With shows such as Love Island and Jersey Shore portraying stars who have had “tweaks”, the question on everyone’s lips is, are lip fillers safe?
Nafisa Mughal of PureMed Aesthetics discusses the popular treatment that has seen an explosive increase in recent years.
Dermal fillers have been around for a long time, records show as far back as the 1800 but they were not the safe and tested products we use today.
In the early days, products such as non-stabilised silicone and even paraffin; a waxy gloop that resembles candle wax, were used, with disastrous consequences. The body (unsurprisingly) rejected the paraffin wax and left the person with often permanent disfigurement.
Our obsession with anti-ageing and keeping our face as youthful as possible for the longest time fuelled the ongoing research for finding safe and reliable substances that we can use to help.
Hyaluronic acid (HA), is the main go-to type of filler used nowadays and is considered very safe. Don’t be fooled by the term acid, our own body produces HA within the skin and it has been found that it helps to keep wrinkles at bay by maintaining moisture levels within the skin.
Dermal fillers are actually very versatile and can be used in many areas other than the lips. They can plump deep lines and enhance or fill in areas that have become shallow over time with the natural ageing process, such as cheeks and temples. Not only this, dermal fillers can be used to help redefine areas such as the jaw line.
Overall, dermal fillers are considered very safe, but there is always a slight risk of complications occurring.
Common side effects of dermal fillers include bruising and slight swelling but there is a small risk of more dangerous consequences. Blindness, severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and tissue death (where the area injected loses its blood supply) have been noted in rare incidents. It goes without saying that for these reasons you should choose your practitioner very carefully and make sure they are both knowledgeable and have the right emergency equipment for if things do not go to plan.
If you are considering having lip fillers or any other dermal filler, Nafisa at PureMed Aesthetics has almost 10 years of experience in this field. She not only provides this treatment for clients but also teaches other medical professionals how to inject safely.
Contact us if you would like to book your free consultation with Nafisa.