How long does filler dissolving last?
permanent for the product dissolved
Filler dissolving uses hyaluronidase to break down hyaluronic acid filler, usually within twenty-four to forty-eight hours; the area looks flatter than your true baseline for about two weeks while your own hyaluronic acid replenishes.
- When you see it
- 24 to 48 hours
- Downtime
- swelling and tenderness for a day or two; a deflated look for 2 weeks
- Sessions
- usually one; long-standing migration sometimes needs two
This one is permanent, and that is the point
Hyaluronidase does not wear off. It breaks down the hyaluronic acid it reaches and the product it dissolves does not come back. The enzyme itself clears from the tissue within a day or two.
What is temporary is the deflated look afterwards. Hyaluronidase does not discriminate between filler and the hyaluronic acid your own skin makes, so the area can look flatter than your true baseline for a couple of weeks while yours replenishes.
That fortnight is the part people find hardest and the part worth planning for. It is temporary, it is normal, and it is not what your lips are going to look like.
After it has settled
Wait at least two weeks before judging the result, and preferably four before rebuilding on it — that way what gets built is your actual baseline rather than a guess.
If the reason for dissolving was migration, the things that prevent a repeat are smaller volumes, longer intervals and a softer product.
When one session is not enough
Long-standing migration sometimes needs a second session, particularly in the low-movement tissue above the lip where product persists far longer than it does in the lip body.
Firmer, heavily cross-linked gels can take more than one pass to clear completely.
Sources and further reading
- NHS — Dermal fillers
- British Association of Dermatologists — patient information
- Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners
- Aesthetic Complications Expert Group
This page is general information, not personal medical advice. Every treatment needs an individual assessment, and what is right for someone else may not be right for you.
Common questions
- How long does filler dissolving last?
- permanent for the product dissolved. Filler dissolving uses hyaluronidase to break down hyaluronic acid filler, usually within twenty-four to forty-eight hours; the area looks flatter than your true baseline for about two weeks while your own hyaluronic acid replenishes.
- When will I see the result of filler dissolving?
- 24 to 48 hours. Judging it before then is judging an incomplete result, which is the most common reason people think a treatment has not worked.
- When should I come back for filler dissolving?
- Before it has gone completely rather than after. Treating while some of the result remains needs less product, gives a more predictable outcome and is usually a gentler appointment. If you are unsure, send me a photograph — I would rather tell you to wait.
- Will it come back worse if I stop?
- No. When a treatment wears off you return to your own baseline, not to something worse. What people sometimes notice is that they had become used to the result, so the return to normal registers as a deterioration when it is simply the original.
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Consultations are £30, and that comes off the cost of your treatment if you go ahead. No pressure to book anything on the day — if you are not sure whether you want treatment at all, that is still a good reason to come and talk.