Skin care can increase or decrease your risk of complications after filler injections. This article will discuss what I tell my patients to use before Restylane, Juvederm, Voluma and other filler injections.

Inflammation is a domino effect.- once it gets going it can be hard to stop.  You want to prevent the inflammation pathways from getting turned on.  This is the best way to avoid redness and swelling after filler injections. This section will tell you which ingredients look for and what types of skincare to use before fillers.

Choose serums and moisturizers that contain anti-inflammatory ingredients such as:

• Allantion
• Argan Oil 
• Niacinamide 
• Green tea polyphenols 
• Feverfew
• Colloidal oatmeal 
• Licorice root extract 
• Bisabolol
• Aloe vera 
• Resveratrol
• Centella asiatica

These ingredients help calm inflammatory pathways and prevent redness.

Patients with sensitive skin, rosacea, burning, or stinging skin should be especially diligent about reducing facial inflammation before cosmetic procedures.

A strong barrier reduces the likelihood of irritation and may help skin recover more efficiently after injections.

Dry skin types are at a much higher risk for barrier disruption than oily skin types. They should be using a good barrier repair moisturizer in their skin care routine. Choosing one with soothing ingredietns is a great idea in the 24 hours before filler injections for both oily and dry skin types.

Bruising is one of the most common side effects of dermal filler injections. Although bruising cannot always be prevented, several skincare ingredients may help reduce the risk.

Arnica is commonly used before and after cosmetic procedures to help decrease bruising and swelling. Many patients begin using topical or oral arnica several days before treatment.

Tranexamic acid is best known as a treatment for melasma and other pigmentation disorders, but it may also help reduce bruising.

Tranexamic acid works by blocking the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin. Plasmin not only contributes to inflammation but also participates in the breakdown of blood clots. By reducing plasmin activity, tranexamic acid helps stabilize clots and may decrease bleeding into the surrounding tissues. This can potentially reduce post-procedure bruising and swelling.

For this reason, tranexamic acid is commonly used in surgery and other medical procedures to reduce bleeding. It may be a useful ingredient in the days leading up to filler injections, particularly for patients who bruise easily.

Vitamin K plays an important role in the production of clotting factors. However, vitamin K should be started well in advance of treatment because it takes approximately 10 days for increased clotting factor production to occur. Using a vitamin K product only one or two days before injections is unlikely to provide meaningful benefit.

Many providers apply topical numbing cream before filler injections. The numbing cream is often removed with gauze, which creates friction on the skin.

If your skin barrier has already been weakened by irritating skincare products or you have exfoliated your skin, the rubbing associated with cleansing and removing numbing cream can lead to burning, stinging, redness, and discomfort. Avoiding exfoliants for 3 days prior to fillers can help.

Do not use the following products on the day before your filler appointment:

• Retinoids
• Retinol
• Tretinoin
• Glycolic acid
• Lactic acid
• Salicylic acid
• Exfoliating cleansers
• Scrubs
• At-home chemical peels

Low-pH acids and exfoliating ingredients can increase irritation and may make the skin more susceptible to burning and stinging. Patients who have sensitive "stinging" skin are particularly vulnerable to irritation from low-pH ingredients.

The goal is to arrive at your appointment with a calm, intact stratum corneum.

Most people think of fillers only as a way to add volume. However, the injection process itself creates a small wound that activates the body's natural wound-healing response.

In many ways, the filler needle can be viewed as producing a mild form of controlled skin injury similar to microneedling. Wound healing stimulates fibroblasts—the cells responsible for producing collagen and other components of the extracellular matrix. Fibroblasts are the primary source of collagen in the skin.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has significant evidence supporting its ability to stimulate collagen synthesis.

Using a vitamin C serum during the week leading up to your filler appointment may help optimize the skin's collagen-producing environment before the procedure.

However, avoid applying low-pH vitamin C products the day before treatment. Ascorbic acid formulations are acidic and can function as exfoliants, potentially increasing irritation when numbing cream is applied or removed.

A simple approach is to use vitamin C every morning for the week before treatment and then skip it the day before and the morning of the procedure.

Keep your skincare routine simple on the day of treatment. These are the steps for a pre filler skincare routine:

After cleansing, apply a calming serum containing anti-inflammatory ingredients such as niacinamide, green tea, licorice root extract, feverfew, or Centella asiatica.

Avoid products that sting, tingle, exfoliate, or contain strong acids.

Whenever possible, arrive at your appointment without makeup. Little makeup particles can be driven into skin with the dermal filler needle. This can lead to cysts and other adverse events. It is best not to have any foundation, blush, bronzer, powder or other forms of makeup on your skin when you go to your filler appointment.

If you will be spending time outdoors before your appointment, apply sunscreen.

However, if you are heading directly to the clinic, it is often preferable to arrive with clean skin and minimal products applied. Do not apply sunscreen in this case because it can be difficult to remove and we want to avoid excessive scrubbing of the skin,

Want to know which skincare to use before fillers? Wanting a personalized skin care routine to maximize your dermal filler results? We need to know which of the 16 Skin Types you are to give you the best personalized advice.