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Hands Off · Two Weeks · Pacific Plaza

Dermal Filler Aftercare —
Leave It Where It Was Placed

Atelier Aesthetics · Medical Director: Dr. Sin Yong · Updated 25 Oct 2026

Hyaluronic acid filler needs time to settle, so aftercare mostly means leaving it alone. Here is what to do over the first fortnight, and which signs need Dr Sin Yong, or a hospital, without waiting.

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Day One

1. The First 24 Hours

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Swelling, tenderness and small bruises at the entry points are expected; how long they show is on dermal filler downtime. Planning is on the dermal filler page, general questions in the FAQ.

Do

  • Rest a clean, cool compress lightly on swollen areas, a few minutes at a time.
  • Keep entry points clean and dry: lukewarm water, a mild cleanser, pat dry.
  • Take paracetamol for tenderness, if needed.
  • Check the skin several times today, including before bed.
  • Your written aftercare sheet takes priority.

Avoid

  • Touching, pressing or massaging the area, unless told to.
  • Ice straight on the skin.
  • Make-up over the entry points.
  • Anti-inflammatory painkillers for tenderness, unless the clinic agrees; prescribed medicines carry on.
  • Alcohol, saunas, steam and strenuous exercise for 24 to 48 hours, and hot shower water on your face today.

Days Two To Fourteen

2. The First Two Weeks

The two sides often settle at different speeds; that is no reason to add product.

  • Hands off. No facials, facial massage or gua sha for about two weeks. Microcurrent, home devices, and HIFU, radiofrequency or laser over the area wait a week.
  • Dentist. About two weeks.
  • Pressure. Loosen goggles, helmets or masks that press on the area. No heavy glasses on a treated nose, or chin straps after chin filler, for about two weeks.
  • Your record. Keep the product name, areas and date with your aftercare sheet.

Skin And Sun

3. Skincare And Sun Protection

Heat from sun, saunas and steam prolongs swelling and bruising.

Start daily sunscreen once the entry points close, usually by the next day, and cover or protect any bruise: in Fitzpatrick III to V skin, sun on a healing bruise can leave a brown mark. Ask the clinic when to restart a retinoid or other active.

Everyday Life

4. Sleep, Exercise, Make-Up And Flights

Sleep. On your back, with an extra pillow, for the first night or two. Side-sleeping presses on the filler and can make swelling look lopsided.

Exercise. Walking from the next day; strenuous exercise and hot classes after 24 to 48 hours.

Make-up. From the next day on unbroken skin, applied lightly; no heavy foundation over open entry points.

Flights. Cabin pressure does not move filler; a gap before flying keeps you near the clinic for early warning signs and your check.

Safety

5. When To Contact The Clinic

These signs do not wait for your two-week check.

Emergency: 995 or the nearest emergency department

  • any change in vision, or eye pain;
  • new weakness of the face or a limb, or slurred speech;
  • swelling of the lips, tongue or throat with difficulty breathing.

Go straight there: not to the clinic first, and without waiting for a reply. If your vision is affected, do not drive yourself.

Now: contact the clinic for a same-day assessment

  • skin over or near the area turning white, dusky, purple, blue or net-like;
  • pain that is severe, or worsens over hours or days.

These can mean vascular occlusion, a rare complication in which filler blocks or presses on an artery. Call or WhatsApp +65 8023 7170 (Monday to Saturday, 11:00–20:00) and say it is urgent; do not massage or heat the area. Out of hours, or if you cannot reach the clinic straight away, go to the nearest hospital emergency department rather than wait for a reply. See filler vascular occlusion: warning signs.

Today: contact the clinic and say it is urgent

  • swelling that keeps increasing, or an area turning hot, red and tender, especially with a fever;
  • pus at an entry point, or a lump that grows, hardens or hurts;
  • a heavy or drooping feeling that swelling does not explain.

If the clinic is closed, see another doctor the same day. Problems that can wait are on dermal filler complications.

WhatsApp the clinic: +65 8023 7170

FAQ

Dermal Filler Aftercare — Common Questions

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Not on the first day, unless the clinic says otherwise, because they can increase bruising; ask the clinic before starting one later. Paracetamol is reasonable instead. A prescribed medicine carries on, and is never stopped without asking the doctor who prescribed it. Severe or building pain needs a call, not a tablet.
Leave about two weeks. Opening wide and pressure on the cheek can shift product that has not yet settled, and dental treatment can carry bacteria into the bloodstream. If an appointment cannot move, tell the clinic first so the timing can be agreed.
No. A firm or palpable feel is common while swelling settles, and pressing can move it. Leave it unless you have been told to massage, and report a lump that grows, hardens or becomes painful. Hyaluronic acid can be dissolved with hyaluronidase after an examination.
Not yet. What you see in the first days is partly swelling, so the shape is judged at your two-week check, and any small change is agreed there. Until then, do not have it topped up or adjusted anywhere. Planned dissolving is decided after an examination, never by message; the warning signs above are different and do not wait.

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Dermal Filler — Volume Restoration
How HA filler is chosen by depth and region, and why restraint shapes the plan.
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Dermal Filler Downtime
How you are likely to look in the first days, and when plans can resume.
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What to Expect: Dermal Fillers
The consultation, the steps on the day and how the injections feel.

References

  1. FDA (United States). Dermal fillers (soft tissue fillers). 2024.
  2. Beleznay K et al. Update on avoiding and treating blindness from fillers… Aesthet Surg J, 2019;39(6).
  3. Signorini M et al. Global Aesthetics Consensus: avoidance and management of complications… Plast Reconstr Surg, 2016;137(6).
  4. Ministry of Health, Singapore
  5. HealthHub, Singapore — public health information

More on this topic

Atelier Aesthetics · Owned by AYA

Left alone to settle —
then checked at two weeks.

9 Scotts Road, Pacific Plaza #12-01A, Singapore 228210 · +65 8023 7170

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