So how’s that for a ridiculously long and clunky heading? Still, SEO is a total thing, okay?

Now let’s talk about lips!

Sometimes mine are full and sometimes they’re, well, not as full. This is because I’ve been plumping them up on and off over the past few years using Restylane, a temporary filler.

It’s not really a shocker revelation or anything as I’m pretty open about it. Also, because I work in the beauty industry – constantly meeting aesthetic derms and docs, watching their live demos – I guess you get kind of blasé about it.

Get half head highlights. Grab milk. Abuse free mani offer. Return unflattering top to Woolies. Plump up pout…

One thing I’m not relaxed about, however, is who I’ll go to. As most of my fellow beauty eds and many bloggers use dermal fillers too (although they won’t tell you) I get to see a lot of work and it’s not always good. You see, if you’re talking Botox, it’s such a simple thing – jab, jab, you’re done, see you in three months – you don’t really have to see a magician of a doc to get the desired result. Lips, however, are a blerrie art. Seriously. Think about how many times you’ve seen a celebrity with a messed up mouth? This is the annoying thing with aesthetic procedures. You only ever see the bad work, so it gets a bad name while the good doc’s work goes unnoticed. And by good doc, I mean the one who can do the least to help you look like the best version of yourself.

Still, if you know what you’re looking for, you can spot good work and it’s this that led me to Mignon Laub.

So many times I’d see a lip line I loved and her name would pop up and I’d just file it away in my brain. Eventually, when it was time to get a fill, I thought I’d give her a bash and was so thrilled with the results I’ve gone back to her for a second time and actually pay for it, despite getting offers for free filler tossed at me like confetti at a wedding.

So, before I share some before and after shots (‘cos I’m a giver!) let’s get a few FAQ questions out the way.

1. Does it hurt?
Nope. Dr. Laub slaps on a super sterk numbing cream so you can scroll through your Instagram feed while it kicks in and then when it’s needle time you literally don’t feel a prick.

2. How long does it last?
Six to nine months. I’m always convinced I can still see the teensiest bit of a difference at the nine month mark but by six or seven your lips have definitely lost some of their ‘drama’.

3. What if I hate it?
Then remove it! Another injectable called Hyaluronidase can dissolve your temporary filler in a flash so you’re never stuck with anything. Celebs with badly misshapen mouths are those who opted for permanent implants back in the olden days when we used dial-up telephones (‘memba those?) and lived for M-Net’s Open Time. Also, for the record, you don’t leave the doctor’s office and get a nasty surprise later on. The look she creates is the one you leave with, unless of course you go home and sleep on your face and squish everything around while it ‘sets’, if that makes sense.

4. Will it destroy me financially?
If you see Mignon, a subtle fill will set you back half a tube of filler and that’s R1 800. I go for the full Monty ‘cos I’m an extravagant sort and that’s R3 200. If you shop around you’ll know this is a very good price.

5. Do I have to hide away afterwards?
Not really. But it depends. A doc, regardless of their skills, can always hit a vein and if they do you’ll have bruise but this can be hidden with lippie and concealer. Also, there are certain things you should avoid before a treatment – alcohol, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc – to prevent/minimise post-fill swelling. The first time I saw Mignon I totally behaved. Thus, I got to run off to a dinner party straight after my fill and my friends didn’t even notice I’d gotten a plump until I pointed it out. (Bastards!) The last time, however, I’d drunk ten litres of launch bubbles and slammed a fistful of hangover-smashing pain killers into my face the day before. Then, afterwards, instead of driving away like a good girl with the Juvederm branded ice pack on my mouth I threw it onto the back seat of my car and headed off to Simply Asia to eat a tom yum soup as hot as lava. (Me to waiter: ‘Thai style, please! I want, like, blood to rain out of my eyes while I’m eating it. I’m serious! I’m only happy when it makes me cry…)

The difference between my first plump and the second was pretty marked in that I totally swelled up Kylie Jenner-style! I was actually going to slap up a pic to show you but my blogger bestie Karisa gave me a fat lecture saying potential husbands might google my name, see it, freak out and then, when I end up dying all alone in a garret wearing Green Cross health shoes with ten thousand hamsters (‘cos they’re the only sad ass pet you can have when you live in a bloody garret) I’d have ‘brought it on myself’. So ja. No piccie of that, but between you and me and I quite enjoyed the look, mostly ‘cos it only lasted less than a day and provided me with an endless string of mega-pout selfies with which to terrify my family and friends. (Me: ‘So do you think it’s too much?’ Girl friends: ‘OMG! OMG! OMG! What have you done?!’ Gay friend: ‘LOVE IT!’ Boy cousin: ‘Oh, did you change your hair?’ Little sister: ‘Bleh. You’re still old and gross and nobody’s going to love you’.)

Anyway, let’s get back to lovely Dr. Laub. The fact that she’s a switched on young woman who totally gets other young women is fabulous but, in short, I love her work and like to compare her to a great hair dresser in that she listens. She won’t just slap on her idea of a great lip line – she listens to what you want and works slowly, bit by bit, showing you what she’s doing all the way so you can go ‘a little more here’ or ‘ah, that’s just right’. I also love that she totally gets my hatred for ‘the worm’. You know when you see that little ridge running along the top of someone’s lip line? Where it looks like there’s a little worm running under their skin? I call that the worm. For me it’s a total tell-tale sign someone’s hit the pump stations and I hate that. While I’ll happily tell anyone who asks* that I’ve totally hit up the needles, I still don’t want to look it, if that makes sense.

Ready for some piccies?

And here I am free wheeling home post-treatment. The only tell tale sign of what I’ve done (prior to a brief period of swelling that was all my fault) is the teensiest needle mark that I could totally cover with lippie.

..

If you’ve been thinking about plumping up your pout, be it a little or a lot, and are terrified about who to see please know that she gets my two thumbs up. To make an appointment give Just Skin Aesthetic Clinic in Green Point a ring. They’re one of the clinics I’ve trusted for years and all the chicas that work there are divine. Also, please feel free to ask me any questions in the comments section.

Love, love

Leigh

P.S.

*For the record, this is something Karisa tells me this is something I must become more ‘discerning’ about as I’m ruining my life with convos that run a lot like this…

Mooi 25-year old boytjie: Hey girl, .
Me: Oh hello there, young man. While I appreciate your interest, please know that I am super duper olllld. Do you remember The Thundercats? I bet you don’t! I could tooootallly be your mom…’
Karisa: *Kick! Kick! Kick!*
Mooi boy: No ways! You’re still in your 20s right? Not older than 30, surely?
Me: Oh bless you, child! Sadly, I am closer to forty! There is sooo much plastic in my face right now…
Karisa: *Digs nails into my palm while flashing crazy eyes*
Mooi boy: You’re just messing with me, right?
Me: HUSH! The grown ups are talking. Run along now! Go play with your friends…