supplements such as aspirin, vitamin E, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, St. John’s Wort, Omega 3/Fish Oil supplements, Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil, Aleve and other NSAIDS have a blood thinning effect and can increase the risk of bruising and swelling after injections.

  • Schedule your Dermal Filler and Botox appointment at least 2 weeks prior to a special event which you may be attending, such as a wedding or a vacation. Results from the Dermal Filler and Botox injections will take approximately 4 to 7 days to appear. Also bruising and swelling may be apparent in that time period. Sculptra does take longer to see results so plan accordingly with your provider.

  • Discontinue Retin-A 2 days before and 2 days after treatment.

  • Reschedule your appointment at least 24 hours in advance if you have a rash, cold sore or blemish on the area.

  • If you have a history of cold sores please let your provider know, they may put you on an anti-viral medication prior to treatment.

  • Be sure to have a good breakfast, including food and drink before your procedure. This will decrease the chances of lightheadedness during your treatment.

  • You are not a candidate if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

    Post-Treatment Instructions

    It is important to follow instructions about dermal filler aftercare.

    Immediately after your dermal filler treatment you may notice a few of the following things:

    • Swelling

    • Bruising

    • Red needle puncture marks

    • Asymmetry

    • Tenderness

    • Itching in the area

    These issues above are common with dermal filler aftercare, and should resolve over the next few days to weeks. Your final result will be seen at about 4 weeks after treatment, and you can be reviewed to see if further treatments are required to achieve the planned results.

    Immediately after the injections you face will be cleaned. You should not touch your face for 6 hours. After this you may clean your skin with water and a gentle cleanser.

    If you would like to apply makeup after 6 hours, there are brands like Oxygenetix, which have been created for this purpose,t is ideal to avoiding makeup on the day of the procedure.

    Things to avoid:

    • Do not expose the area to intense heat (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 for 24 hours.

    • Avoid alcohol for 24 hours

    • Do not use AHA, Retinols/Vitamin C therapy or oil based make-up for 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.

    Pain relief
    Pain is usually mild and sometimes moderate after filler injections. There are areas which can be quite painful like the chin and the lips. Pain relief such as paracetamol may be taken as directed by your provider.

    Swelling relief
    Apply a cool compress for 10 minutes every hour on the day of treatment (do not apply ice directly on your skin). A cool compress applied regularly for the first 24 hours after injections may help to reduce the amount of swelling. Some patients use arnica before and after treatment to reduce the swelling.

    Bruising relief
    Patients on aspirin, fish oil or other drugs associated with increased bruising may find their risk increased. For the treatment of bruising, there are over the counter treatments available, including Bruderm and Hirudoid.

    Vascular laser is also an option for the treatment of bruising.

    Some patients take Bromelaine as a preventative for bruising.

    Massage
    Massage of the filler areas may or may not be advised by your doctor. Gentle massage may be used once the pain and tenderness has resolved and if advised by your doctor.

    Cold sores and dermal filler
    There may be a small chance that a treatment may induce an outbreak of facial cold sores in patients with a previous history.

    Some patients take preventative Lysine or antivirals to help reduce the risk of cold sores. If you get cold sores after a treatment, you should see your doctor.

    Aesthetic review
    Reviewing the results of dermal filler should be performed at 4 weeks (except for cosmetic emergencies like infection or vascular occlusions, which should be reviewed immediately)

    Reviewing prior to 4 weeks is not useful as there is often a small amount of swelling still present, so the results cannot be judged until this has resolved. This is particularly important with regards to symmetry. Symmetry should not be reviewed prior to 4 weeks.

    Retreatment
    Retreatment should occur at any time between 1-6 months after a first treatment. Once peak filler has been achieved, and the patient is on maintenance injections, they might have filler once per year.

    Complications
    Cosmetic complications include vascular occlusion and infection. Vascular occlusions mostly occur in the treatment chair, and doctors are able to see that they are happening and treat them. An area may go white, or there may be an area of skin that looks like fishnet stockings, or there may be skin discoloration in a distant area where the skin wasn’t injected. After an occlusion, there may be an area that has small blisters on the skin. If the doctor is concerned then they will need to check the capillary return of the skin. If patients see any of these things on their skin, they should call their prescribing doctor immediately.

    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 should see their doctor if this occurs.

    Lip filler After care
    Lip Dermal Filler aftercare needs a special mention: When the lips are injected, the upper lip tends to swell much more than the lower lip and often patients think that their upper lip has had too much filler injected into it. Once the swelling calms down, they realize this is not the case. The typical ratio that most people choose for their lip proportion is 40% in the upper and 60% in the lower, so most likely the upper lip is going to be smaller than the lower lip once the swelling resolves (unless the patient has asked for a less natural-appearing lip).

    Temple fillers
    Headaches are common after temple biostimulator injections. Panadol should be used to treat them if required. Often the veins in the temple protrude and become more obvious temporarily after fillers.

    Jawline fillers
    Often you may feel dermal filler lumpiness along the jawline. This will resolve over the next few weeks as the filler integrates with the skin

    Forehead fillers
    Lumpiness is a common issue after forehead fillers. Several treatments may be required to achieve the best results on the forehead

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

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate
to give the office a call at (720) 313-1056.

If you need to cancel or reschedule any future appointments, please call our office 48 hours in advance to avoid $150 late cancellation fee. You can also manage your appointment in our patient portal.