Do Cosmetic Injections Hurt?

It’s hard to imagine anything that involves a needle not hurting, but surprisingly, most patients tell us that having cosmetic injections really isn’t all that bad! However, we feel it’s important to discuss the fact that pain is very subjective and so some patients will be more sensitive to cosmetic injections than others. Everyone feels pain differently; what one-person thinks is minor pain may be quite uncomfortable for someone else.

At Celibre Medical, we never assume that injections aren’t painful. We talk to you about your pain tolerance before your injections and will make every effort to ensure that you are as comfortable as possible in our office before we begin. We have many options for those of you who fear injections or are stressed out by the thought of having them.

Botox and Dysport Injections

The size of the needle that is used for these injections is the smallest available! While that doesn’t mean it’s painless, it does mean that the pain from the needle is minimized. If that still doesn’t make you feel more confident about tolerating Botox or Dysport injections, then we usually offer an ice pack to gently numb the area prior to injection as this usually does the trick. We will warn you though that many people feel that the ice pack is more uncomfortable than the needle itself!

Dermal Filler Injections

These are a bit different than Botox or Dysport injections. The needles that are used are still very small, but the product itself is what people tend to describe as painful. Compared to Botox, dermal fillers are stiff, thick gels, so as they’re injected, they disrupt and move the skin tissue which means that you’ll feel it more as compared to Botox.

With that said, we do have several ways that we decrease the discomfort of dermal filler injections. The first is topical numbing cream. There are many different formulations, but Celibre Medical uses one that is particularly effective at numbing the skin. This helps you not feel the “prick” of the needle so much. We can also use ice packs before your injections. This also helps to numb the skin’s surface and a bit more of the deeper layers of skin as well. Lastly, we use dermal filler products that contain a small amount of lidocaine, an anesthetic. Much like what you get at the dentist office, lidocaine can give a deep, regional anesthesia which helps you not really feel much at all other than pressure once the filler injections get going.

One last note: remember that where you get your dermal filler injections will play into how much they hurt. Having filler placed deeply in your cheeks hurts a whole lot less than having your lips injected. Different areas have different sensitivities. And sometimes no matter what we do to numb beforehand, you may have some discomfort with dermal filler in a highly sensitive area like the lips and around the mouth.

We strive to make your treatments as comfortable as possible and we take the time to make sure that we are fulfilling that responsibility with each and every treatment.

View All Blogs