Lip Filler Aftercare: What to Do and Avoid After Treatment

Lip filler takes minutes, but how you look after your lips for the first few days makes a real difference to comfort, bruising and how smooth the result looks once the swelling goes down. Most of the advice is simple: keep things cool and clean, avoid pressure and heat for a short while, and know which signs are normal and which need a call.

Your injector's own instructions always come first. This is the general picture.

The first 24 hours

Use a cold compress wrapped in a clean cloth, a few minutes at a time, to ease swelling. Never put ice directly on the skin.
Keep the lips clean and avoid touching, pressing or picking at them.
Skip lipstick and lip products over the injection points for the first day unless your injector says otherwise. A plain, clean lip balm is usually fine.
Avoid pressure on the lips, including kissing and drinking through a straw, while they are tender.
Sleep on your back with your head slightly raised for the first night to help swelling settle.
Stay hydrated and avoid very hot food and drink while the lips are numb or tender.

The first few days

Avoid strenuous exercise and heat, such as saunas, hot tubs and long hot showers, for the first day or two, because they increase blood flow and can make swelling worse. Avoid alcohol for the first few days too; it tends to increase swelling and bruising. If you take any medicines or supplements that thin the blood, ask your injector before treatment rather than stopping anything prescribed on your own.

What is normal

Swelling is expected and is usually most noticeable the morning after treatment. Lips often look larger and slightly uneven at first, and one side can swell more than the other. Bruising at the injection points is common and fades over several days, and makeup can cover it once the skin has settled. Tenderness is normal for a few days. The lip augmentation guide sets out a day-by-day recovery timeline.

Lumps and unevenness

Small firm areas are common in the first days as the filler settles and swelling goes down. Most soften on their own. Do not massage the lips unless your injector has shown you how and asked you to, because pressing in the wrong way can move filler where it is not wanted. Unevenness or lumps that are still there after a week or two are worth showing your injector. Filler migration explains how filler that has moved is assessed and corrected.

Cold sores

Injections in the lips can trigger a cold sore in people who get them. If you have ever had cold sores, tell your injector before treatment, as preventive medication may be recommended. If one appears after treatment, contact the clinic rather than treating it on your own around fresh injection points.

Dental work and other treatments

Dental treatment involves stretching the lips and can introduce bacteria, so many injectors suggest leaving a gap of a couple of weeks between dental work and lip filler. Facial treatments, massages and anything that puts pressure on the face are also best left for a little while. Ask your injector what timing they recommend.

Warning signs

Rarely, filler can block a blood vessel. Contact your injector or seek urgent medical care straight away if you notice severe or worsening pain, skin on or around the lips that turns pale, blue, grey or blotchy, or any change in your vision. Call promptly, too, for redness, warmth, swelling or tenderness that increases after the first few days, which can be a sign of infection.

When you will see the result

The lips usually look their best once swelling has fully settled, at about two weeks. That is also the right time to judge symmetry and decide whether any touch-up is needed. Many practices book a review at that point. Small adjustments are much easier to make once the lips have settled than in the first swollen days.

The short version

Use a cold compress, keep the lips clean, avoid lip products and pressure for the first day, and sleep with your head raised. Avoid heat and strenuous exercise for a day or two, and alcohol for a few days. Swelling, bruising and some unevenness are normal and settle over days. Do not massage unless shown how, mention cold sores before treatment, and seek care straight away for severe pain, skin colour changes or vision changes.

Thinking about lip filler?

A consultation looks at your lips in proportion with the rest of your face, explains which product and amount fit your goals, and talks through aftercare before anything is booked.

Request a Consultation

Swelling is usually most noticeable for the first day or two and settles over the following days. The final result is best judged at about two weeks.

It is best to avoid pressure on the lips, including kissing, for the first day or so while the lips are tender and the filler settles.

Avoid alcohol for the first few days. It can make swelling and bruising worse.

Avoid strenuous exercise and heat, such as saunas and hot tubs, for the first day or two. Gentle walking is fine.

Some unevenness is common in the first days while swelling settles and the filler softens. Do not massage unless your injector has shown you how. Lumps that remain after a week or two should be checked.

Treatment can trigger a cold sore in people who get them. If you are prone to cold sores, tell your injector before treatment, as preventive medication may be advised.

Call straight away for severe or worsening pain, skin that turns pale, blue, grey or blotchy, or any change in vision. Call promptly for increasing redness, warmth or swelling after the first few days.