Causes and Prevention of Lip Filler Side Effects Such as Visibility, Lumps, and Asymmetry: A Dermatology Director’s Candid Advice

Lip filler side effects at Bannih Plastic Surgery

Hello.

I am Lee Mira, the chief director of Bannih Plastic Surgery | Skin Clinic, who leaves out exaggeration and fills only with sincerity.

If you are considering lip fillers, it is natural to worry not only about wanting to look more beautiful, but also about whether they might make you look awkward, unnatural, or ruined.

"Will my philtrum look longer?"

"What if it becomes crooked when I smile?"

In fact, I often hear worried questions like these in the consultation room.

Lip filler side effects at Bannih Plastic Surgery

When that happens, I explain to each patient why the concerns they have arise and how they can be prevented. In fact, the various side effects patients worry about with lip fillers are not problems with the procedure itself. What does that mean? That’s right. They can be prevented during the procedure.

So in today’s column, I’ll explain one by one the representative side effects of lip fillers, their causes, and how each can be prevented during the procedure. To give you the conclusion in advance, there is no need to worry unconditionally.

The important thing is who performs the procedure and how it is performed.

Lip filler side effects and prevention methods

1. Can the philtrum look longer after the procedure?

To begin with the conclusion: properly performed lip fillers do not make the philtrum look longer. On the contrary, filling in appropriate volume can make the center of the face look much more balanced.

If the lips lack volume, the philtrum can appear relatively longer. In such cases, adding a little volume to the upper lip can make the philtrum look shorter visually and improve the impression by making you look younger.

In other words, lip filler is generally designed not to pull the lips downward, but to make them project slightly forward, so it is highly unlikely that getting fillers will make the philtrum look longer. However, if the philtrum is anatomically longer than 2 cm before the procedure, is thick, or if the outer lip line is curled inward, it may be difficult to solve with filler alone.

This image is for explanatory purposes and is not an actual before-and-after treatment image.

That is why, before lip filler treatment, we need to carefully examine the overall balance of the philtrum, lips, and chin line and give the patient an honest opinion about how much improvement is possible through filler treatment. Depending on the case, I also explain which combination of procedures may help improve the result.

In other words, after lip filler treatment, the philtrum may look shorter rather than longer.

2. If the lips look crooked when speaking or smiling after lip fillers?

After lip fillers, some people say that while their lips look fine when expressionless, they seem crooked to one side when speaking or smiling. You may worry that the procedure was done incorrectly, but in reality, most of the time, a subtle asymmetry that was already there simply becomes visible in facial expressions.

Everyone’s face has a slight degree of asymmetry. In particular, the lips are a part that moves a lot when making facial expressions, so differences in the movement of the left and right muscles appear more clearly when speaking or smiling.

Asymmetry that was not easily noticed before the procedure can become more noticeable once the contours are made more distinct with filler.

That does not mean the practitioner can say, "It was already asymmetrical, so there’s nothing we can do." No, they should not say that. With careful attention to detail during the procedure, even preexisting asymmetry can be improved to some extent. Because the lips are not completed by a simple static design alone, it is essential to check the actual movement during the procedure and adjust accordingly.

That is why lip filler treatment is done by injecting very small amounts, around 0.1 cc at a time, and checking the movement of the lips and the flow on both sides one by one with the patient in front of a mirror at each step. The small syringe (low-volume syringe) used at that time also plays an important role.

In other words, when the procedure is performed through this process, even preexisting asymmetry can be improved to some extent. Because asymmetry that shows when speaking or smiling results from a combination of muscle movement and volume, observing the actual movement of the lips and adding minute amounts of volume only where needed can create a more symmetrical lip line even in facial expressions.

3. What if the lips look bluish?

"After the procedure, the lips won’t look bluish through the skin, right?" This phenomenon, known as the Tyndall effect, refers to the bluish scattering that occurs when light passes through filler injected too superficially, such as just beneath the skin. Since the lips have thin skin and abundant blood vessels, this phenomenon can appear more easily in that area.

