The Injectors Guide to Filler Aftercare Advice

Delivering filler aftercare advice is a crucial step of the treatment journey for injectors and patients alike. It reduces the risk of complications and can help to manage the patient’s expectations of results and recovery time.

This article covers everything from standard aftercare advice to addressing common myths. We've also listed filler aftercare tips that you can incorporate into your own clinical practice.

It's worth noting that some of the 'aftercare' information will need to be communicated ahead of a patient's appointment - read on for all the details...

Pre-appointment advice is crucial

Before carrying out any treatment, it’s important to advise patients against certain activities.

They ideally need to avoid any caffeine, intense exercise and excessive alcohol the day before and the day of the treatment.

This means contacting them ahead of time - with enough notice - to ensure they are aware of these restrictions. We recommend sending them these details in a text or WhatsApp message as well as in an email. If you have the time and want to be especially thorough, a phone call to talk them through these steps can also be valuable.

By taking the time to make sure they're ready for their treatment ahead of time, you can minimise the number of patients you have to turn away.

Warn patients against flying after injectable treatments

Before their appointment, it’s useful to find out if your patient has any plans to fly soon. If so, inform them to schedule their injectables for a more suitable time. This is because they shouldn’t fly immediately after filler treatment.

Patients should wait a minimum of one week, ideally two, when looking to book their filler appointment before flying.

Inform them that there’s a chance of increased swelling from cabin air pressure. Furthermore, and this is mainly anecdotal, it may increase the risk of bruising.

On the rare occasion, a complication or vascular event occurs, you can also manage it while they’re still at home.

What should patients expect after filler treatment?

Recovery time is always dependent on the individual. It’s best to warn the patient that they may experience a couple of days of minor bruising, discomfort and swelling. This should resolve within a few days.

How long treatment results last is dependent on many factors, so it's better to suggest a range. Factors influencing the longevity of filler results include:

• Patient physiology
• Product selection
• Technique
• Treatment area
• Patient perception bias.

For filler treatments initial bruising and swelling recovery is also variable. Most settle between 1-3 days, but it can take longer.

Aftercare advice that applies to all filler treatments

The following information applies to all filler treatments and should be delivered before and after every appointment.

Patients should avoid the following for a minimum of 24 hours post-treatment:

• Makeup
• Excessive alcohol
• Strenuous exercise
• Aspirin
• Ibuprofen
• Massage
• Facials
• Touching the injected site
• Used or unclean pillowcases when sleeping.

We recommend all filler patients clean their phone, glasses, sunglasses and use fresh towels and pillowcases. Again, these are all simple steps designed to minimise infection risks.

Some advice that we see trainees often forget to communicate is the importance of not touching the face, or applying any products or makeup to the skin. The reasoning behind this is because these actions can increase the chance of infection, so it's important to make patients aware of this.

Maintaining an aseptic technique is vital for minimising the risk of infection during the treatment, but patients also need to do their bit by following this aftercare advice.

Avoiding massage is usually contentious but massage can affect the treatment result and introduce infection. Most practitioners suggest no massage of the treatment area for at least 24-48 hours so that the needle entry points can heal.

Additional filler aftercare advice for specific areas

Mid-face filler treatment aftercare advice

The mid-face includes medial and lateral cheek filler as well as the piriform fossa.

Encourage your patients to clean their phones and wipe sunglasses or glasses to reduce the risk of infection. They should also use fresh towels and pillowcases. These steps are particularly important for mid-face treatments given the injection sites are more likely to come into contact with, for example, phone screens.

As with most dermal fillers, recovery time for the medial or lateral cheek, or the piriform fossa averages 1-3 days.

Aftercare for tear trough filler patients

For tear trough fillers, the estimated recovery time is 1-3 days. Bruising and oedema are common initially and may be persistent.

Reiterate the importance of patients cleaning their glasses and sunglasses if they need to wear them following treatment.

Perioral filler treatment aftercare advice

Perioral refers to the area around the mouth. Popular treatments in this region include, lip fillers and smokers’ lines, also known as barcode lines. It's important to keep treated areas clean, due to proximity to the mouth.

Smokers’ lines or barcode lines filler

For fine line filler, a recovery time of 1-3 days is estimated. However, bruising and swelling can be quite persistent here.

Lip filler

Lip filler treatments generally require 1-3 days of recovery time. However, swelling can be persistent, so recovery time may be longer - up to 2 weeks - until the final result is reached.

Patients may notice uneven results or lumps during this time, which may be alarming for them. Counsel them in advance about the presentations they may see during this period so they're prepared.

This should form part of your general pre-treatment consultation so they know the risks before committing to treatment, along with warnings about what signs they should contact you about as they may require further investigation. However, it's worth repeating this information before sending your patient home.

As a clinician, make sure you've massaged the area firmly and thoroughly before your patient leaves for as smooth a result as possible.

Aftercare advice for lower-face treatment

Lower face treatments include the chin, jawline contouring and marionette lines.

Marionette lines

Crucially, marionettes and nasolabial folds are more profound in older patients, who may be at a higher risk of bruising. Always explain this to your patients during their consultation and ensure they are timing their treatment right.

If they have any big events coming up, they should allow an appropriate amount of time for recovery.

Again, due to the location of the injection sites, emphasise the importance of cleaning their phone screen for infection prevention.

Signs of filler-related complications

Tell your patient, if they notice any areas of their skin becoming pale or grey to seek urgent advice from you.

Furthermore, if they are experiencing any ongoing or worsening pain, they should contact your clinic. Though this is very rare, it could potentially be a serious vascular or infective complication that requires urgent attention.

Any filler-related lumps that occur will usually settle over the next four weeks. Do explain that this may vary for some patients. However, if a lump is causing them distress or is not resolving, ensure the patient knows to seek advice.

Build your reputation with an outstanding level of service

The Level 7 Diploma in Cosmetic Injectables is designed to provide you with more in-depth training and one-to-one mentoring time with patients.

This all takes place in a real-life working clinic, providing the unique experience of learning what it's like to work in a busy London aesthetics clinic. With your mentors by your side for support, it'll help you learn how to deliver outstanding appointments, honing your skills in communication as well as treatment delivery.

An Ofqual-regulated qualification, our Level 7 will equip you with comprehensive aesthetic medicine knowledge. This spans anatomy, product knowledge, injecting theory, practical one-to-one injecting sessions, plus protocols for safe, effective and evidence-based practice.

Our Level 7 Trainee Handbook includes a section dedicated to conducting in-depth consultations. This comprises sample forms, including one relating to aftercare advice, so you have a solid idea of what information to provide. We aim to instil best practice at every turn!

For more information on our range of medical aesthetics training courses, reach out to our Courses team. Book a call to receive personalised advice on finding the best aesthetic medicine education for you.

All information correct at the time of publication