Facial Injection Bruising – How to Avoid Bruises by preparing for your Injectables

Three things to do to reduce your chance of bruising and prepare yourself for Facial Injectables

There are three things you can do BEFORE getting cosmetic injections to help minimise bruising risks from dermal fillers, wrinkle treatments and lip augmentation injections. Note – This information is general in nature and does not replace medical advice. Please ask your Melbourne Cosmetic Injector for details on the best ways to prepare for your injections AND what to do  – and not do – after having cosmetic fillers or wrinkle reduction injections.

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If you find your skin looks bruised after having cosmetic injections; but never bruised before…what’s happening?

You may have had cosmetic injections before, several times, with no bruising. But did you know that bruising is still possible and sometimes randomly occurs?

That noted, there are some things you can do (and should know) to prepare for your cosmetic injections and lip filler treatments, to minimise your bruising risks.

• Also, you’ll want to ask your Cosmetic Injector how to recognise what’s normal bruising versus abnormal skin discolouration signalling a more significant reaction to injections.
• Be sure you do your homework before you get injections, and ask your Injector how many years of injecting they have had (Over 10 or 15 years? That may be a positive sign if they have a dedicated injecting practice, but not all Injectors have the same levels of skill and training – be sure you ask and check).

Here’s the scoop on handling bruising after cosmetic injections. It includes statistics on how common bruising occurs after having dermal filler or anti-wrinkle injections and what you should and shouldn’t do before and after injection treatments.

How normal is bruising after filler injections?

How common is bruising after cosmetic injections, lip filler or facial injection treatments?

• Bruising after cosmetic injections, particularly dermal fillers or lip fillers, is a potential side effect of anti-wrinkle injections or dermal filler injections.
• You can also experience discolouration and bruising after lip filler injections.

A good Cosmetic Injector will typically advise you of the RISKS of cosmetic injections and other beauty treatments at your first consultation.

Managing Bruising – ask your Injector for tips (ice can help but avoid heat)!

Your injector will instruct you how to best manage bruising should you experience this side effect after having your injections. Be sure to contact your Injector immediately if you experience any abnormal bruising or other reactions of concern). Typically things like Arnica and cool packs will be recommended.

Can you reduce bruising risks after having dermal filler injections?

• Bruising after cosmetic injections and lip fillers is not uncommon.
• Injecting strategies and skill levels can help reduce bruising, but only to point.
• Even if you have had prior sessions and never bruised, it can randomly occur.
• Typically it’s the body’s responses, or your overall health and nutrition intake around the injecting time frame, that MIGHT impact your bruising risks.
• But the skill of an injector may also help to reduce your risks of bruising to some extent (but not for all patients, as some patients simply bruise more readily than others).
• Medications to avoid are listed below but check with your doctor for advice on medications.
• Avoiding temperature extremes is also helpful, particularly heat and steam.

Risks of bruising is higher after cosmetic injection treatments IF you have:

• a bleeding disorder
• uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure)
• have recently used anticoagulants like aspirin, clopidogrel or warfarin (Source: J Cutan Aesthet Surg) 

How long does skin bruising last after having filler injections?

• Post-Injections bruising usually only lasts for a few days to 2 weeks.
• Ask your Injecting Doctor or Injecting Nurse how to manage any potential bruising, and please alert them to any and all concerns.
• Don’t ever book an injecting treatment close in time to a big event – at a minimum, allow a full 2 weeks to 3 weeks just as a precaution.
• If you do bruise and want some cover-up makeup, we offer top-of-the-range products for skin coverage including Lycogel medicated skincare products.

How many people get bruising after getting facial injections?

• Bruising might occur in up to 2 to 3 in 10 patients or higher.
• Statistics: Reported bruising averages after having dermal filler or lip filler vary,  but the estimate ranges from 19% to nearly 1 in 4 patients (25%).
• Which areas of the face are injected and HOW they are injected, MAY influence your bruising risks.
• Some areas of the face or lips may be more prone to bruising than other areas and the injecting method can also have an impact.
• Discolouration or bruising under the skin that appears a pale, translucent blue-ish colour, may be related to the Tyndall effect of cosmetic injecting.

