Kayla Young
If you’re excited to try every new innovative cosmetic beauty procedure out there, then you will have no doubt considered having your lips blushed.
Similar to having a traditional tattoo, lip blushing has gained in popularity, because it causes lips to look more youthful and fuller without having to be injected.
But just like any cosmetic beauty procedure, things can go wrong. You may have come across some of the horror stories of people who have suffered adverse reactions after their lip blushing treatment.
In this article, we’re going to cover lip blushing gone wrong, so that if you choose to decide to have this procedure done, you’ll be more informed to make sure everything goes the way you want it to without any hiccups.
Contents
Lip Blushing Recovery Process
Many beauty enthusiasts are big fans of lip blushing, because of the lasting effects this cosmetic treatment can give. This semi-permanent makeup can not only give your lips a more natural, lasting color, but it can also give them the appearance of looking fuller.
And who doesn’t want that?
However, this now-popular cosmetic procedure isn’t without its potential complications, which many people have experienced, but which you may not have heard about.
This now-popular cosmetic procedure isn’t without its potential complications, which many people have experienced, but which you may not have heard about.
So, it’s important that you really do your research, and not just read the leaflets handed to you at the clinic, before you choose to have lip blushing done.
Of course, just like with any other cosmetic treatments that pierce the skin like Microblading and Ombre Brows, you will have some recovery time after having a lip blushing procedure done.
Typical Lip Blushing Recovery
This recovery process looks like the following:
1. Redness
As with anything that pierces the skin, the tiny needles used to perform the lip blushing technique can cause some redness, especially given the ultra-sensitive skin around the lips! It is also possible that some slight bruising may occur.
2. Swelling
Whenever your body’s immune response is activated by what it sees as a threat, inflammation will occur. This is a necessary process to cleanse the area of injury from any debris like bacteria, and prepare it for the healing process.
The stronger your immune response, the more likely it is that your lips will swell a lot. After having lip blushing done, some people can look like they’ve had too much filler injected.
3. Oozing
We know this sounds rather icky! But yes, a little ooze is a common healing reaction to having lip blushing done. Just like when someone has a tattoo done, the skin will ooze lymph fluid due to the abrasion of the skin during the inking process.
This lymph will crust over during the healing process, which shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. And it’s nothing to worry about because this is a completely normal reaction to the injected pigment.
So, you’ll need to keep in mind that you will probably experience all of the above as your lips heal.
It’s a good idea to schedule your lip blushing procedure at the weekend, or take a day off after to allow the healing process to continue without stress. Because you won’t be able to wear lipstick to cover up any healing damage.
But sometimes it can be worse…
Lip Blushing Gone Wrong: Beyond The Typical
In some cases the lip blushing procedure can go completely wrong, with cold sores, infections, allergic reactions, and more. Understand that this process has risks, and you should go into your appointment aware that there’s a chance your lips will look much worse than they did when you started.
Many complications are connected to having a lip blushing procedure done, besides the fact that some people end up in excruciating pain. These complications include cold sores (note: these should be a problem only if you’ve had cold sores before), allergic reactions and hives, infections, and complete dissatisfaction with the result you get.
Many complications are connected to having a lip blushing procedure done, besides the fact that some people end up in excruciating pain. These complications include cold sores (note: these can be a problem only if you’ve had cold sores before), allergic reactions and hives, infections, and complete dissatisfaction with the result you get.
So, let’s take a closer look at these lip blushing complications…
1. Cold Sores
Because lip blushing is a similar technique to having a traditional tattoo, blisters can develop on your lips from the needle stimulating your lips during the procedure. This will cause the healing process to be exacerbated, and can even result in pigment loss.
Cold sores will generally appear a few days after the procedure, and they can only occur in people who have had cold sores before. Therefore, if you have a history of herpes simplex virus, it is recommended that you don’t have a lip blushing treatment.
2. Allergic Reactions
Due to certain pigments of ink used in lip blushing treatments, it is possible that you could have an unpleasant reaction to the chemicals. Even people who have had tattoos for a while sometimes develop allergies related to the ink.
The allergic reactions can manifest as swelling, rashes, bumps, hives, or even anaphylaxis, which can be life threatening because it sends the body into shock.
