Hi everyone! Welcome back to our channel, I'm Dr Amel from City Skin Clinic and today,
I thought I'd answer your most frequently asked questions about lip fillers. These are questions
that I see all the time, whether they're in clinic, whether it's on this channel and also
when people reach out to us on our Instagram and also the comments that are left here on YouTube,
so I hope this is going to be useful. And before we get started, if you're new to our channel,
don't forget to subscribe to this channel and ring the notification bell, if you are a returning
visitor, welcome back and thank you so much for your support! So, let's get stuck in! These are
the most frequently asked questions, so the five top questions that we get asked about lip fillers.
So the first one is, are lip fillers safe? So of course, this is a really important question
and safety is the most important thing, especially since these treatments are cosmetic, they're there
to make you look good, they're there to make you feel good, so safety is paramount. So, lip fillers
are safe with the following caveat: that they're performed by a medically trained and experienced
person, who is going to make sure that they don't do anything silly like inject it into the wrong
area, inject it into a blood vessel, cause mayhem, they're going to use an aseptic technique that's
going to reduce the risk of infection and they're also going to provide follow-up and make sure that
nothing goes wrong. The other thing is that it needs to be a reputable person, reputable clinic,
because lip fillers are only safe if they're the right kind of licensed brands of lip fillers.
There are in the UK hundreds, so over 200 brands of filler circulating around and I can tell you
that only a small handful of fillers are from reputable companies that have done
the experiments, that have the years of use in the safety record. So companies like Allergan who make
the Juvederm range of fillers, you've got Belotero from Merz, you've got Restylane, you've got
Teosyal. All of these are really leading brands and so you need to make sure that when you choose
a clinic, you ask about which fillers they're using. And it's not an exhaustive list, there
are new fillers that come all the time, but you just have to make sure it's something that's got a
good, established safety record, it's a reputable company. A good way to know if something is also
well established is to look if it's been FDA approved and also who else is using it as well,
because, you know filler is going to be in your body for some time. And it goes without saying,
if you're injecting filler into the face, it absolutely has to be hyaluronic acid filler,
because it can be dissolved immediately should the worst-case scenario happen and there's a problem.
So these are the main ways you can ensure that it's a safe procedure and of course, if you go
to a medical practitioner they'll also make sure that there's nothing in your medical history
that is going to mean that the filler is not the right treatment for you. And so that's the
first question, and I hope that kind of little summary is useful. The second question that we
get asked all the time is, does it hurt? So, no, it shouldn't hurt. But again,
as long as the following is observed. So anytime you inject anything anywhere, there's going to
be a needle going into the skin and that is going to potentially hurt. How do you reduce, minimize
discomfort or this pain? Number one, it's using an anaesthetic. So we for example offer everyone who
is having any kind of treatment that involves puncturing the skin, we use, as a minimum,
local anaesthetic. So it's a numbing cream that goes on the skin, the area that's going
to be treated and it numbs the area so that the treatment is not painful. The other thing that
happens is, most of the leading brands of filler have an aesthetic inside them. Don't listen to
anyone who says it's fine, we don't need the numbing cream, the filler has the anaesthetic, no!
You need both. The numbing cream stops the initial entry of the needle being sharp and painful
and then the anaesthetic in the filler itself numbs the lips from the inside, so it makes
injecting inside the lips less painful, so that's the combination of the two. We also offer,
for patients that just can't bear the needles, they can't bear the idea of being aware of what's
happening, you can also use a dental block. So you know when you go to the dentist and they numb your
mouth and your lips and you can't feel them and after a while you can't talk properly, sometimes
you might drool it a little bit, we've all been there. That is what we can offer. And again,
most people don't want it and most people don't need it, because it's another set of injections.
And most people, the numbing cream kind of goes away after half an hour 45 minutes,
your lips you can feel them again. With the dental block it can last for a couple of hours or more,
so really, for most people they don't want that inconvenience. But there are a few patients who
really just want to not feel the treatment at all and then I think a dental block is great. And so
I think if you're someone who knows that you really can't bear injections etc,
discuss with your practitioner the possible options. And one of the type of things that
we do for someone's unsure is, we try the numbing cream and if they think that actually, you know,
even with the numbing cream I don't like it, we switch to the injection, the dental block. So
find, especially if pain is going to be an issue, needles, you're worried about that sort of thing,
find a an experienced medical injector who is able to perform all the different types of anaesthesia.