Every patient is unique, however. Bruising isn’t always predictable.

• It is often difficult for your Cosmetic Injector to fully predict if you’ll get bruising or discolouration after having your cosmetic injections (anti-wrinkle solutions and dermal fillers).
• But if you know you have a history of sensitive, easily bruised skin, be sure you tell your Injector BEFORE you have a session.
• If you are taking certain medications, vitamin supplements, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal teas, you MAY be more prone to bruising, so let your Injector know what you’re taking and avoid the supplements listed further down this blog.
• And remember, follow your Injector’s advice carefully.
• Do not smoke, and do not fly after facial fillers – it’s a NO-NO).

Avoiding certain vitamin supplements, medications and foods BEFORE and AFTER your procedure may help reduce your bruising risks.

Some supplements and anti-inflammatory medications are best stopped 2 weeks before your injecting session.

So read more to find out which medications, substances or foods to avoid (but ask your DOCTOR for specific advice and don’t suddenly change your prescribed medications without your Doctor’s or Specialist’s “okay”).

3 Things you Should Do Before You Get Injectables to reduce your risks of bruising

• Are you looking for cosmetic injections to get you fuller-looking lips?
• Or perhaps you may be thinking it’s time to smooth away those skin creases, forehead lines and facial wrinkles using wrinkle relaxing injections?
• Or perhaps you want to treat your above-lip lines or smoker’s wrinkles?

If so, you’ll want to get a long-lasting result and try to avoid complications, to the full extent possible.

One of those is bruising after having injections, how to manage discolouration and how long it takes to resolve or go away.

If you are unwell, you likely have an inflammation, which can increase your risk of bruising and impede your results. It’s usually best to be well and healthy when you’re having cosmetic injections and to follow these tips below.

Ways to avoid complications – choose your Injector wisely AND ask them what products they use – be sure they use fully approved products with recognisable brand names.

• Quality brand injectables products should be injected into your skin by a qualified Injector to help volumise (fill in) or temporarily ‘soften or ease’ (relax) – crow’s feet lines and other noticeable facial lines and forehead wrinkles.
• Not all solutions used by different injectors are equal in texture, longevity and use.

There are different brands, textures and consistencies of filler being used.  Read the blog on Facial Fillers: The Ugly Truth about Permanent Facial Fillers and Fake Injectors and Fake Injectables: Medical Dangers from Counterfeit Products.

• When you choose your Cosmetic Injector, make sure they have a solid understanding of Facial Anatomy and individual variances in vascularity.
• Also check to see if they have a good grasp on strategic injecting strategies and dedication to best-practice sterilisation and sanitation practices, as this is important for your well-being.
• Yet remember that every face is unique and will have differing vascularity and injecting responses, so there’s always going be some risk(s) to having injections; although many can be minimised with thoughtful planning and a solid medical knowledge of facial anatomy and injecting risks.

Hence, injecting results and complication risks vary significantly from patient to patient.

But many patients have injections with minimal side effects.

• Dermal Fillers can also plump up certain areas like your chin, cheeks or lips, for better volume.
• They can also give you a fresher, more balanced facial appearance.
• Facial harmonisation, minor chin augmentations and other corrective aesthetic measures can be accomplished with dermal fillers vs cosmetic surgery, with less downtime and cheaper costs.
• Even so, be sure you understand injecting risks.

One risk of dermal filler injections or other cosmetic injections is that, because Injectors use a small micro-fine needle or cannula to insert the solution into your skin, this sometimes causes an injury reaction after penetration of the upper dermis; e.g., skin bruising at the site(s) injected. Read your consent carefully before signing, and find out how to manage your skin after having injections; so you know what to expect.

Anti-Ageing: Is it time to get Facial Injections Treatments?

