Lip Fillers

A typical lip augmentation appointment is scheduled ahead of time. First you will meet with the SixSurgery team for an assessment. You should not have any fillers in your lips at this time (if you have had a recent lip injection elsewhere and want us to correct your lips, we recommend either melting the existing filler away (for an added cost) or letting it absorb first.

Avoid taking any blood thinners that may increase your risk of bruising and swelling for two weeks before your treatment (Aspirin, Advil, Ibuprofen, Fish Oils, Omega 3s, high fish diet). If you have had any cold sores in the past, please let us know ahead of time. We’ll prescribe medication for you to take prior to your treatment to lower the risk of the injections triggering the cold sore virus from coming back (the medication lowers the risk but doesn’t make it 0%).

You will come in to meet with the SixSurgery team. If you need a pretreatment, this can be arranged. If you are looking to have a numbing cream used, we will apply it and allow it to sit on your lips for about 15-20 minutes before doing the treatment. If you wish to have a nerve block (completely freeze your lips), an appointment will have to be scheduled with the SixSurgery team, who will perform the block by injecting a local anesthetic that will completely freeze your lips for an hour.

Typically, there is no need for pre-treatment with a numbing cream or nerve blocks. Lip augmentation takes approximately 10 minutes. You will first be given a small ice pack to apply to your lips to cool them down. This acts to numb the nerves so that the treatment is as comfortable as possible. The cold also causes blood vessels to constrict, therefore significantly decreasing swelling and bruising after the lip injections.

The treatment itself is relatively straightforward. During the procedure, a trained medical professional carefully injects hyaluronic acid–based dermal filler into the lips to enhance shape, volume, and definition. Depending on your goals and anatomy, your provider may use either a fine needle or a blunt-tip cannula to deliver the filler with precision and comfort.

The choice of technique and type of filler used will be determined during your consultation, based on your existing lip structure and the specific enhancement you wish to achieve. Appointments are typically brief, with the injection portion of the treatment often taking about 5–10 minutes.

We recommend you stay in the clinic and apply an ice pack for a further 10 minutes. This is once again to help minimize bruising and swelling. However, you should expect to have some slight swelling, which usually resolves during the first 2 days after treatment. Most people can return to work immediately and full written aftercare instructions will be given to you.

For 95% of patients, this swelling is minimal and only you and people who know you well will know your lips are swollen. 5% of patients can get an excessive reaction leading to significant swelling. This is a temporary condition and WILL settle, although first time this happens to a patient they are often very concerned. Using ice packs and Benadryl helps to speed up the resolution of the swelling. You don’t need to worry, because ALL patients recover from this unusual swelling.