Why dissolve filler?
There are 2 main reasons to dissolve filler. First, if you are unhappy with the results of your filler treatment, dissolving can help you start again with a clean slate. We see this often when patients have seen inexperienced injectors, or those who don't take the time to do a thorough consultation with their patient to understand the full desired result. Second, dissolving old filler is a key part of the process of maintaining your investment. It seems counter-intuitive, but dissolving filler may be the best way to get you to your desired result. Over time and after multiple filler treatments to the same area, filler often wanders out of the space it was originally placed, this is called filler migration.
What is filler migration?
Over time and after multiple filler treatments to the same area, filler often wanders out of the space it was originally placed, this is called filler migration.
Migration can happen for several reasons, maybe the injector placed the product in the wrong area, maybe too much product was placed in one area and it became overfilled pushing the product outward, maybe over time the product has separated and had time to slowly move away from where it was injected- this often happens to old filler naturally so please don't take it out on your injector.
What we have found is that some fillers are lingering in our tissues for years longer than they were originally thought to. We used to think fillers dissipated in 6-18 months after injections, but they are actually sticking around closer to a decade for some patients-depending on the type of filler.
During that time, the filler can often migrate to other places in small amounts. This isn’t the end of the world, but when we continue to add more and more product over multiple treatments to the same area, we slowly get unnatural looking results and your features may become warped. If you’ve been on social media in the past 10 years, I’m sure you can picture what I’m referring to.
How long does it take to dissolve filler?
Different fillers dissolve at different rates. It's recommended to speak with your nurse injector about the types of treatments you have had in the past to discuss your best timeline for results! For my own filler dissolving, I did 2 treatments to dissolve 4 treatments worth of filler that had migrated over the years, leading to unnatural results.
Does dissolving filler hurt?
Just like when your fillers were injected, dissolving fillers follows a very similar process. We numb the area and mix in lidocaine with the dissolving product so that you feel minimal discomfort, and can always discuss your custom needs for the process, if you have them!
What to expect after dissolving filler
Immediately after getting your filler dissolved, you can expect some swelling. This typically takes a few hours and will go away. Some bruising is also expected, but again, this will heal!
Remember these 3 things about dissolving filler:
Remember where you started, what did your first ever “before” photo look like, ask if you recognize that person anymore and have you strayed too far from what natural looks like.
Your skin is elastic, and many times dissolving filler can lead to better overall results than adding more filler on top of multiple old treatments.
Plan to speak to your injector about the need for dissolving treatments and consider that you may need to if you have had multiple treatments of filler done in the same area.
Starting from scratch is a must when talking about fillers, there’s no shame in the dissolving game!!!
If you want to maintain natural looking results, dissolving old or migrated filler should be an expectation, especially before placing more fillers in the same area.
