Personal, high-touch filler care
Worried filler means lips that aren’t yours, a puffy face, and no way back? We add volume where your lips or face have thinned, with a refreshed look that’s still yours as the goal.
“Top notch services and results!” (Ashley A., Google review)
The practice
Northern California Wellness in El Dorado Hills, founded in 2008 by Dr. Cheree Dunbar, MD, MPH, physician
The fillers
Juvéderm and RHA, two families of hyaluronic acid filler; each product is FDA-approved for its own uses in adults 22 and older
Results
Seen right away, settling over several days, lasting months
You may have noticed:
Dermal filler is a gel, most often hyaluronic acid, injected under the skin to add volume and smooth lines. Unlike wrinkle-relaxing injections, which relax muscles, filler adds volume.
With filler, you may see:
Fillers are approved for adults 22 and older. Our own treatment list places lip filler at every age from there, and filler for the face in the 40s to 60s, when volume starts to change.
Each of these areas is among the FDA’s approved uses for filler products:
How much filler your lips or face would need is something we work out with you.
Juvéderm and RHA are both families of hyaluronic acid filler, and each has different products approved for different areas.
Hyaluronic acid draws in water and swells into a gel that fills and smooths. Over time, your body breaks it down and absorbs it, so the effect is temporary.
Hyaluronic acid filler typically lasts 4 to 12 months, depending on the filler and the area. Lips may last around 6 months, and smile lines 9 to 12 months or longer.
To keep your result, you come back now and then for a top-up as your face changes.
Collagen-stimulating fillers work differently, building collagen gradually instead. Ask us about them!
It starts with a conversation: what you’d like, your health, every medicine and supplement, and past cosmetic treatments.
Your skin is cleansed and numbed with cold, an ointment, or an injected anesthetic, and lips often need a nerve block.
The filler goes in, and you see the change right away.
Ice for 15 to 20 minutes eases redness and swelling before you leave. Makeup is usually fine, but skip lipstick on freshly treated lips.
For a day or two the area may be tender, and redness, swelling, or bruising tends to clear within one to two weeks. Skip hard workouts for a day or two, keep your hands off the area for three days unless you’re told to massage it, and stay out of the sun and tanning beds.
Amy Garza, RN, joined us in 2018 as an aesthetic provider in injectables and skin treatments.
Charlotte Owings, PA-C, is a physician assistant with training in aesthetics, dermal fillers among them.
Both work the way our whole practice does: personal and high touch, with a team that knows its patients. Read about our practice.
“The practitioner I saw, Charlotte Owings, PA, was knowledgeable, professional, and very personable.”
(Maryanne S., Google review)
“Amy was so sweet during my appointment.” “She was able to help me narrow down what I actually wanted.”
(Briana N., Google review)
“Go see Charlotte.” “It will be the best decision you ever made for your self-esteem ❤️”
(Kelly M., Google review)
A conservative amount tends to look more natural. With very thin lips, the aim is a little fuller, not dramatically bigger.
The first days can look fuller, swollen, or bruised before the filler settles.
And if you don’t like it, hyaluronic acid filler can be dissolved with an enzyme. That’s an off-label use, and it may take more than one treatment.
So before anything starts, tell us what you’d like, along with your health, medicines, and past treatments. Call us with any question, before or after.
A few things mean waiting before filler treatment. Wait for now if:
Tell us first if you have:
Some medicines and supplements thin the blood and raise the chance of bruising, such as warfarin, aspirin, ibuprofen, vitamin E, St. John’s wort, garlic, and ginger. You may not need to stop one, so tell us what you take first.
The cost of lip filler follows your plan, starting with how much filler your lips need. Because results last months, keeping them means coming back now and then, so it helps to think about the cost over time. We offer CareCredit, which you apply for in person, and a call is where you ask about pricing.
Lip filler often calls for a nerve block to numb the lips. Other numbing choices include cold, a numbing ointment, or an injected anesthetic, and some fillers contain lidocaine to ease the injection. Afterward, your lips may feel tender for a day or two, and an ice pack helps.
Give yourself room. Swelling or discoloration can follow lip filler and take time to settle, so allow time for healing before an event. Redness, swelling, and bruising after filler tend to clear within 7 to 14 days. Call us with your date, and we’ll talk through your timing.
Hyaluronic acid lip filler can be dissolved with an enzyme called hyaluronidase. That’s an off-label use, and no product is FDA-approved for removing filler. Removing filler can need further procedures, each with its own risks. Collagen-stimulating fillers have no enzyme to dissolve them, which is worth knowing before you choose.
Fillers, lip filler included, are approved for adults 22 and older, and safety under 22 is unknown. At any age from there, lips can look more youthful without being made bigger. If you’re younger than 22, waiting is the plain choice.
The safety of dermal fillers and lip filler is unknown during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, so waiting until after is the plain choice. If you’re planning filler around a pregnancy or a new baby, call us with your question, and we’ll talk it through with you.
Looking like yourself, just a little fuller, starts with knowing what filler can and can’t do. Call with your questions first; we’re happy to talk through the options with you, with no pressure to book.
Our patients come from the Folsom area, Cameron Park, and Granite Bay, and we’ll be glad to see you here in El Dorado Hills.
A new patient coordinator returns calls and messages
Northern California Wellness
877 Embarcadero Drive Suite 2, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Monday to Thursday, 9 AM to 5 PM; Friday, 9 AM to 2 PM; closed Saturday and Sunday