Is it your first time having cosmetic facial injections? You’ll need a consultation first with our Cosmetic Physician.

• If you haven’t had cosmetic injections before, then arrange a consultation with one of our Team’s Cosmetic Physician.
• She will help assess your suitability for cosmetic injections and give you a quote for the costs of anti-wrinkle injections or dermal filler injections and lip filler (a treatment plan will be created).

If you’re scheduled for anti-wrinkle reducing injections or facial fillers (volumisers), here are THREE THINGS TO DO Before Your Injectables Session.

3 Tips to Preventing Bruising After Injections

TIP 1: Do Your Research about Cosmetic Facial Injectables BEFORE your Facial Injections Appointment

• It is very important that the first step you take before getting your injectable is to ensure that you have done enough research
• Investigate your Injecting Clinician, The Practice and about the injecting procedure itself.

You want to make sure that you choose a well-respected and experienced Injector, one with decades of cosmetic injecting experience and who works in a quality Clinic to be sure you get quality products.

This is how you get a highly-skilled injecting strategy.

• Getting quality injectables depends on the skill and technique of the injector, so be sure to do your research and find a Clinician with a stellar reputation and a solid understanding of facial anatomy.
• You want to find an Injector who has been successfully administering injectables for a very long time, ideally 10 years or longer (all our top injectors have a minimum of 15 to 20 years of cosmetic injecting experience).

Going in for a personalised skin consultation is the best – and only – genuine way to truly get to know your Injector and his or her practice.

Also, in the process of getting your questions answered, if you’ve done your research you’ll quickly know how confident and knowledgeable your Clinician is – as well as how honest about the risks and their understanding of facial anatomy.  It is very important to feel comfortable to ask as many questions as you feel are necessary before you consent; and if you’re not sure or you don’t feel comfortable with the injector, don’t do it (keep looking).

It can help to make a list of your questions about cosmetic injections and anti-wrinkle solutions so that you don’t forget to ask for the information you feel is most important.

• Be sure to ask about all of your options to and how much the treatment will cost.
• Ask about brands, volumes and injecting strategies – they can probably create a plan to suit your budget.

At our clinic, you’ll be given a treatment plan with costs before you have the treatment, and you can always opt for more injectables or less injectables.

You can also get a further enhancement in a few weeks’ time.

• It’s typically best to go natural and not overdo it.
• But you also want to be sure you get a good effect from it as well.
• A skilled injector can accomplish both for you; and help you know when to go for more, or when you might be wanting too much lip filler, for example.

Ask about side effects, risks, and how you should prepare for your visit as well as post-treatment care. Be sure to ask about what will happen if your results are not as expected; what will your Injector do to rectify the situation? And take a lot of BEFORE photos. Refer back to them over the next 3 weeks to 6 months.

A great injector gives you such a natural looking enhancement that you can forget how you looked before the filler or anti-ageing injecting treatment.

You also want to make sure that you are both on the same page regarding what facial areas you want to treat before your actual injecting treatment is scheduled or begun.

Be clear about the plan and how you want problem areas fixed as well as what you want your ideal final look to be.

Your Injecting Team may like certain “looks”. But different people have different ideas of what looks good on them. So, it is extremely important to be clear right upfront.  Fortunately, our Injectors aim for a natural-look that specifically suits YOUR facial anatomy.  This helps you still ‘look like you’ – only an improved or rejuvenated version of yourself.  NOT a version that looks done, but one that looks natural, refreshed and more balanced (hence, more attractive, as facial balancing and strong cheeks, chins and jawlines are key aspects of why people perceive others as being beautiful or attractive).

It is also important to have realistic expectations about what injectables can and cannot do for you.

