The Injectables Convo: Details You Will Want To Know About Botox And More

Sooo, it’s time to talk about injectables! Don’t be scared because I’m not. Well, actually, I am scared of the needles, but I’m not afraid to talk about it and share my experiences! I’m all for trying anything once, and I have always been curious about injectables because they are not permanent. I had also always wanted a bit of a fuller lip on the top and really didn’t ever think it was possible, but when I started researching things like this, and med spas, it seemed so much more tangible than I ever would have thought. Especially since I’m not the best patient and anything medical scares me. Med spas are a happy medium!

This fall I partnered with Aya Med Spa in the Avalon for a few procedures, and have shared them with my instagram audience. I got an overwhelming response of just questions, stories, and responses, that I figured I would put them all in one place on my blog! I recently go lip injections and Botox. I went mild on each type because it’s better to go less at first… you never know how your body is going to act or final results! I saw Debi at Aya, who is a former pediatric surgery nurse. She has years of experience with plastic surgery in helping malformation patients, burn victims, etc. She was so gentle and talked it all over with me before we did anything.

I polled my IG stories family and rounded up the most frequently asked questions, and am answering them below!

How long does it last?

It is said to last a year, but with the results starting to decline and really start getting less and less at the 6 month mark and at a year it’s time to for sure do it again if you want to maintain results

What is the product injected?

Debi used Juvederm, which is essentially a hyaluronic acid, naturally found within the body. They use this so your body obviously doesn’t fight what is being injected into the body and seeing it as foreign. Results are temporary because of this because eventually, it is dissolved into your body. It can be used in the lips or to fill facial contours and deep lines and wrinkles. 

Where is it injected? 

Debi did 2 major injections at the corners of my upper lip with the smallest flexible needle, to avoid multiple injection sites. 

Did it hurt?

Yes, but I have a low tolerance for pain. She numbed me with a high dose and fast acting lidocaine as well as with ice right before injecting. The product has numbing agents in it as well, so as its working its way through, it is also helping with the numbing.

Does it hurt afterwards?

My lips were sensitive, and felt swollen but the worse pain was when injecting the product. But again, I seriously have an aversion to needles and can’t even look at them.

What is helpful to know before going in?

Have an idea and photos of what you want, but be realistic. Don’t select an inspiration photo of someone with lips a completely different shape than yours because you will not get similar results. I chose a few celebrities that had similar shapes like mine, and was very specific in what I wanted to alter.

How long do they swell?

Everyone is different and mine swelled for about 2.5 weeks total before truly gong back down to normal. But I have a friend that literally did not swell at all and she was fine the next day! Debi told me to not judge how it looks for the first 2 weeks anyway, because the product is settling in, and they will not look like they do at first. They will also go down, so if you get it an are worried about a lip injection being too big, they will go down. Some people miss how they are at the initial swell. You have to feel out your body too to see how it reacts and what you like!

What is the cost?

Cost varies with every procedure, Botox units right now range around $15-$17 a unit and they do run specials often, so check with them!

If you have any more questions, send me a message, I am happy to answer them!

Keep scrolling and you can see an immediate before and after the lip injections in these comparison photos. Then I show about a week later with my Solomon Brothers photoshoot, where you can really see an outline of my lips and how they are looking.

So the above photos were taken immediately after injections. The overall results are a process and there are kind of steps in achieving your final results. When you first get them, they are puffy and red but not too bad. (and everyone is different, this is me personally… I know people that did not bruise or swell at all) After a few days, the area on the outside of my lips were puffy which lasted a few days. It doesn’t hurt too much afterwards, they are just sensitive and kind of hard. My top lip seems to get affected the most and is very ‘ducky’, which lasted about a week. The tail end of the heeling about a week out are shown in the below photos. I thought with the lipstick, it really captured the shape and fullness, yet at that point, they were still a little ‘ducky’ on the top than they are currently.

I honestly would get more because I think the sides of my lips are proving to be difficult with the shape and what I was trying to do, and it seems I just need more to do that. But would I do it again? I am on the fence. I don’t like the time my ‘puffiness’ lasts and I truly hate needles that I don’t know if I can go through it all again. Any kind of altering to your body or face will look different and you never know how it will change something else, and I have actually noticed a slight alteration to my smile. I don’t mind the change with how the lips look, but not sure I want to continue to alter my look, because I wan’t unhappy with it in the first place, I just wanted a little volume, haha.

Botox:

I had 2 units injected in 5 spots above my eyebrows, and then 2 units in 3 areas on my crows feet. This is where I can see the most difference, and again, I think looks awesome, but takes some getting used to because I afterward realized, my crows feet were part of my smile that made up my personal look. You truly don’t realize what makes your ‘look’ or you look like you, until you mess with it! With the lines in between my eyes, I can see a significant difference, but to truly freeze the entire area and knock out that line completely, I will need more. So with my botox injections, I again feel like I personally need more to achieve the results I wanted, but I’m only 35 and don’t want to go crazy at the moment. It’s also a possibility that I will be pregnant again at some point, so now that I have dappled in this and know a little about what to expect, I might take a break.

There are other things you can do at Aya, either more conservative as they do facials and all kinds of skincare, or more progressive with laser treatments. Next month I will be covering skincare where I’m talking about the layers of the skin and their functions, main affects that can harm your skin, and I might be trying out a crazy facial. You’ll have to stay tuned to my stories because I will cover it there!

Thank you for reading!