Tenderness/Pain: The areas treated may feel tender, sore, or even painful to touch. This discomfort is temporary and can usually be alleviated with over-the-counter pain medication, improving significantly within a few days.
This causes temporary swelling of the soft tissues that peaks at around 2 to 4 days after injections. Mild to moderate swelling and bruising are very common after filler injections in the cheeks. The good news is that swelling resolves fairly quickly for most patients within 1 to 2 weeks.
Cheek Filler Gone Wrong
But rarely, people may experience the following results of cheek fillers gone wrong: “Pillow cheeks” “Sunset eyes” Injection site redness and swelling.
If you experience any signs of an allergic reaction after a filler injection, such as tenderness, swelling or asymmetrical fullness, seek medical attention immediately. Ask your doctor to test for allergies to the injectable fillers and/or the liquid gel in which they are suspended.
Immediately after the treatment, there may be a slight redness, swelling, tenderness, a faint bubble‑like appearance and an itching sensation in the treated area. These side effects are a normal result of the injection and will generally disappear gradually over a period of 7–14 days.
Do: take pain relief, if needed. Most of our clients don't experience any discomfort from treatment as the cheek fillers contain a numbing agent. However, it's possible that any swelling that may occur will create a tender sensation, so do take over-the-counter pain relief, like paracetamol, if needed.
As with any medical procedure, there are risks involved with the use of dermal fillers. Most side effects associated with dermal fillers, such as swelling and bruising occur shortly after injection and many resolve in a few days to weeks. In some cases, side effects may emerge weeks, months, or years later.
“While rare, people can experience a late onset inflammatory response to hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers," says Ali. "This presents as induration (a thickening and hardening of the skin), erythema (redness) and oedema (an accumulation of fluid that causes swelling).
Late complications are defined as those appearing after about 2-6 weeks. They comprise late allergic reactions, chronic inflammation and infection, granulomas, filler migration, loss of function, telangiectasia, and hypertrophic scars. A detailed history may disclose a potential allergy.
Its normal for cheek filler to take up to 2 weeks to fully settle. During this time, any initial swelling or bruising should resolve, leaving you with a more natural and refreshed appearance.
Avoiding Physical Disturbance to Facial Fillers
Applying pressure or disturbing the treated area can potentially displace the filler, leading to suboptimal results. It's particularly important to avoid pressure on the treated area for the first 48 hours after treatment.
To know if your filler is botched, you should look out for signs such as lumps or irregularities in the skin, unevenness between sides of the face, pain or tenderness in the area, discoloration or bruising at the injection site, and redness or swelling around the area.
Any sensitivity or discomfort you feel after a filling should let up after a couple of weeks. If more than two weeks have passed and you're still noticing that your jaw hurts, it's a good idea to schedule a follow-up visit with your dentist.
The Settling Period: When Swelling Subsides
Cheek fillers, on the other hand, enhance facial contours as swelling reduces, offering a glimpse into the rejuvenated appearance. This settling period typically spans 1 to 2 weeks post-injection.
You may experience mild pain at your injection sites. The pain should go away after 12 to 24 hours.
The initial infected symptoms include pain along with tenderness and redness. These signs will typically occur within the first week between days 2 and 6. The formation of an abscess occurs between day 6 and 14. Normal post-procedural inflammation has some overlap but tends to peak at 6 hours and then start to reduce.
Ibuprofen's anti-clotting effects jeopardize this natural healing cascade by potentially prolonging capillary bleeding and exacerbating bruising. Studies have shown NSAIDs increase bruising severity when used around the time of lip filler or other dermal treatments.
“Pillow face” occurs when too much filler is injected into areas like the cheeks, nasolabial folds (the lines from your nose to the corners of your mouth), lips, and under-eye area. This repeated overfilling can result in a bloated, round appearance that looks far from natural.
A bad cheek filler injection may cause persistent swelling or puffiness in the treated area. Individuals may also experience having a pillow face or sunset eyes which can result from overfilling the cheeks. It may also cause allergic reaction symptoms, facial asymmetry, infection, and skin discoloration.
So is it okay to sleep on your side after a cheek filler procedure? It's recommended to avoid sleeping on your side for the first 48 hours after getting cheek fillers. Laying on your side may increase the risk of cheek filler migration or misplacement which could lead to bad filler results.
These reactions, occurring months after injection, can include swelling, inflammation, and infections. The research highlights the importance of patient selection, high-quality products, and strict hygiene to minimize risks, providing valuable guidelines for practitioners to ensure safer aesthetic treatments.
The symptoms of ischemia can occur immediately after the injection or several hours after the procedure. Here, the authors report three cases of necrosis after hyaluronic acid injection with the first symptoms presenting only several hours after the procedure.
Vascular occlusion warning signs (2): pallor
After the initial injection, the next sign of a problem with a VO is usually pallor. In the case of a true, complete vascular occlusion, pallor is very stark, particularly in lips. There will be a grey patch on the lip that sometimes has zero capillary refill.
The skin might become splotchy, or might become pale, numb or “tingly”. In these instance tell your injector immediately. It can happen several hours after the injection, when the vessel finally becomes occluded, but that is rare.