For quite some time, I was mulling about the possibility of getting fillers. And, I finally went through with it. This has been a long time coming. The appoint was made last December while I was having my annual skin check. Because it was one of those things I kept going back and forth on, the appointment was purposely scheduled four months in advance just in case I changed my mind.
I filmed a YouTube Video about my experience as well. It should be up and running at some point today!
Well, the appointment had to be pushed back a few weeks due to receiving my second Covid vaccine. I called my dermatologist’s office to see if it was, in fact, safe to get the fillers after the vaccine and it was suggested I wait at least three weeks. And so, this past Tuesday, May 4th, I headed off to receive fillers for the first time. Here’s my story and how it went!
Monday, May 3rd. Night.
Because I have this “thing” about early morning appointments, as well as flights, the alarm is always set but I don’t get much sleep. My appointment to receive, at the time I thought would be Juvéderm, was at 7:15 AM. Five AM was my wake-up time. I figured by the time I got ready and headed off to the doctor, my timeline would be managed. Besides, I move a bit slower without my coffee.
And although I always sleep like a baby, I did toss and turn because I wasexcited!
Tuesday, May 4th.
As predicted, the alarm went off at five AM but I was pretty-much awake by then. And a bit tired. Nonetheless, I got ready, eye makeup only, my favorite head of hair, Jamison, atop my head. I figured a classic bob would suffice. Besides, if I had to remove my hair it was no big deal because Dr. Covello knows that I wear wigs.
Excited and not nervous in the least, I was sad because I wanted coffee so badly but didn’t want to waste a moment of time waiting on a Starbucks line. So off I drove into the early morning rain to the dermatologist’s office. Having an early appointment worked very well for me because I was able to head to work immediately afterwards.
I arrived bright and early. Well, maybe not too bright. It was raining!
I arrived at the office just as it opened and checked in. Less than five minutes later I was escorted into a regular examination room and Dr. Covello came in to explain what would be done. Originally Juvéderm was going to be used, but the doctor decided on Restylane instead. Putting my complete trust in my dermatologist, I smiled and said “Filler Up”!
Prior to receiving the injections, Dr. Covello explained the process to me. She also said that, due to the downturn in my mouth, there was a chance I would want to come back for a bit more. In fact, she was willing to do it then. However, since this was my first experience with fillers, I opted for the one vial at the moment and the possibility of another in the near future. I wanted to see how the initial injections and result went.
Comfortable in my seat, a numbing spray was applied to my upper mouth and the corners. It took less than a minute for the spray to work and the needle was injected at various points above my mouth. When I tell you there was no pain, I’m being one hundred percent serious! There was absolutely no pain whatsoever. All that was felt was a slight pinch as the needle went into my skin. And when I say slight, I mean it. It was a mega-second pinch.
Now, I had some deep lines. It’s a combination of serious sun damage, getting the damage zapped and genetics from my mother’s side. It’s weird. My mother and her sisters had deep lines above their mouth as they aged. And only one of her sisters smoked. So, there were definitely some genetics working. The one vial wasn’t enough to handle my chin scars and that’s fine. It was mostly the lines above the mouth that I was concerned about.
Before and after. You can see the deep lines. After the injections, I had a nice surprise. I sat with a cold compress of frozen peas. Trust me, I was so coffee-deficient at the time I was ready to eat the frozen veg! And there I am in the car following the injections!
In fact, Dr. Covello injected me once below my bottom lip in the middle to even things out. She massaged the areas that were injected and that was it!Done and a cold compress placed on my mouth for about five minutes, checked out, and on my way to work.
Here I am immediately after the injections. Hmmmm. I wonder if I should have opted for some filler to smooth out the wrinkles in my decollete
There was swelling. And it showed up more as the day went on and into the evening. It did NOT affect how I worked. There was no queasiness or feeling ill. In fact, there was no issue with my working a full day then driving home.
Back from the office and in my filthy nightie..
