lip blush
Recently, I had my very first cosmetic procedure 🥳 It’s called lip blushing and it is a less invasive way of enhancing your lips. I never had an issue with my lip size or shape before, never that is, until the past five years or so as I watched my lips start to sink into my face due to the loss of elasticity and the deeper wrinkles age and time have brought me. Just one of the many rewards we get for making it through another year of life 🤦🏻♀️ It wasn’t even the fact that my lips were getting smaller that bothered me, it was that they were becoming noticeably uneven that drove me crazy. I could spend up to 45mins just trying to even my lips out, each day. It drove me crazy! While I knew lip filler was an option, and one I am totally ok with doing, I thought lip blushing might be a good first step and could, potentially, get me through another year or so before taking the plunge with fillers.
What is Lip Blushing
Lip blushing is a safe and comfortable tattooing procedure that creates a younger and more youthful, vibrant pout. You can also redefine your lip shape to create a more attractive appearance that enhances your natural beauty.
After doing a lot of research, I found someplace near me that had all the cred I was looking for:
High score on Yelp with a fair amount of reviews, and that was a lot more than its competitors
A professional, easy to navigate website that provided details on the procedure, the person who would be doing the procedure, and pictures showing me where the procedure would be done as well as before and after pictures
An affordable, competitive price-point
So, on January 15, I headed out to BrowTendre for my appointment with Christen, the owner and Board Certified PMU Artist. And I’m so happy I did! Christen is clearly passionate about what she does and her enthusiasm is contagious. She immediately put me at ease by diving in and explaining the process to me in detail. I came well prepared and brought the three shades of lipstick that came as close to the lip color I wanted to end up with. That’s really key, they mix up the formula to come up with your ideal shade and can definitely give you some expert guidance, but, ultimately, they are your lips so If you want to ensure you end up with the results you were hoping for, be your own advocate and come prepared.
The first thing she did was numb my lips, it’s some sort of lidocaine cream she slathered on then put plastic over it so it could seep in and work it’s numbing magic, that took about 15mins. Then, she got to work. When people ask me if it hurt or how it felt, I tell them it felt like a hot needle running across my lips, which is exactly what was happening. Did it hurt, a bit, nothing unbearable, and that’s coming from somebody with a low pain threshold so the lidocaine really works. It took about 45mins to an hour and I got so used to it, I actually started to fall asleep.
While I knew my lips would be swollen afterward, I was not prepared for how much, it was pretty funny, as you can tell 😂 The swelling went down a bit more each hour and by the next day they had gone down enough for me to feel ok about going out in public. It took 3-4 days for the swelling to disappear completely, but I gotta tell you, I wish they would have stayed the size they were on day 3.
Immediately After Procedure
Yes, it looked ridiculous, but it didn’t take long for the swelling to go down so don’t let this scare you off.
Here’s what you can expect during the 8 week healing process:
About 2-3 days after the procedure, your lips will start to peel. It’s critical you don’t pull on the skin, just let it slough off naturally. I was lucky, I didn’t experience intense peeling and it only lasted about three days for me.
The color on your lips will decrease by A LOT! You want the color to be pretty bright and intense right after because it is meant to decrease in intensity by the end to just the right shade. Before you get to that, it will decrease to the point you may think there is no longer any difference, but the color goes away then comes back to what the final result will be, trust the process
After 8 weeks, you will go in for a touch up. This is great because it helps fill in any gaps that may have been missed initially, or maybe wasn’t done to the same degree, or, at this is the most common reason, when the color comes back, it may not come back as intensely in some areas as others. I only paid $50 for the touch up, so basically just the cost of time and product.
I have no idea what the cost variance is by city, state, PMU doing it, etc… But, I can tell you mine came to $500 in total and that was on the lower end of avg and worth every penny!