Injectable results can be dramatic for some people yet still look natural. But your post-injectable look may not be as perfect as you expected them to be. Perfection is not attainable – improvement yes, perfection no.  So having realistic expectations about your potential results is important. And remember, take a lot of before photos. You can even show your injector what you want to be changed – (and to refer to afterwards).  Your Clinician can then let you know if what you want is possible (or not) using anti-ageing injectables or fillers. And they can tell you if a Plastic Surgery procedure is an alternative. They’ll let you know if what you’re wanting is simply not doable or unrealistic.  Stay grounded. In other words – injections aim to enhance features AND reduce wrinkles. But they won’t necessarily remedy serious facial anatomy imbalances or other issues such as extremely damaged skin.

TIP 2: Dermal Filler DO’s and DONT’s

Limit Bruising after Your Injections by Avoiding Certain Medications and Supplements for about 7 days BEFORE your treatment

• All blood thinners should be avoided at least five to seven days before your injectable appointment. These include things like aspirin, NSAIDs and ibuprofen.
• These make your blood less likely to clot and thereby can cause potential bruising risks. This is because they increase your tendency to bleed more.
• You should also avoid certain medications like St. John’s Wart, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin E, ginkgo Biloba, and ginseng.
• All of these supplements can potentially increase bleeding and bruising. But be sure to speak to your primary healthcare practitioner before discontinuing any medication that you regularly take. Some medications are not meant to be halted.

Acetaminophen is typically fine to take before and after your injectable procedure. But ask your doctor for advice if you want to take certain medications. And do NOT suddenly stop taking a prescribed drug until you’ve checked with your doctor.

Be sure you let your injector know your current medications, nutritional habits, substance use, smoking and other behaviours. Also, discuss medical conditions that may impact your injecting risks and results!

 Try adding Certain Vitamin-and-Mineral Rich Foods to Your Diet

1. You may be able to limit side effects of injectables, like bruising, by adding certain foods to your diet.

• Adding leafy greens like kale, spinach, and even broccoli to your diet will help boost your vitamin K supply.
• Having better levels of vitamin K in your system may help reduce bruising in some patients.

When your body is deficient in vitamin K you can bruise a lot more easily so having this boost will help keep bruises at bay[1]. Citrus fruits that are rich in vitamin C and Bioflavonoids help to heal wounds faster. And they can help with the turnaround time of your injections. And be sure you have adequate ZINC levels as ZINC has an impact on skin health, recovery and potentially even the longevity of your results (read our blog on “The Role Zinc Plays in Making Your Treatments Last Longer“).

Nurturing your skin before and after you have Cosmetic Injections can help. And, drinking plenty of water after getting dermal fillers is mandatory to get a good uptake result. But there are some supplements you need to avoid.

That’s because well-nourished, healthy, and sun-protected skin will always respond better to treatments than will malnourished skin.

TIP  3: Add ARNICA supplements to your cosmetic injections treatment plan can help you reduce bruising

Keep well hydrated BEFORE & AFTER your Facial Filler and Anti-Wrinkle Injections treatments

Does Arnica reduce bruising after a cosmetic injecting treatment or surgery? Typically YES it can help.

• Arnica supplements have been proven to help reduce discomfort, bruising and swelling and can help after injectable procedures[2].
• Arnica pills can be taken the day before or the day of your treatment. They should also be continued until any bruising or swelling has resolved.

Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine and avoid the gym.

Do not be overly active, and avoid heat and sun, for several days, before and after having injections.

You should also limit your alcohol and caffeine intake about 24 hours BEFORE your procedure. Avoid other foods or drinks that have a dehydrating tendency for a few days AFTER treatment. This will often allow you to heal faster and provide optimum results.

Be sure to hydrate by drinking plenty of water before and after your procedure as well.  Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water per day several days prior to your injectables as well as after. This will help you heal and keep you feeling and looking younger. Plus, drinking plenty of water helps you maintain a healthier weight (or helps you lose weight). That’s because it’s often difficult to lose weight if you’re dehydrated, even when you’re dieting.

Medical Resources and further reading on treating bruising after fillers and Facial injections

• [1] Source: https://www.drwhitaker.com/how-to-prevent-and-treat-easily-bruised-skin
• [2] Source: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/arnica
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/easy-bruising/art-20045762