Okie dokie! That’s better. I threw on some hair. This is how the first night looked. Swelling but it doesn’t look too bad!
Bruising was expected but never happened that first day. Swelling continued as got ready for bed. And there was soreness. The soreness began around early afternoon and remained sore until I went to bed. There was some slight itching but nothing to drive me crazy and wanting to scratch. In addition, you’re not supposed to take anti-inflammatory OTC drugs so I went to bed a bit sore but still managed to get in a full eight hours of shut eye.
Wednesday, May 5th. I woke up with all soreness gone. My lips were swollen but all in all, didn’t look bad. I could feel slight bumps in the inside of my mouth where the injections were and only felt it because my tongue hit those areas. It wasn’t bad though. I did apply makeup but very lightly. Inspecting my mouth, I did see that the lines had dissipated but the really deep lines were just less deep. Still, I was happy.
Wednesday. Day Two. Call me crazy but I really liked the way the swelled lips looked! No bruising. I did have a red mark that looked like a scratch which I covered with concealer but other than that. All was good!
In addition, there was no bruising. At this juncture, I figured if I hadn’t bruised by now, I most likely wouldn’t. Now. On this second day, the soreness was gone but my mouth didn’t feel 100 percent yet. What did it feel like? Okay. If you are a naughty sun worshipper (as yours truly has been), you’ll experience that kind of tightness after a day in the sun—usually the first or second time you’re at the beach for the season. You know the feeling—it’s like a sunburn without the burn. The sensation is a tautness. It’s not painful at all, nor is it uncomfortable. It just is what it is.
A bit of pink lipstick–I may have had to use more but I was thrilled!
Thursday, May 6th. Hey! The swelling went down quite a bit. But I have to admit, I kind of like my lips nice and plump and juicy. They remind me a bit of how my mouth looked when I was younger. But—I’m not trying to recapture my youth. I’m simply trying to improve upon the ageing process if you will. I do have a little “mark” above my lip that I’ve covered with concealer. If that’s the closest thing I’ve gotten to bruising, I’ll take it!
Thursday. You can see the red mark-I didn’t bother to cover it. I got lazy.And the swelling is still going down. I dunno. I think I like my fat lips!
More Thursday lips!
Friday, May 7th. I’m almost back to normal. Well, as normal as can be for now. Swelling has gone down. I’m very happy with my appearance above my mouth. I don’t feel any bumpiness at all in the inside of my mouth. I can wash my face with my regular gusto. And my “Resting Bitch Face” doesn’t look so bitchy anymore.
The Friday Face! And the swelling has gone down considerably! Where are my super-sized lips?
Almost back to normal. Zoom in. You can see the faint lines that were where the deep lines were!
Saturday, May 8th. It’s been five days. My mouth is where it should be. No more swelling. I have pretty big lips to begin with but they have more definition now. One of the issues I had before getting the filler was my uneven lips caused the lip gloss/lipstick on my upper right side of the top lip to smear. Its weird because my bottom lip was bigger on that side. Now it’s all evened out. There is the faintest bit of redness where the lines have dissipated but that’ll disappear in a short time. You can only notice if I zoom in on a photo. Another plus. I like the way my mouth looks when I smile with my mouth opened.
Saturday. It didn’t take long at all to get back to normal!
Holy Cow! I’m even smiling with my mouth opened! Yes. I am a happy little camper!
EXTRA! Sunday, May 9th, Mother’s Day!
I’m finishing this post up today! Here I am wearing red lipstick. The shade Courage by Bare Minerals–it was a sample that I had hanging around the house!
Yup! Almost a week later and it’s back to normal but in a slightly better way. Not overdone at all! And I’m wearing red lipstick!
Overall, I’m extremely glad that I did this. And I’m currently saving up because I do want a bit more tweaking where my “accident” lines are on the side of my mouth near the chin and I do want a bit of a lift at the corners. It won’t take long to save because my husband, for my birthday, told me to keep the other money I saved for my first fillers and he treated me. Quite honestly, I’m really glad I did this. But I also have to thank Dr. Covelo for her expertise. She didn’t overdo anything. She was very careful and made sure that everything, in the end, looked natural and did a stellar job!
