Dermal Filler Aftercare Sheet - Editable Canva Template for Clinics

Most aftercare advice is about protecting the result. Filler aftercare is different, because vascular occlusion is time-critical and the client is the one who has to recognise it, at home, on a Saturday night, hours after they've left you. This sheet tells them exactly what to look for, in words they'll understand, and says plainly not to wait and see whether it improves overnight.

The rest of it handles the ordinary problem: lips swell dramatically at 24 to 72 hours, clients think something has gone wrong, and you spend Sunday morning reassuring them.

What's on it

• What to do: cool packs in the first 24 hours, no massaging or pressing the area unless you've specifically instructed it, sleeping on their back and slightly elevated for two nights, 48 hours off exercise, saunas, steam and hot yoga, no alcohol for 24 hours, two weeks clear of facials, peels, laser and needling, and dental work avoided for a fortnight where possible.
• What is normal: swelling that peaks at 24 to 72 hours and is dramatic in lips, bruising for up to two weeks, tenderness when pressed, and small lumps that soften over two to four weeks before the settled result appears.
• When to contact you straight away: a clearly marked panel: severe or increasing pain out of proportion to what they expect, skin turning white, mottled, dusky or blue in a pattern that isn't a bruise, any change to vision or pain behind the eye, blistering, spreading infection, and new lumps appearing weeks or months later after an illness, vaccination or dental work.
• A plain statement that vascular occlusion is time-critical: telling them to call immediately rather than wait for their next appointment.
• Your contact details, after-hours number and emergency instruction: in a bordered box where a frightened person can find it fast.
• A next-steps table: treatment date, review appointment, next treatment due, and recommended products.