So no, it shouldn't be painful and you can make the treatment comfortable. There are also other
things after the treatment that we do to help reduce the discomfort. So after lip filler
that's maybe a bit bruised or swollen, so we give patients a little ice pack to take and that helps
reduce that swelling and that reduces that discomfort. So it's just about having all
these options available and we think pain, you know, I think that's such an important part of
any treatment to consider it, because if you're in pain, you're just not going to enjoy the treatment
even after the treatment has finished, you know, all you'll associate with it is the pain. So
there's no need for anyone to be in pain for an elective cosmetic treatment. And so those are the
options that you have with lip fillers in terms of pain. I know there are also other things, some
doctors will use one of those vibrating machines that kind of helps cause a distraction;
I think those, you know, probably they also work, but it's just what's available and,
you know, what's effective. We know numbing cream, we know dental blocks, but even if those
vibrator things help, that's also fine. It's just about
knowing that you don't have to be in pain during this procedure and actually, if you're in pain,
you know, something that we would worry about and check because it's not a painful procedure if done
correctly. So, the other really frequently asked question is, how long do lip fillers last? So
lip fillers, how long they last will depend on a couple of things. Number one is the type of filler
used. So commonly we use fillers like Belotero lips, like Juvederm Ultra Smile, these will last
for about kind of six to eight months on average, depending on your lips, how mobile they are etc,
but on average they last about six to eight months. And then you have some slightly longer
lasting fillers like Juvederm Volbella and some places may use, I know in the US especially,
Volift or Voluma and these can last up to 12 to 18 months, so they last a bit longer. Of course also
how much filler you have as well and because you know, even as filler starts to dissolve,
if you've had several ml of filler, obviously done over a period of time, it may feel like
they will last a little bit longer because it's a staged procedure and there's more filler to go
and rather than if you'd had half a ml of filler for example, you'll notice that
go down quicker. And the other thing that it depends on how long they actually last is you,
so your metabolism is a big player. Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers will dissolve by themselves
and they get broken down in by your body and then they get absorbed and so people with a faster
metabolism may break down the fillers faster. We know, especially people who are quite sporty
and athletic, they have a likelihood of breaking fillers down faster and sometimes it's just your
genetics. So that you can't really control and you only really know when you have fillers done. But
that's just as a general guide, most commonly, regular fillers about six months maybe a little
bit more maybe a bit less; things like Volbella and longer lasting fillers,
up to 12 months maybe a bit more a bit less, just depends. And then, as a follow-up question
to that, we get asked how much filler can you have and how often can you have filler? So
this is an interesting question. So, how much filler can you have? To be honest,
the volume of filler, especially lip filler, is not so much important as is where it's placed
and how it's placed. So most people we see in clinic, only really need a mil of filler to
achieve a nice bit of natural-looking definition, enhancement and a little bit of, you know, shape.
Some people, if they have incredibly thin small lips and need more of a boost and need a lot of
reshaping and volume, will need more than that; they may need 2 ml of filler, they may need 3 mil
filler. Now that is not to say you would never put 2-3 ml filler at the same time, you're not
going to get a nice outcome for that. But in that situation, someone might come in and have for
example treatments with one mil of filler and that kind of establishes the baseline, it does a bit of
shaping and it helps kind of set the foundations. And then, a couple of months later, once all of
the swelling has gone down and the filler has settled, have another mil of filler, and that
helps build up the lips. Either that second mil of filler is enough, or if we're really doing a lot,
maybe they come in again in another month or two, once everything settles down, and they have
the last phase done. That gradual approach is really great if you're looking to build up very
very small lips that don't have much shape, don’t have much definition, to something that's really
beautiful and very structured and very, you know, naturally enhanced looking. That, you would need
to do it over time and to be honest, it's much better over time because someone might think they
want a certain outcome but actually, if they see what's been done with less, that might be enough.
You know, you can always add more filler, but it's really hard to take it away without having
to dissolve everything. So this gentle approach is better. This also makes it easier if you're
a bit shy about telling people, letting anyone know you've had, if you're going gradually up,
people don't notice it as much. So that's the approach, so actually, the amount I would say it's
more about not having too much in one sitting, that's not great. I would say one, 1.2 ml maximum
in one sitting and then later building up on that result in a month or two, probably two months, to
have everything come down. And then, how often can you get filler done? So I prefer for the filler
to start kind of dissolving before we add the next amount, to basically maintain the outcome.
