Keeping It Lippy . . .

Ok, ok, before you say it, I know I went off the radar yet again and I left you without my pearls of wisdom for some time. The truth is ... I haven't really had anything to write about. I lead a pretty boring life the majority of the time!

That being said ... A couple of weeks ago something relatively exciting happened. Well I thought it was anyway. 

I HAD LIP FILLERS!

I have mentioned on many occasions that this is a procedure I have wanted done for some time and after a lengthy conversation with one of my guy mates I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

I called the Alexandra Clinic in Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom and I booked myself in for my free consultation. The first thing I noticed from the moment the phone was answered was the exceptional level of customer service. 

When the time came for my consultation I ended up getting stuck in traffic and when I arrived at the clinic I was offered a drink and asked if I was ok. I then went into the consultation room where the nurse that would do the procedure gave me information about the different types of fillers they offer, how the procedure takes place and answered all of my burning questions.

Another thing I thought was fantastic was the advice I was given. I was recommended to have only half a syringe in my top lip as it would make my lip fuller and even out my lips as my bottom lip is quite full anyway. Not at any point did I feel like it was all about sales and taking as much money from me as possible, I felt like the nurse understood exactly what I wanted from the procedure.

Once I had all the information and had all of my questions answered I decided when I was to have the fillers I would have half a syringe as recommended of the Juvederm brand as this is the best on the market.

I booked myself in for a few weeks later and started the countdown immediately.

The day finally came around and it is fair to say I was PETRIFIED! Not that anything was to go wrong but I have a ridiculous fear of needles. 

As soon as I walked in the nurse made me feel completely at ease and straight away I felt more relaxed. She went through exactly how the procedure would take place and what it would feel like.

I lay back on the bed and straight away I shut my eyes to avoid catching a glimpse at the syringe as there was a 99% chance if I saw it I would run away as far as I could go!

I first had local anaesthetic injected into two places on my right side and two places on my left. This was injected into the inside of my lip and as it is all fleshy there I hardly felt it at all. 

The next part of the process was to inject the fillers. This again was injected into two places either side, this time, on the lip line. By the time the Juvederm itself was injected, the anaesthetic had well and truly kicked in and I didn't feel a thing!

Here are some pics of before, during, after and well after:

*Before*

*During*

*One Hour After*

*One Day After*

*Two Days After*

At first, as you can see, there was a lot of swelling. The majority of it went down 2 days later, they fully healed after about a week. It has taken me a while for my top lip to feel completely normal as around the lip line it felt very hard but now it feels completely soft like the natural lip line does.

I am so pleased with the result as the overall look is completely natural and I didn't want that obvious 'I have had my lips done' look and the nurse achieved this perfectly.

The advised time the fillers last is 6-12 months but there has been cases of them lasting up to around 3 years. When the time comes for me to decide whether I will be having them again my answer will be a definite resounding YES!!! In fact I am even tempted to go for bigger next time!

Until next time

xxx