I want to have some deep lines on the chin filled in as well as a little uplift at the corners of my mouth!
Honest, Final Thoughts and What to Expect: Let’s talk about this. In the first place, this isn’t cheap. The cost of the Restylane with the application from the dermatologist was $650—this is the cost for one vial. It’ll last about a year or slightly under. So, if you’re considering a bit of filler, it gives you time to save up in between one injection season to the next!
Fillers are not a miracle worker. How do I put this? If you go on the Restylane site, you’ll see younger women sporting their results. That bugs the living $hit out of me. It’s basically the same thing on the Juvéderm website. And I think that’s wrong in so many ways. It doesn’t give an honest picture of how a woman in her sixties or fifties or even seventies will look after a vial or two.
You are not going to look 20 or 30 years younger. Please get any notion of that out of your head. What you will achieve is a better and tweaked version of yourself. I look my age but better. That’s all. And that isn’t too bad.
This is me with Oona 31 years ago. My bio hair was full (although the bangs leave much to be desired) but look at my face. I have no wrinkles at all. My mouth was very nice at the time, full and no lines. Dang–my chin. I had a sculpted chin. That’s it. I’m playing the lottery. I need a chin lift. Seriously folks, the fillers are not going to make me look like this–but they help to make me look a bit better.
If you follow any sort of social media, remember that there is a huge difference between a filler and a filter. Many people use face apps that literally distort their present face into one that looks unrealistic and ridiculously youthful. There’s something very disturbing to me when I see a woman in her fifties or older showcasing a product or item on the internet and she’s filtered her face to appear as though she is naturally without wrinkles or lines or fault. Imperfections are fine. And fillers won’t rid you of every flaw. You’ll still have the sun spots or age spots or whatever you want to call them.
This is what a face app does to your face. It makes you look like a freak. Albeit perhaps a pretty freak–it still makes you look like a freak. Many women over the age of 50 use these freaky face apps thinking they are fooling people. They aren’t. There is a huge difference between a face app and fillers.
If you are addicted to fillers then perhaps you can achieve that youthful look but be careful not to overdo it. In fact, I’m happy that I have to save up for fillers because I can see how one thing can lead to another. First—oh my lips. Then—oh my marionette lines. Then—oh my forehead. Then—oh my eyes. I’ll stick to what I’m really self-conscious about and that’s my mouth and chin.
Go to a professional. While I have heard of Botox parties, I’m too chicken to attend one. (Not that I would actually be invited to one). This is serious stuff. Find a professional such as your dermatologist or a nurse-practitioner or very experienced skin-care expert. For me, I’ll stick to my dermatologist.
Six days of the filler experience. From the first through today. I’m so happy I went to my dermatologist!
Expect swelling. Expect redness and for some slight bruising. Expect a pinching sensation that’ll last but a second or two. Also expect soreness for about a day. Depending on your sensitivity, it could be longer. But don’t expect to be back to normal the next day.
You might freak out a bit after a few hours or the next day when you see the swelling or other side effects. Have no fear. This is normal and will take a while for swelling to go down. And if you are planning on getting fillers before a big event, do it at least two or three weeks prior!
After the fillers with no makeup. You can see that my skin doesn’t look thirty years younger but the deep lines have dissipated.
Here’s the other side. You can see where I need to be tweaked a bit.
My experience was very positive. Going to a dermatologist helped. Being realistic in my expectations also helped. And remember, if you decide to go for fillers, do it for you. Don’t do it because someone in your life is telling you to do so and you’re not there yet. Wait till you are ready. Do it for yourself.
My experience was ridiculously positive. And if anything, hopefully this post will help you to see how my filler experience went if you are thinking of getting them!
Have you had fillers? Are you thinking about it?