My lip fillers gone wrong...

Getting lip fillers was a decision I had thought about for a very long time. Since my teens, I have always battled with insecurity about my personal appearance, especially my lips and so the concept of being able to make them fuller and plumper was always something that had appealed to me. At university I was obsessed with googling lip fillers and spent most of my lectures looking at before and afters to get an idea of how my lips could possibly look. I was gagging to get them done but being a student, money was tight and so I tried to find other ways to make do until I could eventually afford to get them done. My obsession with big pouty lips lead me on to lip liners and practicing over lining and drawing my lips on. Although it wasn't the same as having naturally big lips, my lips looked bigger and it did help me feel more confident. Drawing my lips on every morning soon became such a grueling task, dominating my morning routine and generally getting me really down

In the years of being down about my lips, I had seen many instagram profiles of people that did lip fillers. There was one girl in particular I had been following for a couple of years, had an extensive portfolio, amazing reviews and so one day I decided enough was enough and took the plunge to book in. Before going to her I did have my doubts - her extensive portfolio was filled with mixed results - some looking amazing and some looking not so good. However, I just told myself this was probably down to everyone's lips being different so didn't think anything more of it. 

The girl I went to worked mobile across all different salons in England and the nearest one to me was in Birmingham. On arrival, my first impressions of the salon weren't so good; the salon was grotty looking, in a run down area and the whole environment just made me feel a bit unsure. I brushed this off though, telling myself I was being a snob (lol) and too judgmental. My appointment was also delayed by a good 30 minutes but as there were a fair few people waiting for her I presumed this was a good sign - she's busy and in demand.  

When it came to my turn I was ushered straight through to a back room in the salon. The back room was awful, felt more like a cupboard, barely enough room for a bed and it all felt very unprofessional if I am honest. As soon as I got in the room, she immediately applied numbing cream to my lips whilst making me sign a form at the same time. I was made to feel so hurried that I barely had chance to read the form... She then asked me how much filler I wanted, which of course I knew from my research (1ml). Then before I knew it I was told to get on the couch and let the injecting begin. It all seemed to be happening so quick and something in the back of  my mind just knew it wasn't right... She hadn't even asked me what look I wanted, discussed where to put the filler or even told me what filler she was using. I kept assuring myself that she must have remembered the pictures I sent her online and that she would just know the look I wanted. ( oh so naive of me!) 

She began injecting the needle into the sides of my lips saying she wanted to make my lips appear wider. Straight away in my head I was flooded with panic thinking noooo, I don't want to look like Lauren Goodger!! I hate lip fillers with too much filler in the side. I wanted a pouty fuller top lip, not a wider lip. But well, it was too late for that. She had already started and there was nothing left for me to do than trust what she was doing. The injecting itself was pretty painful, I hate needles at the best of times and always dread going to the doctors for my yearly flu jab but well that will be a breeze after my needle experience now. When the needle is first inserted you are met with a sharp uncomfortable pinch accompanied by a strange feeling of filler being pumped into your lip... I wouldn't say it is agonizing pain but it definitely is painful, sore and uncomfortable. The worst bit is definitely the cupids bow area... now this REALLY hurts. 7 minutes later and she was done. I literally couldn't believe how fast it took. I was given a mirror to have a quick look, handed over £230, given an after care sheet alongside some mini product to put on and was straight out of the door so she could ram another client in. Before I was pushed out the door I managed to squeeze in two questions. Firstly, what filler had she used - mine was teosyal kiss and secondly how long will they last - In which she said anything from around 6-9 months but this will just depend on yourself. 

* Before and Straight After, which at the time I loved and didn't look bad.  

On route back to Leicester I couldn't stop looking at my new lips, although they weren't as big as I had originally hoped for, they definitely did look bigger and I was so happy with the results. When I got home my lips felt very sore, tight and swollen. Almost like you've had botox in your lips? It was such a bizarre feeling. I took the next day of work as they did look noticeably swollen, still very sore and the lack of movement in them made me look very fake. I was told they could take about a week for the full swelling to go down so kept this in mind. I was also told that I may get lumps and bumps but apparently this would be normal and if you simply apply pressure and massage them, they will go away. I now know this isn't true so please don't listen to this advice!! Once the swelling went down and I restored full movement in my lips I started to notice a few unusual things....

When I first went to apply my lipliner, I noticed something strange. I had two straight lines of filler directly above my cupids bow... not really knowing too much about filler I thought nothing of it and brushed it off although deep down I knew it didn't seem quite right. I also noticed another bit of filler at the side of my lip, this time nearer the corner and out of my lip line - again I knew this wasn't quite right but brushed it off. The next day after feeling my lips I started to notice lumps of filler in balls. I tried her technique of massaging and putting pressure on them and did this for the next few days thinking they would go. After a few days of trying her recommend technique nothing had changed. In this time I seen one of my friends who regularly gets his lips done and told him about my experience. When I showed and asked him about my concerns he was literally gob smacked at my results. He also couldn't believe I was only there for around 10-15 minutes as when he goes to his practitioner, he's there for around 40 minutes. I contacted the lady about my concerns and was told that the reason I had got two lines of filler above my lips was because she had tried to create a cupid's bow and it can look quite superficial. She really tried to play it down and make me feel like I was worried about something so minor. I was so angry. Not only was she trying to make me feel stupid for asking and telling me to just keep massaging it, she also had never even told me her plans for my cupids bow!

* After they had settled I started to notice, bumps, lumps and filler outside of my lip.

It is two months since having my lip fillers and what was suppose to be something to boost my confidence has left me feeling more insecure than ever. I have been left with lumpy, bumpy lips with filler all around the outside of my lip line and I am now having to pay £400 to see a top aesthetic in London to get my filler dissolved, corrected and hopefully get the lips I had originally hoped for.

For any girls who are contemplating lip fillers please don't rush into it and bare these things in mind before you do. Firstly always go to a doctor. Stupidly and naively I went to a beautician who was trained in aesthetics but little did I know that really their training isn't sufficient. Dr Esho who I am planning to go to sent me this really good poster of Doctors vs Beauty therapists doing lip fillers and I couldn't believe some of the things a beauty therapist isn't actually trained to do. Secondly, research the procedure your about to have done... most should be around 30/40 minutes, even up to an hour. 7 minutes with no consultation is not how long it should take to have your lips done. Thirdly, just seeing a portfolio and reading reviews is not enough to know a person is good. Pictures aren't always clear to judge and reviews could be done by any old person! Make sure you go on real recommendations and again, make sure they are a doctor!  

** Please read this!!

Hope this review has helped you! If I can rescue one person from getting bad lip fillers then my work here has been done! If you have any other questions then please please pop me an email and I will try and get back to you. 

What are your opinons on lips fillers? Let me know your thoughts, I love to hear your opinions.