This reaction can result in vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and fainting, or trouble breathing. If not treated immediately, anaphylaxis can also result in death.
It’s almost impossible to anticipate an allergic reaction, so if you already have allergies to inks, it is advised that you have a patch test done first. This way, you can keep an eye on how your body responds to the pigment being injected.
3. Skin Infections
Infections from lip blushing happen when bacteria is transmitted due to contaminated equipment and needles, or even from contaminated pigments, which can happen even if your technician has followed sanitary precautions.
The end result could be you having to deal with skin infections due to staphylococcus aureus, also known as a staph infection, or even hepatitis.
If you get a lip infection, then it will have to be treated immediately to prevent it from spreading. So, if your lips are swollen for longer than a few days, if other parts of your face swell up, you discover a sore or blisters on your lip line, or you develop a fever, then it’s time to seek medical attention.
It’s a good idea to text photos to your lip blushing technician every day or so for the first week to keep them aware of the healing progression, and to get guidance if anything feels like it’s going wrong.
Text photos to your lip blushing technician every day or so for the first week to keep them aware of the healing progression, and to get guidance if anything feels like it’s going wrong.
It’s pretty easy to prevent an infection from occurring in the first place.
First, make sure your lip blushing technician and studio are up to snuff. Everybody should be licensed, and it should be squeaky clean. All of the equipment, including the needles, need to be properly sterilized, and you should feel comfortable that your technician is following sanitary precautions.
For instance, the pigment that you choose should be coming from an unused sealed container.
Next, make sure that your skin has been thoroughly cleaned and prepared before the lip blushing treatment begins.
This should go without saying.
Finally, after you’ve had your lip blushing treatment, make sure that you keep your lips clean at all times. No makeup, no smoking, and be careful eating.
And be sure that you follow the aftercare instructions given to you so that your lips can heal properly.
4. Dissatisfaction With The Results
This is the probably most common complication of having a lip blushing treatment done. Some people are dissatisfied after the procedure because the color isn’t even or doesn’t look like what was visualized, or if the outline done isn’t the right shape or is over-enhanced.
You get the procedure for more beautiful lips, and they end up looking worse than when you started. Argh!
You get the procedure for more beautiful lips, and they end up looking worse than when you started. Argh!
And because lip blushing is a semi-permanent treatment, you can’t easily change the appearance of your lips after the fact if you’re not perfectly happy with the result.
The next step is to jump to laser removal or correction, which can only be done after a couple of months have passed.
This is why you must do your full research beforehand about this cosmetic procedure, as well as vet the technician who will be doing it. You need to know their certifications and their experience level, and get some reviews from previous customers.
You’ll also need to choose the right color for your lip blushing because you don’t want to use a pigment that’s going to make your own lips look unnatural.
And make sure that you definitely do a patch test, which a good technician will happily do for you.
MRI Concerns
Although it’s not an adverse reaction to lip blushing as such, one other thing that you will need to consider is that future MRIs may get complicated.
Magnetic resonance imaging, better known as MRI, has been known to cause burning and swelling in those who have had semi-permanent makeup and tattoos done. The metals in the pigment can induce an electric current in the body.
Magnetic resonance imaging, better known as MRI, has been known to cause burning and swelling in those who have had semi-permanent makeup and tattoos done. The metals in the pigment can induce an electric current in the body.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have an MRI done if your doctor advises you to have one, because delaying doing so could cause you more problems than the burning or swelling at the inked skin site.
However, you should be aware of this issue, because many people have reported this happening while having an MRI scan done, which can also interfere with the quality of the images produced by the machine.
Therefore, you should also advise the radiologist that you have had lip blushing done if you find yourself in this situation.
Conclusion: Just Swell
So, if after reading all of the above, you’ve still decided to have a lip blushing procedure done, then you know of the risks involved beyond the basic redness, swelling, and some oozing lymph fluid.
And although it does happen to some, hopefully, you won’t become one of those lip blushing fails, Follow the guidance we’ve laid out here, and be sure you’re comfortable with your artist. Then you can enjoy your new colored and fuller looking lips for up to a year with added confidence.