I know some people really don't want their lips to start going down but the problem is, if you think,
okay this filler should go down in six months, so it's five months, I'm going to come and have the
treatment so that there isn't an interval between them kind of dissolving and then coming up again.
The problem with that is you don't know, the filler may take longer to dissolve and in that
scenario you've ended up with bigger lips than you had before and sometimes it may distort the
lips because as that old filler is still there and it's still kind of in a sufficient volume,
it just doesn't help you get the best outcome and you can end up with too much swelling, too much
puffiness, you can end up with having a really unnatural looking result, some migration. So
what I generally say is, when you start noticing a difference in the appearance of your lips,
and that's with filler anyway, that's generally the time that you can start considering coming
back and repeating the treatment, because most of the time filler will have started to dissolve
long before you've noticed a difference and by the time you have, that's usually a good time.
And the reason I keep this a little bit vague like this, is also because for some people that may be
much longer than the average person's filler going down. So if it's still looking great,
leave as is and then, once you've started to notice, and of course this is why it's also really
important to have a regular clinic and the same practitioner treating you, because they'll also
be able to honestly say and we do this very often, you know what, maybe wait another month or two,
I think we'd have a better time of it if you waited a bit longer. And so that's a really,
really important thing, you know, and bear in mind if you're someone who regularly gets fillers,
that distance between the treatment and then having to redo it may get longer over time for
some people. And the filler, you know, you want to avoid it kind of building up and for some people
it stimulates collagen and so the result may last for a bit longer than it had previously, so that's
another reason to kind of take a watch and wait approach. The last question that we get is,
how old do you have to be to get lip feller? So, we always held the line before there was a law in
place ever since we started the clinic and that actually no one under the age of 18 should be
having these treatments and to be honest, we generally prefer people who are 21 and over.
The reason for that is, I think under 18 you are legally a child and, you know, you're growing and
there's so much happening in your life at that time and you know, it's not abnormal for young
people to feel the pressure to have to look a certain way, even if maybe they don't necessarily
want that change. And so, for us, morally and ethically, we always said no to anyone under
18 and to be honest, we much preferred people that were 21 and over. Although, we did make
an exception for 18 to 21 if someone, you know, we knew was kind of mature or had been thinking
about this for a long time, this was a decision that was based on a lot of, you know, logic.
So sometimes you'd have people who maybe had scarring and they wanted to fix that appearance,
or you know, or they've started working and they've had more responsibilities, but this
is something that despite all of that, they've thought about. It's not to be patronizing, but
the big thing is, it's important to remember that your face and your body continues to grow
even into your 20s and your face and your bone structure will continue to develop
and so it's really important that when we perform these treatments,
we respect that there may be changes happening, so it's really important for us that our patients
at any age are having these treatments because they've made an informed decision, that this
is a positive experience. These treatments are supposed to make you look and feel good but they
can only do that if you're going in informed, if you're going in from a position of being empowered
and no one's coercing you into this, there's no pressure to go into it and really, it's part
of your general self-care basically. And so we really don't feel that when you're
younger than that, certainly under 18, you're really not going to be in a position to do this
and even that space between 18 and 21, we take it on a case-by-case basis because we always
want everyone to be acting from a place where they are, you know, they're going to benefit from this
treatment and it's not something that's going to do them any harm and especially if the face
is still developing. And you know, the law in the UK has caught up with us, so last year the
law was changed so that actually it's illegal to perform fillers for anyone under the age
of 18 and that couldn't have come sooner enough. Life's already incredibly tough if you're a kid,
without the pressure to go and have cosmetic treatments. So I would say if you're in the UK,
you cannot have lip fillers or any type of Botox or filler, if you're under the age of 18
and really, in our clinic if you're over 18 but you're under 21, then we're going to go
on a case by case basis because we generally think it's better if you are over 21. If you
have any questions about lip fillers or anything else aesthetics related, please leave a comment
below. If you like this video, please don't forget to give it a thumbs up. I'm going to
leave links to related videos and related pages from our website, our guides about lip fillers
and that will answer some more of your questions. And if you haven't done so already, please don't
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