BLOG

Over the past few years, many celebrities and social media stars have gotten fillers to increase both the volume and size of their lips as well as to enhance their cheek bones and remove wrinkles. This new trend has caused fillers to become one of the top non-surgical facial treatments for women, and it has been growing for men as well.

Kylie Jenner has admitted to removing the fillers that were inside her lips, while other celebrities like Blac Chyna have gone through the process of dissolving the fillers in her cheeks and jawline.

Very few women are lucky enough to be born with full, pouty lips and perfect cheek bones. The vast majority have to rely upon getting fillers such as Juvéderm or Restylane injected at a plastic surgeon’s office.

These fillers can help plump the lips as well as reshape the jawline and cheek bones to help give a more desired look, but what happens when that look goes out of a style or you want to go back to your more natural look?

Why Would Someone Want to Remove Their Fillers?

One of the main reasons women would want to get facial fillers removed is due to buyer’s remorse. They most likely went to a “Groupon beauty clinic” who performed the procedure at a discount and ended up with results they were not happy with.

This is not always the case though when it comes to having your fillers removed. As the times change the look of “beauty” in the media changes as well. If you look back to the 90’s, everyone was always trying to be super thin while today most women are looking for a fuller more athletic look.

As these trends change over time, the way you view your body may change as well. We like to compare this to getting a tattoo while in college. Yes, that butterfly on your lower back was the thing to do when you were 19, but now that you’re 35 it might not fit with your current lifestyle.

The same thing happens with plastic surgery and non-surgical procedures, especially fillers.

That big lipped, high cheek bone, wide jawline-look that was popular 5 years ago may not be the look you want to live with anymore, so you may opt to have your fillers removed or dissolved depending on what type of fillers you have.

Is it Possible to Remove or Dissolve Facial Fillers?

Whatever the reason for wanting to get lip fillers removed, thankfully there are a few ways to go about having these fillers removed or dissolved.

Stop Maintaining the Fillers

Not all facial fillers are permanent or need to be removed though, some fillers will be absorbed by the body naturally overtime. One of the easiest ways to remove the plump lip look is to stop getting maintenance injections when they are due. This will cause the lips to lose volume to some extent – but won’t cause it to go away completely. In most cases, only 85% of the volume will disappear.

The same goes for wrinkle fillers. Over time, these fillers will be absorbed by your body and the wrinkles will begin to appear again. Wrinkle fillers typically aren’t removed and are the most maintained by women trying to keep that youthful look, but when it comes to lips and cheeks, those may require doctor intervention to completely remove.

Have a Doctor Dissolve the Fillers

If the fillers used in your lips or cheeks are made from hyaluronic acids, then these can be dissolved by your doctor by injecting Hyaluronidase into the fillers. This will cause the original fillers to slowly dissolve and be absorbed back into the body leaving you with your more natural look.

It should be noted that Hyaluronidase will not reverse such brand name fillers as: Bellafill, Radiesse, and Sculptra. In situations like this the patient will have to wait for their body to absorb the fillers or get a steroid injection. A consultation with a plastic surgeon before deciding what to do will produce optimal results.

Possible Side Effects of Filler Removal

It should be noted that getting rid of fillers is not as straight-forward as it seems. There are a few caveats that most people don’t take into consideration when they opt for the initial injections in the first place:

Not All Fillers are Dissolvable

Depending on what type and kind of filler was used, it’s possible that the procedure is not reversible. Unless the doctor used Teosyla, Juvéderm, or Restylane, there’s a good chance that the process cannot be reversed, or it will take a long time for it to go away.

The above three mentioned injectables can be reversed via a hyaluronidase injection, which almost immediately begins to go to work in just a few hours.

Permanent Changes Can Occur 

Even after the hyaluronidase injection has been given and the lip volume starts to go down, most people only see an 80% – 85% reduction in the volume. You may not always see your lips or other areas of your face completely return back to normal especially if you’ve had many maintenance fillers injected over the years.

The lips and cheeks may retain some of the filler and you may not be able to fully dissolve everything, but in most cases dissolving the filler will leave you close to your more natural look than with the fillers in.

Why Do People Get Fillers?

The purpose of a filler is to improve the shape, structure, and volume of the lips, cheek bones, or jawline. Fillers can also be used to hide wrinkles and aging lines to make the skin appear more youthful.  The overall effects will last for around six months, after which maintenance injections will need to be administered to keep up the appearance.

Most women who get fillers get an injection of Hyaluronic acid (HA) into their lips or face. HA is a natural component of human skin and is broken down and naturally absorbed by the body. While the stated average lifespan of a lip filler injection is around six months, although many people have reported that the lip injections will last for a few months longer.

How are Fillers Injected?

Lip filler injections and other fillers, are a medical procedure and should only be administered by a board-certified plastic surgeon. Knowing how much filler to use and exactly where in the face to inject it is critical to retaining a natural look. Otherwise, areas of your face will come out bumpy and uneven if performed by an inexperienced spa technician or other non-medical professional.

Before getting the injections, a numbing agent will be applied to the injection site to ease any discomfort you might feel when the needle is inserted. After the procedure is done, you can return to your normal life as there is no downtime required.

You may notice some bruising or swelling for 24 to 48 hours afterward, and this can be managed by applying ice to the area. Lipstick and other cosmetic beauty products are advised against being used for a short period until the swelling goes away.

Should I Have My Fillers Removed?

If you’re happy with your fillers and love the way you look, then by all means you should keep them and continue to receive maintenance injections. The only person that should make the decision to have your fillers removed or dissolved should be you.

As we mentioned above, beauty trends come and go as the times change, but you don’t always have to do what everyone else is doing. If you’re unhappy with the way your fillers look, or you’re now at a different point in your life where you don’t feel the fillers are necessary, then there is no reason you should not have them removed if it will make you happy.

At the heart of it, all plastic surgery and non-surgical procedures are designed to help you feel better about yourself in your own skin. Do what makes you happy and if that means having your fillers removed at this point in your life, go for it!