Pre & Post Care for Lip Enhancement
Pre-Care Instructions
β If you have a history of cold sores or breakouts around your lips, you MUST take antiviral medication as a precaution. You are required to take medications such as Zovirax, Famvir, or Valtrex for a total of 5 days: starting 2 days before your procedure, on the day of the procedure, and continuing for 2 days afterward. Contact a physician immediately to obtain a prescription for the antiviral medication, and make sure to inform them that it is for a semi-permanent cosmetic tattoo.
β If you do not have a history of breakouts around your lips, you are strongly advised to take L-lysine 500mg twice daily: one week before and one week after your lip blush appointment to lower the risk of a cold sore outbreak.
Before your appointment, exfoliate & hydrate your lips daily to eliminate dry skin. Dry lips can interfere with the lip blush procedure, potentially resulting in uneven healing.
Do not work out 48 hours before the procedure.
NO alcohol, caffeine, or stimulants 48 hours before the procedure. (Yes, there is caffeine in decaf coffee and tea!)
Avoid excessive sun exposure and tanning 1 week prior to the procedure.
Do not take Aspirin, Niacin, Vitamin E, or Advil/Ibuprofen 48 hours before the procedure.
Avoid Fish Oil, Primrose Oil, Prenatal Vitamins, Nutritional Shakes (Shakeology, etc), "Hair, Skin, Nail" supplements for a minimum of 48 hours prior to the procedure.
Discontinue Retin-A, and Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) at least 3 weeks prior
Must wait at least 2 months after lip fillers and 4 weeks after touch-up. It is possible to have poor color retention in lips that have had injections within 6-12.
Please Note: You will be more sensitive during your menstrual cycle.
Post-Care Instructions
*Immediately following the procedure, lips may feel dry, chapped, tight, and tender to the touch.
Complete your antiviral medication to prevent an outbreak.
Apply the ointment to your lips for 5 to 7 days after your appointment. It will protect your lips from moisture while you wash your face, brush your teeth, or shower. Make sure to dab/press onto the skin; do not rub it in.
Itching is normal, DO NOT PICK!
Keep your lips MOISTURIZED at ALL TIMES!! Use generous amounts of lip balm regularly to prevent chapping and dryness. This is crucial for maintaining color retention.
No soaps, cleansing creams, or chemicals on lips. Wash your face carefully avoiding the lip area for 7 days.
Avoid moisture to the lips such as hot soups and hot coffee for 7 days. Drink everything through a straw until lips completely peel.
DO NOT stretch the lips. Avoid biting into large sandwiches, etc. Cut food into tiny bites.
Do not bite into greasy, oily, salty, or spicy foods, rather cut them up and place them into your mouth.
While eating, do not constantly wipe your lips with a napkin or keep licking your lips, as this will impede the healing process. DO NOT PICK dry healing tissue, or you WILL remove the pigment color!
Avoid water on the new pigmented areas as much as possible in the first 7 days. (When showering, washing the face, etc., ointment should be placed on the pigmented area to protect lips from water). Do not stand in front of the showerhead when showering.
Avoid underwater swimming and batching for a minimum of 2 weeks to avoid bacterial infection.
Before brushing your teeth, seal your lips with ointment first. Put cotton balls in gum areas so the toothbrush will not rub against the lips. No whitening toothpaste (during the healing process). Use a small amount of toothpaste. Take a straw with you to the bathroom to retrieve water to swish with. Do not bleach/whiten your teeth while your lips are healing (about 2 weeks).
You may apply an ice pack (which must be protected with a wet barrier film of paper toweling, towel, or cloth) for 10-minute intervals for the first 48 hours. Ice may be applied every hour or so if desired. Do not put ice directly on the area.
Do not expose the lips to direct sunlight or tanning beds for 4 weeks. This is new skin and will sunburn easily, and direct sun prematurely may also cause scarring and alter pigment color.
You may wear lipstick, lip gloss, and chapstick after 10 days, and make sure the tube of the lip product is new.
Sleeping slightly elevated will help prevent swelling. Itβs recommended to sleep on your back on a satin pillowcase. If the pillowcase is not satin, you may also wrap your pillowcase at night and replace it with a fresh wrap in the morning. This keeps pigment from sticking to the pillowcase at night.
No smoking while lips are healing (10 days minimum).
No kissing, rubbing, or friction on your newly tattooed lips until after 7 days, or you may lose pigment.
Lips may be dry for 3 to 6 months, depending on the body's reaction.
Expect moderate swelling, usually 1-3 days following the procedure. Scabbing may make the lips feel thick. Lips will fade up to 50% after the first 5 days. While healing, the tattoo will look patchy. This is due to skin regeneration and healing. Two or three sessions may be required to achieve the desired results. Please be patient. Cosmetic tattooing is a multiple-step appointment process with a healing time of approximately 6 weeks in between touch-up appointments.
The above Pre and Post-Care for lips will affect how quickly or slowly you heal. Mature age, poor diet, stress, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, age, general health, sleep/fatigue. The more fatigued you are the lower your immune system is and infection is more likely to occur. Please get plenty of rest and drink lots of water to hydrate prior to the procedure.