Why I regret getting chin filler to help ‘balance’ my side profile

“I kept touching my chin and shuddering at the foreign mass.”

Like so many other women, I have a long list of obscure insecurities. Dimply knees, uneven eyebrows, hairy toes – we’re unfortunately hard-wired to microscopically pick apart our physical appearance (even the parts nobody would ever notice).

Thankfully for me, age has come with acceptance and I find my inner critic has become quieter in the last few years. But since facial Botox and filler entered the realm of mainstream ‘beauty tweakments’, the possibility of acting on my insecurities has been niggling at the back of my mind. Admittedly, I’ve given in a few times.

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After extensive research, I started off with small amounts of Botox in my upper lip (for that lip-flip effect) and forehead – procedures that felt relatively insignificant but provided me with a boost of confidence. I found a Sydney-based injectables nurse, Louise*, who I really loved. Louise assured me she’d always help steer my face towards ‘natural beauty’.

It was easy to get a little brazen after a few needles to the face. By the time I arrived for my most recent appointment, she’d already politely talked me out of fat-dissolving treatment (I think it was the body dysmorphia talking) and trapezoid botox, which did seem a little far-fetched when I proposed it. She’s kind, smart and sensible, practised in soothing clients with outlandish ideas to transform their faces.

So when I told her that I wanted something to chisel and contour my side profile, I assumed she’d tell me to reconsider. My lack of jawline and indistinct chin have been lifelong insecurities, ones I’d tried to correct with the lip flip and years of aggressive gua sha-ing. Louise said she could offer chin filler, which involves (as you can probably guess) dermal filler injections into the soft tissues of the chin, sometimes close to the bone.

After viewing some chin filler before and after pictures, I was sold. Described online as a ‘non-surgical alternative to chin implants’ (which sounds wild, by the way), chin filler seemed like the sculpting, your-face-but-better treatment I’d been looking for. So after ice and a little numbing cream, I sat back in Louise’s pillowy recliner.

In my opinion, the filler injections were significantly more painful than the Botox. Maybe it was because the needles seemed so much bigger or the numbing cream wasn’t as liberally applied. The 2ml going in felt uncomfortable and my chin was an angry red for about two hours afterwards.

Don’t get me wrong – I like how it looked and I could see the changes almost instantly. My chin was more prominent, my neck was elongated and my side profile felt more balanced. But in the days coming, I kept touching my chin and shuddering at the foreign mass. It looked good but felt bulbous to the touch. This might’ve been due to my lack of filler experience, or the fact that I didn’t think the decision through all the way.

Instead of the elation I usually felt post-treatment, I was experiencing… regret? It was truly imperceptible to everyone except me (my boyfriend was shocked when I finally told him), but the chin filler bothered me. And, as Louise pointed out in a follow-up Botox appointment, it would need topping up to stay looking fresh.

Because I didn’t love the feeling, I never got that follow-up filler. A year on, the initial vials still sit in my chin (if you didn’t know, filler doesn’t dissolve naturally). In retrospect, it seems like a silly, snap decision that I paid over $600 for. The filler thankfully hasn’t migrated but also isn’t currently doing anything for my face.

Ultimately, it’s a lesson learnt. Filler does feel foreign and it’s important to think about every treatment as an augmentation – because that’s what it is. Do your research, and consider whether you’re willing to commit to years of dermal filler top-ups.

*Name has been changed.

This story was originally published on April 26, 2023.

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