Tips For Your Next Injectables Appointment

A. Consider timing your appointments based on when you want your injectables to be in full effect. Even though they are a minimal-downtime procedure, you want to allow yourself a little bit of leeway before a major event. Allow at least two weeks after your appointment for your injectables to ‘settle in’ completely.

B. Watch what you consume.

Drinking alcohol can thin the blood, making you more prone to bleeding and bruising around the injection sites. It’s for this reason that we may advise you to go several days or, ideally, up to a week before injectables appointments. Alcohol dilates blood vessels, causing them to expand and flow closer to the surface of the skin and be more susceptible to injury.

While not strictly forbidden, anything that may cause puffiness in the face—like salty foods—should be avoided for the same time period, if possible. This way, the doctor can get an unobscured view of your features and make recommendations accordingly.

Vet your vitamins and inspect your supplements. If your multivitamin contains vitamin E, you should hold off on taking it until after your procedure. Some supplements, such as fish oil, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, and a few others, can thin your blood.

C. Prep your medical history.

A history of fever blisters, sinus issues, or teeth problems matters for something like fillers, and may increase the risk of breakout and extension of an infection into the filler, and they’re definitely something the doctor needs to know about. There should be no active infections at the time of injecting filler.

You need to communicate with the doctor if you’re on blood thinners or have taken NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) like aspirin or ibuprofen that may interfere with normal blood clotting.

D. Cancel your exercise classes.

Don’t schedule yoga, Pilates, a long run, or a personal training session for the day before or after your filler or neuromodulator, to prevent bruising, migration, or shorter or decreased results.

E. Take a ‘before’ selfie of yourself at baseline—scowling, raising your brows and smiling—beforehand so you can really appreciate your results when the injection kicks in.

Sometimes we forget the degree of wrinkling or even asymmetry we had before, and it’s great to have a comparison point.

So take photos on your phone before the procedure so that you remember what you looked like before the injections. Videos are even better.

F. Extra tip:

Immediately before your procedure, you should ice for a few minutes—and again afterward, as this will reduce bruising, by helping the blood vessels constrict. Icing isn’t just for after the procedure.

Hope you enjoy your appointment!