Bruising and swelling in Busan Seomyeon, and how long each actually lasts.

Patients judge a result at day two and conclude something went wrong, when day two is when swelling peaks. Knowing the curve for what you had removes most of that anxiety and identifies the small number of cases where the curve is wrong.

Why swelling peaks on day two

Because it is an inflammatory response rather than the product itself. Tissue reacts to needle passage and to volume placed, and that reaction builds over twenty-four to forty-eight hours before resolving. This is why a face that looked good leaving the clinic looks worse the following morning — nothing has gone wrong, and it is the reason results are judged at two weeks rather than at two days.

Timelines by treatment

Botox: minimal swelling, occasional pinpoint bruise, resolved in two to three days. Filler: peaks day one to two, largely settled by day five, fully at two weeks. Boosters: raised points for a few hours, gone by the following morning. Threads: five to ten days of visible swelling. Energy lifting: none visible.

Which areas bruise most

Under-eye above everything, since the skin is thinnest and the vessels sit closest to the surface. Lips next, being highly vascular. Then the temples and the nasolabial region. Least: the chin, the jawline and anywhere treated with botox alone. Bruising probability is largely about vessel density rather than about how much was done.

What genuinely reduces bruising

Four things, in order of effect. Avoiding fish oil, high-dose vitamin E and aspirin for several days beforehand — these are the largest modifiable factor. No alcohol the night before. Cold applied before and immediately after injection, which constricts vessels. And cannula rather than needle technique in areas where it suits, which reduces vessel trauma. Arnica and similar preparations have limited evidence and no harm, so using them is reasonable provided the four measures above were not skipped in favour of them.

What reduces swelling

Sleeping with the head slightly elevated for the first two nights, which is measurable rather than folklore. Cold compresses in the first twenty-four hours. Avoiding heat, salt and alcohol for a day or two. And time, which does most of the work — see aftercare that actually matters.

Why do some patients bruise from nothing?

Vessel position, skin thickness and clotting tendency vary considerably and none are within your control. Patients on blood thinners for a medical reason will bruise more and should not stop them — that decision belongs to the doctor who prescribed them. Age also plays a part, since vessel walls become more fragile and skin thinner. This is variation rather than a sign of anything wrong with the treatment.

Why do patients judge results too early?

Because the timeline runs opposite to intuition. Everything else that heals looks worst immediately and improves from there, so a face that looked reasonable at the counter and worse the next morning reads as deterioration rather than as the expected curve. Add that patients photograph themselves most on the first two days — precisely the window when swelling peaks — and the impression forms before the result exists. The useful discipline is not photographing at all until day five and not judging until two weeks — see how to read a before and after.

Does any of this differ between treatments at the same visit?

Yes, and it can be confusing when two things were done at once. Energy lifting combined with filler produces swelling entirely from the filler, so the timeline follows that component. Laser alongside boosters produces redness from one and raised points from the other, resolving on different schedules. Where a combination was done, ask which component each effect belongs to — otherwise a normal response to one gets attributed to the other and worried about unnecessarily.

What kind of bruise needs reporting?

When it spreads rather than fades, when it comes with increasing pain, or when the skin looks dusky or mottled rather than purple. Ordinary bruising darkens then yellows and clears over five to ten days. Anything expanding, painful or discoloured differently needs reporting the same hour after filler — see what can go wrong.

Which swelling is outside the expected curve?

When it increases after day three rather than declining, when it is markedly one-sided beyond the first days, or when it comes with warmth and redness spreading outward. Persistent firm swelling at two weeks is a nodule rather than swelling and is assessed differently. Fever with any of these needs same-day contact.

How do I plan around it?

Assume the worst day is day two and count backwards from anything you care about. Three weeks minimum before an event after filler, longer for lips. For a trip, treat on arrival rather than departure so swelling resolves before you fly — see timing around an event. Concealer covers bruising well from day one; nothing covers swelling. That asymmetry is why bruise-prone areas are less of a scheduling problem than swelling-prone ones, and why lips are the hardest thing on the menu to fit near a date.