How can filler have permanently changed my lips?

[FreezerXbunny]

About 4 years ago during a period of poor mental health I made the decision to have lip filler.

I went to a medical professional who was/is supposed to be reputable. As my natural lips were small and I wanted bigger they said they would use a 'technique' whereby they add some injections to the underside of the top lip to give it some lift. I thought that was the standard procedure and said sure.

Some time later I realised what a prat I looked and contacted the practitioner to say I didn't like the side projection and wanted that to be fixed. He said he couldn't change that as the 'shape' is set at the first appointment and I got what I asked for apparently! (FYI I said I wanted bigger lips, not duck lips)

He said they'll go down on their own or I could pay £££ to have them dissolved. I opted to wait and let them go down by themselves as his attitude was poor and I didn't feel comfortable going back to him. He assured me that it was temporary and would most certainly go back to normal in time.

Only they didn't.

The volume decreased over a couple of years but the shape you see in the picture stayed exactly the same.

I accepted they weren't going to resolve on their own so I went to see a different (very professional and experienced) practitioner to have them dissolved and be done with it.

Once the process had finished and all of the filler had completely gone I was surprised to see that I still had the same shape to my top lip. How on earth is that possible? I asked the practitioner and she was baffled, suggesting it must be my natural lip shape as there was no filler left in my lips at all. She had done a very thorough job.

The dissolving agent dissolved some of my own hyaluronic acid and left my lips wrinkled which is to be expected to a degree if you've had filler in them for a long time, but i'm only 30 and it aged me.

I had to to have a very small amount of filler put back in (0.5ml) to smooth out some of the wrinkles.

So after all of that.. I still have the shape the first injector created the first time I had filler.

How could this have happened? Is scar tissue a possibility? What the hell did he do? 🙁

I honestly think they look fine OP. Try not to worry about it.

It’s a terribly under regulated industry and that needs to change, so I would put in a complaint about the original guy to whatever his membership body is. They can decide if it’s justified or not, but it appears to have been poor quality work .

Can we see your original lips. Kinda hard to tell without what you were trying to get back to but they really aren’t bad. They look like you’ve had a bit of filler or like you have a naturally unusual lip shape (not a bad shape - just uncommon naturally)

They look much better now than they did.

If you are still having filler be wary.

The practitioner messed them up initially. They were bad! How much was injected?
They should not have been trying to charge you for a dissolve in those circumstances.

Though a dissolve is always something you should try to avoid except in an emergency.

They look much better now

They look much better now. A million miles away from the very inflated look.

They look absolutely fine in your current picture. I don't like the filler look either, but that is a pretty mouth shape now.

If you can find the energy to put in a formal complaint re the first guy, it can only help. It may be one of many complaints and help to build a picture.

I don't know anything about filler but natural lips come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and based on that one pic, I would not know that you had any filler.
Your lips look completely fine to me, healthy and in proportion to each other.

I think your lips look absolutely fine now. You look great! They honestly do and no need to worry. X

I suspect you actually aren't sorry at all.

I think the OP's lips now look fine. I wouldn't even notice them if I was to meet her somewhere.

And before you start in about it being all I know, I don't even own any make-up and haven't done for a decade!

Is what he originally gave you called a lip flip? He should have shown you pictures first. Anyways you look fine since the dissolving, and I imagine your body will break it down completely at some point.

I work in the industry.

• a lot do filler doesn't dissolve 'within 18 months' as many claim, a very good study shows it's actually up to 18 years. People really need to know this

• very few specialists can use MRI to see where the filler moved to - and dissolved those areas

• top lip should never be as full as the bottom lip - that's where I see a lot of fake looking lips

• I find it insane that anyone in the UK can become a cosmetic nurse. This really needs to change. In Australia where I am you have to have, at the very least, a Bachelor degree in Nursing.

Your recent lips don't look as bad OP. Sorry you've had that experience

I wouldn’t guess you had anything done from your first photo. Can you post your original lips?

I think you feel violated and misled. If you think the work is temporary you are going to be far more relaxed than the idea it might be permanent or take 18 years to evaporate.. I don’t blame you at all for being angry.

On that basis alone you were told they were temporary but they are not, that should be the basis of your complaint. There are laws to protect you around mis selling and poor information.

Do you have a side profile of your natural lips?
My top lip naturally has a bit of an uptick and I'm wondering if the whole process has you hyper focused on an area you weren't before and you'd just never noticed your lips were like this.

They look lovely by the way!!

A nice supportive middle of the night post

I am not usually fan of the lip filler look but I think in the picture you posted your lips look cute and pretty.

They look much better now, they look lovely.

Its migrated.
its a massive improvement though. If I were you id save my money and learn to love or ignore them. They are fine.

The correction looks much much improved on the first injections; what on earth was that doctor thinking?!?

Hardly anyone would look at you from the angle you originally posted, and even then your lips look fine. As PP said I wouldn't go for any further fixing, try and learn to love them as they are now.

Some people look like they have 2 pringles as lips side on, so it could be worse than slight duck. Aren't these people subject to a governing body or regulated, maybe approach them if they are?

Have you seen what passes for fashion these days? Duck lips were what women were told they wanted. Now it's the Russian hard borders which are just as bad and just as fake.

This is an advertising photo by a woman in my area. These "hard borders" are just as aggressive and poorly done as the original duck lips I'm afraid.

I never usually comment on these threads...

I have had lip filler 3 times over maybe ten years? I've let mine completely fade away and had nothing done for years and recently had 0.8 in.

I say all that to caveat that I am familiar with lip filler, and I am so shocked at that picture OP! How much did they inject? Surely that's not just 1ml?? Is this ONE session only? I've never seen anyone have that happen after only 1 appointment. That's a really bad first outcome. What a real shame I feel for you.

I think you have def had migration (not in any way qualified) and that will take a long time to go away. But I honestly think your lips are so much better and I wouldn't look at it twice even side on. I'd know you'd had filler but I wouldn't think it was bad.

Thank you for the replies.

I don't have any side profile photos of my natural lips before fillers unfortunately. Only pictures from the front. I'm 99% sure they didn't turn upwards though.

I had 1.5ml put in by the first injector hence the size they were. It was on the reccomendation of the clinic and I thought it was a perfectly normal amount to have, only realising later that it was far too much. I didn't do anywhere near enough research and trusted that he knew what he was doing, being a medical professional.

It was a weird time in my life as I was suffering from PND and PTSD from a traumatic birth. I don't know why I got so preoccupied with changing how I look, what I actually needed (and later got) was therapy.

They do still look beaky but much better than they were. Hopefully it will dissolve over time and I'm sure no one notices in real life. We are always our own worst critics.