In the past, there were no fillers made specifically for the lips, so existing high-viscosity fillers were often used. The problem was that these fillers did not blend well with the skin tissue and did not spread evenly, so over time they could clump or remain in a superficial layer and appear bluish through the skin.

These days, however, many fillers developed specifically for the lips are used, allowing them to blend naturally with the skin and help prevent the Tyndall effect. To prevent this effect, viscosity matters, but so do the technique of injecting into the correct layer and dividing the amount appropriately.

In other words, the Tyndall effect is a side effect that can be prevented when the filler product, injection layer, and injection method all align properly. If small amounts are injected slowly into the correct layer and the area is gently smoothed by hand immediately after injection, it can spread evenly under the skin and settle naturally without showing a bluish tint on the surface.

4. Lumps or nodules after lip fillers

Many people also worry about lumps or nodules.

After filler is injected into the lips, some people feel that one side is hard to the touch or that it feels clumped together like a mass. In most cases, it is naturally absorbed or spread out over time, but if the injection layer is inaccurate during the procedure, if too much is injected at once, or if the product does not suit the lips well, this phenomenon can last longer.

That is why the choice of filler and the practitioner’s technique are important.

To avoid placing weight in one area, small amounts of about 0.1 cc are injected slowly in divided portions, and if the filler is gently pressed and spread with the fingertip immediately after injection, it can settle smoothly within the lips.

What about additional side effects?

After lip filler treatment, there are several other concerns patients may have besides the well-known side effects such as the philtrum looking longer or the Tyndall effect. For example, reduced lip sensation, frequent bruising, or the lip border appearing blurred.

After the procedure, the lips may feel slightly tingly or numb. Because the lips are an area rich in sensory nerves, pressure around the nerves during injection or swelling immediately after the procedure can cause temporary sensory changes. Most cases recover within a few days, but if the injection is too deep or excessive, the symptoms may last a little longer.

The lip line may also appear spread out. This happens when the filler spreads beyond the lip border into the upper lip skin tissue. When this happens, the lip line looks blurred and loses its definition. For those who want a clearly defined Cupid’s bow, this spreading can feel very unsatisfactory.

Lastly, there may be excessive volume or imbalance. If too much filler is injected, or if the area is simply filled without considering left-right balance, the lips may look swollen or heavy.

So, can the side effects mentioned so far also be prevented during the procedure? Yes, that’s right. These side effects usually do not come from the filler itself, but from the practitioner’s technique and judgment.

They occur when too much is injected or when it is placed in the wrong layer without properly understanding the tissue structure. That is why lip filler is not simply a procedure that "fills beautifully"; it is a precise procedure that must be performed while calculating design, anatomy, medication control, and facial expressions.

Please remember that the filler itself is not the dangerous part. What matters much more is how it is handled.

Lip filler is a battle of precision.

Up to this point, I have explained lip filler side effects, their causes, and how to prevent them. In short, the side effects that occur during lip filler treatment are caused not by the procedure itself, but by the practitioner’s skill and technique. Because of that, the more carefully the procedure is performed, the more the side effects mentioned above can be reduced and the higher the satisfaction with the result can be.

However, if the procedure is performed precisely, it is common to use the needle more than 10 times because the filler is injected in small divided amounts. This does not mean that a large amount of filler is being added; it means that each part of the lips is being adjusted in detail.

That means the design is being meticulously implemented on the actual face, and this process is also an important reason it can lead to a more natural and attractive result. Of course, it also greatly lowers the chance of side effects.

However, just hearing that "the injection is done many times" may make you worry that it will hurt. Lip filler is performed after sufficient numbing ointment has been applied, and because the needles used are very thin, the pain is usually not as great as people expect.

Also, the lips are not an area that is deeply pierced, and since most injections are placed superficially near the surface, the likelihood of bleeding or bruising is very low. In other words, rather than worrying about the number of needle insertions, it is better to understand that multiple divided injections mean the practitioner is paying closer attention to the result.

This has been Lee Mira, the director who leaves out exaggeration and fills only with sincerity. Thank you.

The following article may also be helpful. :)

https://blog.naver.com/rush_724/223816005351