Post Juvederm Bruising… “How Long Will It Last? Can I Speed Healing?” – these are the questions we ask our aesthetic practitioner once dermal filler procedure is over.
Cosmetic treatments, such as dermal fillers injections, do a great job filling out lines and wrinkles, enhancing lips, restoring facial volume, but they can cause temporary bruising and swelling.
Although bruising from fillers is normal and should be expected, no one likes it. A bruise causes discoloration and sometimes is quite difficult to cover up. Many patients wish to return to normal daily activities without announcing to their colleagues and family members they’ve just had an aesthetic treatment, so to avoid patients’ complaints, treatment of bruises should be a main priority for an aesthetic practitioner.
No plastic surgeon can guarantee that you will not bruise from injectable treatments, but the good news is that there is a lot you can do before and even after your appointment to minimize any unsightly colouring and in some cases prevent it all together.
Here are a few pre and post treatment tips that can help you avoid any unnecessary bruising:
- Avoid Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Advil. These medications reduce activity of platelets, which are the cells in your blood that stop bleeding and bruising when your blood vessels are damaged. If your platelets don’t seal off the blood vessels that are disrupted during injectable treatments, your likelihood of getting a bruise is much higher than normal. Avoid these medications for at least a week prior to your treatment. If you need pain medication, consider Tylenol as a substitute.
- Avoid Wine & Alcohol. Alcohol also has some anti-platelet effects and increases your chances of bruising in the same way that Aspirin does. Avoiding alcohol the night before and the night you have your injectable treatment really helps to prevent bruising.
- Use Numbing Cream. If your aesthetic practitioner applies numbing cream about 30 minutes before starting the injections, it will help prevent bruising and make you more comfortable during the treatment. Some anesthetics slightly constrict blood vessels making bruising less likely.
- Use Ice. Apply ice pack to the treatment area before and after your injection. Cold constricts blood vessels, they become smaller and less likely to get in the way of a needle.
- Use Anti-Bruising Supplements.Take Arnica - a supplement that reduces bleeding and inflammation. Place four Arnica pills under your tongue, twice a day. Take Bromelain - a pineapple-based enzyme that also helps to reduce inflammation and bruising. Bromelain is helpful in reducing any swelling after the procedure and may be taken three days prior to your treatment and continue for one week after.
If you do bruise, use anti-bruising cream Chelaskin Stop the Bruise Cream with Lactoferrin – the post-filler, post-mesotherapy, post-sclerotherapy, post-laser, post skin-roller, post-dermabrasion, post-rhinoplasty treatment.
Some cancer patients cannot use facial fillers so we highly recommend facial topical voumizing serum like the Powerful volumizing organic serum.