After months of waiting for those perfect lips, you finally got the lip fillers you dreamed of. The first few days were excellent – your lips were plump, defined, and exactly how you wanted them. But then, weeks later, something changed. Your lips started looking different, maybe uneven or bumpy in places they shouldn’t be.
Sounds familiar? The culprit is most likely filler migration.
Lip filler migration happens when the injectable material moves away from where it was first placed. While these lip filler side effects aren’t common when you go to skilled professionals, it’s something that can happen to anyone. Fear not. With the right expertise, we can fix it.
What Is Filler Migration?
During a dermal filler procedure, your cosmetic injector places hyaluronic acid into specific areas of your lips. This creates more volume and enhances their shape. Sometimes, this filler can move from its original spot to other places around your mouth.
Migration doesn’t always show up right away. You might notice changes a few days after your treatment, or it could take several weeks or months. The lips are especially prone to this because they’re made of soft tissue. Unlike firmer areas like your cheeks, lip tissue gives fillers more room to move around.
Where does the filler go? It might travel above your lip line, spread toward your nose, or move to other unexpected places nearby. This movement happens because hyaluronic acid-based fillers can shift due to several factors, which we’ll explore next.
Causes of Lip Filler Migration
So now you know that hyaluronic acid-based fillers migrate. The question is, why? While there are many reasons this can happen, some are more common than others. Generally speaking, here’s what causes filler migration:
Overfilling
Creating beautiful lips with filler is an art form that needs both precision and experience. Overfilling happens when too much lip filler goes into the lips at once. This makes them look swollen and unnatural.
The problem only gets worse when someone starts with very thin lips. You might feel tempted to get more filler to see dramatic results. This isn’t a good idea, as too much filler increases the chance it will move around.
It’s much better to take things slow. Start with a smaller amount and add more later if needed. This helps keep your results looking natural and reduces the risk of migration.
Improper Technique
We often see patients who come to us with migrated lip fillers given to them by inexperienced practitioners. When someone doesn’t have enough training, they might put the filler in the wrong place or too close to the skin’s surface. This makes it easier for the filler to move around or create bumps.
That’s why it’s crucial to only trust highly regarded MDs with your treatment. The money you save going to someone cheaper isn’t worth dealing with complications later.
Individual Anatomy
Here’s what you need to know about hyaluronic acid – it has a mind of its own. Once it’s in your body, it follows the path of least resistance. If your lips naturally aren’t perfectly symmetrical (most aren’t!), the filler might settle more heavily on one side than the other.
Some people are also more likely to experience migration because of their skin type or tissue thickness. This is why a skilled injector will always check your anatomy before treatment.
Natural Movements
Your face moves a lot during the day. Smiling, talking, eating – these everyday actions put pressure on your lips. This pressure can make fillers shift over time. That’s why we give specific guidelines after treatment. You’ll need to avoid things like kissing or using straws for a while. These simple changes help keep your filler where it belongs.
Use of Unapproved Fillers or Treatments
This issue goes hand in hand with improper technique. When you choose a certified practitioner, you won’t have to worry about unsafe products. But there are many cheap, unapproved fillers out there that can cause serious problems – some even worse than migration.
Always make sure your provider uses FDA/Health Canada-approved products. Your safety should never be compromised to save money.
Signs of Lip Filler Migration
Sometimes, filler migration is obvious – you’ll know right away that something isn’t right. Other times, the changes happen so slowly that you might not notice at first. Here are the main signs of filler migration to watch for:
- Puffiness around your lips that wasn’t there before
- A visible bulge above your upper lip (often called the “lip filler mustache”)
- Your natural lip shape looks different or distorted
- Your lips look uneven or like “duck lips.”
If you notice any of these changes, don’t wait to get help. A professional can check your lips and recommend the best way to fix filler migration. The sooner you address migration, the easier filler migration correction will be.
How to Fix Lip Filler Migration
Whether your filler was botched or you were plain unlucky and the migration happened naturally, reversing filler migration is possible. For one, if the filler hasn’t fully settled yet, a skilled injector might be able to massage it back into place.
However, for most of the cases we see, it has already settled in the wrong place. We then have two options. Here’s how to fix migrated lip filler.
Dissolving Dermal Fillers
Hyaluronic acid is natural to your body. This means your body already knows how to break it down and absorb it, albeit at a very slow pace. We can speed up this process using something called hyaluronidase. It’s an enzyme that dissolves hyaluronic acid fillers quickly and safely.
The process of Dissolving Dermal Fillers starts with a consultation to check your lips. We’ll examine the migration pattern and create a custom treatment plan. Then, we carefully inject the enzyme where needed. Most people see results within a few minutes, though sometimes it takes up to two weeks for the filler to completely dissolve.
This treatment is very safe when done by experienced providers. After the filler dissolves, we can discuss whether you want the new filler injected correctly or if you’d prefer to wait.
Corrective Injections
In select situations, we might use small amounts of new filler to balance out minor problems. For example, if the left side of your lip is slightly uneven, a tiny amount of filler on the right side could even things out. This approach works best for very slight migration and requires extreme precision.
Prevention Tips
If your filler has already migrated, it might be too late to prevent filler migration. But if you’re thinking about getting fillers, pay attention. You should also use these tips for the next time you get injected.
- Choose your injector carefully: Look for someone with plenty of experience and proper medical training.
- Start small: Don’t risk overfilling to get dramatic results in one session.
- Follow aftercare rules: Avoid pressing on your lips or massaging them for the time your doctor recommends.
- Be patient: Wait the full recommended time between treatments.
Does Filler Migration Go Away on Its Own?
So, is filler migration permanent? As we’ve established, your body can break down hyaluronic acid on its own. As such, slight dermal filler migration might fix itself over time. But this may take many months without help since most fillers last 6-12 months in the lips.
More significant problems, like overfilling, usually need treatment. Don’t wait too long to get help – there’s no need to live with results you’re not happy with.
Can Filler Migration Be Prevented?
While no treatment is 100% risk-free, migration rarely happens when you take the proper precautions. Skilled professionals use special techniques to place lip fillers carefully and avoid using too much.
Choosing the Right Provider
Your choice of provider makes all the difference. Look for someone who takes the time to understand your goals and explains the process clearly. At SpaMedica, we bring 22 years of experience to every treatment. We focus on creating natural-looking results that enhance your features without going overboard.
Conclusion
Lip filler migration might sound scary, but remember – it’s both preventable and fixable. With the right provider and proper care, you can enjoy beautiful, natural-looking results from your lip fillers.
Book a consultation with the team at SpaMedica today. We’ll answer all your questions and help you achieve the look you want.
