My Lip Enhancing Experience with Therapeutic Aesthetics

​I’ve never not ‘liked’ my facial features per se, but I’ve always wondered what I would look like with fuller lips… with a wedding coming up in May, now seemed like the time to make any changes. Wedding photos last forever and it’s a time you want to look back on looking your best.
Wedding aside, I like to have fun with makeup and I usually enjoy wearing a bright lipstick (goes perfect with any outfit!) The thought of having a plumper pout has always been really tempting to me.  I decided to take the leap when I found Therapeutic Aesthetics online.  Ada, the aesthetics nurse practitioner, was quick to answer any question I had, explain the process more in depth and had multiple (and impressive!) before and after photos of clients that had me yearning for a nice full smile. Ada graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master in Nursing and has extensive medical background in Emergency and Intensive Care. After working at hospitals like Sick Kids and University Health Network she began to follow her passion in the medical aesthetics field.
Ada is certified through Allergan Canada and APT Medical Aesthetics in non-surgical facial enhancement, so you’re in good hands, ladies. Not only that, but when it comes to making drastic (to me, at least) changes to my face, I would prefer a ‘woman’s touch’. Us girls seem to know what looks most natural and what specific areas to focus on, I mean, most of us have been lining our lips and perfecting our own ‘lip look’ with makeup for years. We’ve gotten a lot of practice!
After a few back and forth messages we decided to meet at her King Street West office.  Ada was lovely and professional. She eased my worries, which were mainly about the needles, I’m pretty nervous around them. She had the brilliant (and client friendly) method of transferring Restylane into an insulin needle, which is much smaller and in her words “much easier to control”. It sounded like a win-win. Even more so when I saw the originally packaging and needle the Restylane came with. Yikes.

“Friendly” insulin needle on the left

scary big needle on the right

​Restylane is highly effective medical grade filler, where the main ingredient is hyaluronic acid. Once injected, it molds comfortably into your skin will look and feel undetectable. It has a long lasting plumping effect and enhances definition. I was told to expect my results to last up to even a year!

Ada prides herself on giving clients a natural look. “No duck lips” she assured me. She prefers to give lips a more realistic, attainable look, which is what drew me to her (and Restylane) in the first place.
I took a seat and a few deep breaths while Ada cleaned my lips and the area around my mouth before applying a numbing cream (thank god). It took about 5 to 10 minutes to take action, and we spoke about what to expect during the procedure while we waited. “We are going to trace the border of your mouth, and then we’ll do the actual lip after that. By doing the border it just helps to define your lips, just like a picture frame defines a photo”

Applying lip numbing cream

​After my lips were asleep (it felt like pins and needles. No pun intended) I put my head back in the chair and tried to relax while Ada held up the needle to the edge of my lips. “Here goes the first one” Prick! Ok, actually not that bad. Not bad at all. I eased up a little as she continued around the border of my top lip. The borders were fine to do; it wasn’t too uncomfortable at all. When we were injecting into the middle of my lip, it did sting, but only briefly and I felt a lot better after taking a few deep breaths and reminding myself to relax. Please keep in mind that needles really upset me, if you’re OK with that sort of thing and have no fear, this should be a walk in the park for you!  Ada finished off by “massaging” my lips, which was to prevent lumping and bumps.

Not as Scary as I Thought it Would be

​The whole procedure lasted about 30 minutes and I could see immediate results. I smiled and it felt so weird to see a visible top lip. I had been losing my top lip in my smiles since I was a kid and it was a pretty surreal feeling. Were these really mine!?
I was walked through some after care, like don’t wash your face for 4 hours afterwards or touch/rub the area. I was given a little gel ice pack and was told to use twice a day for 20 minutes in the first 48 hours.  We thanked Ada, told her we would be back and went on our way.

Ice Pack

​I was able to comfortably eat lunch with Katie afterwards and she assured me you could hardly notice any swelling.

At home later that evening.

​A few hours later, I went home and started feeling a dull ache. Maybe the numbing cream had worn off, but after pressing the ice pack against my lips for a few minutes I felt a lot better.  I was told when I woke up on the first day; my lips would be more swollen than after the procedure from laying down all night. “I tell my clients, don’t even look in the mirror first thing, use the ice pack for 20 minutes in the morning and then look in the mirror!” Ada half joked.  I couldn’t help myself, so I peeked as soon as I woke up. A little puffy but not bad, not bad at all! After icing I did notice a little bruising on the top right side of my upper lip, but it was nothing a little lipstick couldn’t cover.

Tiny Little Bruise

Nothing a little lipstick couldn’t cover up !

​Second day there was a tiny bit more bruising and it did feel tender. Nothing too insane and I could more than handle going to work and partaking in my regular workouts. Halfway through my work shift I did find myself wishing I brought my ice pack with me (Lesson learned!). A few people stopped by my desk to check out my 'new lips' and gave me the thumbs up.

Happy Customer!

I'm on the third day of healing right now and I'm getting happier by the day. I love the way I look when I smile, but I've had to sort of re-learn how to apply lipstick to flatter my new lips. I went to get my wedding dress altered yesterday and while holding my hair up for the seamstress to zip up the back, I got a glimpse of my reflection in the three angled mirrors, full red lips really standing out on my face. I could picture the big day-loose up-do, the dress of my dreams and my more than enthusiastic (and now more pronounced) smile for all the photo's. I am so happy I took the leap and got my lips done. I know it sounds cliché to say it give me more confidence, or makes me feel 'pretty', but it really does. I'm having a lot more fun with my makeup and do find myself smiling more often. I'll be a returning client of Ada's and I really suggest you visit her website for more information and maybe even a sit down meeting with her to find out what works best for you. You'll be in good hands. (www.therapeutic-aesthetics.com)