Why I chose to get filler

Yes, I'm 32 and just had botox and lip filler for the first time. I have no shame about it and neither should you.

Immediately after my first ever session of lip filler, still in a state of shock from the pain😂

Alright, disclaimer time. I had my first bout with plastic surgery when I was 19. I had broken my nose 3x over the course of my young life. I had a massive deviated septum, I was constantly getting sinus infections because my nasal pathways were so tiny, my nose was crooked AND to top it off, I had the typical Italian "beak" nose. As an Italian who suffered from this injustice, I feel I can call it that 😂Rhinoplasty was something I begged (and I mean BEGGED) my parents for for years. They never gave in and I ended up getting it done when I became a legal adult. The surgery was incredibly uncomfortable but to this day it is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Fast forward thirteen years and I had my next run in with quasi plastic surgery. I personally do not count filler as "plastic surgery" but I can see how others would interpret it that way. First things first- I take care of my skin. I neglected it until I was in my early twenties and I'm making up for it now with all my serums, lotions, calming creams, and constant collagen intake. My face has some pretty dramatic Melasma and it can be pretty temperamental. I've made it a life goal to have great skin and keep it that way while I age. I have always told my husband I don't mind "routine maintenance" to make sure I don't need a facelift by the time I'm 50 (to everyone that's had a facelift, you do you boo, whatever makes you happy 😘) and it was a life goal to make it to 30 without getting Botox.

Me, immediately before my first injection appointment. Terrified and excited, all wrapped into one nervous wreck of a ball. My Melasma is pretty intense along my hairline and upper lip so don't mind the darker pigmentation.

Let me preface this- I did a HUGE amount of research on who I chose to inject Botulinum toxin into my face (because that's exactly what it is-a neurotransmitter that causes paralysis in muscles where it is injected) because I took this VERY seriously. I also decided I was going to share my journey on my Instagram account. If you've been a friend on there for a minute, you know I'm very open and up front with a good chunk of my life. "Lifestyle" IS 1/3 of the name so why not throw in something lifestyle every now and then, right? I was blown away by 1) how many women were DYING for filler content and 2) how many women (just like me) were interested but nervous and feeling a little bit of shame regarding the topic. Like I said before- I'm a huge advocate for doing whatever will make you feel happy and confident in your own skin, and for me, it has been slight albeit minor tweaks to make sure I'm CONTINUING to love the way I look while I age.

I jumped in fully and was excited to share this journey. I could ramble on for days but here's the Sparknotes version:

-Use the numbing cream your injector offers. You'll thank me later.

-Botox is easy peasy. I'd do that any day of the week.

-Lips, not so much. Expect to be in a solid 8-9 on a scale of 10 worth of pain (and I've got a pretty high pain tolerance.)

-Lips aren't a quick "poke then done" like botox. Filler is a slooooow injection for a natural look. It's going to suck. And you're going to regret it and want to stop and not care if your lips are lopsided.

-Icing the part of my lip that was going to be injected next really helped me. I wish I realized that before I only had two shots left 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

-Eating and drinking will be rough for the first few days. You'll feel like you were punched in the mouth.

-It will be 110% worth it.

The photo on the left is immediately before I walked into my filler appointment. The one on the right is a little over a week post filler.

Seriously, lips were rough. The few amount of people I spoke to sugarcoated it. It was incredibly painful, I'm talking, "tears streaming down my face, whole body trembling, and groaning in pain" type of painful. But as soon as the discomfort from the first few days faded away, I told my husband "well, I'll be getting them done again because I'm obsessed."

My advice: find a legit doctor who specializes in this stuff. This is your face- it's not worth saving a few hundred bucks for some "botox party" coupon you found on Groupon. Spend the money on a quality injector because it's worth it. Also, start with conservative amounts. I did 20 units of botox in my 11's (lines between my eyebrows) and my entire forehead. I had two small wrinkles I was targeting near my hairline but my doctor recommended we tackle the entire forehead instead of just two wrinkles. I trusted her judgement so we went with that and the results were amazing. For the lips, she used 1/2 a syringe of Restylane Kysse. This is a relatively new option that looks more natural and has a lower likelihood of swelling and bruising. The formula also has a small amount of Lidocaine in it so it had a numbing property (which never kicked in 😂) but apparently helped a little bit with pain. I chose to get my lips done because my top lip always had a tendency to disappear when I smiled and I wished it was slightly larger. I wanted to make sure my lips did not look fake so we erred on the side of modest for those.

If you want more of a play by play, head over to my Instagram because I saved a highlight section titled "Filler" that walks you through the whole process.