My Experience with Fillers in My 30s: Focusing on Structure, Not Wrinkles

When I entered my 30s, I didn’t expect to notice skin changes so soon, but little things like a loss of volume in my cheeks and more visible fine lines made me turn to injectables like Botox first and then fillers.

When we think about fillers, we often imagine erasing deep wrinkles. But in your 30s, it’s usually a lot more subtle. It’s the decade where small shifts in facial structure start to show, like a little less definition in the chin, slight volume changes in the lips, and early signs of skin laxity.

For me, getting fillers in my 30s wasn’t about chasing away wrinkles, but about enhancing and maintaining the natural contours of my face. After plenty of research, I took the plunge. Here’s why I decided to get fillers, what the process was like, and everything I learned along the way.

What are Fillers?

Fillers, or dermal fillers, are injectable gels, often made from hyaluronic acid, used to enhance features, restore volume to the skin, and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. By literally taking up space, hyaluronic acid fillers plump up your skin from the inside.

Common filler brands used today are Restylane and Juvederm. Fillers are temporary solutions to treating signs of aging, and when done well, they can look very natural. They’re highly customizable to your skin’s needs, so a good understanding of your facial structure by your injector is crucial.

Why People Consider Fillers in Their 30s

We all know that collagen loss usually starts in our mid to late 20s, so we kind of start to see the effects of that in our skin in our 30s. Subtle volume changes under the eyes create under-eye hollows, whereas volume loss on the cheeks results in a slightly saggy appearance.

Because of gravity, our face becomes droopy. Fat loss on the cheeks causes wrinkles on the lower parts of the face. These are structural changes that affect facial proportion, definition, and contour.

Additionally, wrinkles start to become etched in this decade, resulting in noticeable and permanent fine lines around the eyes, also known as crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles, and frown lines between the brows. Botox can fix these, but it doesn’t work on all types of wrinkles.

Very thin lines, such as smile lines, can’t be treated with Botox, as Botox only works on expression wrinkles, which refer to wrinkles where there’s mechanical action. So when you want to treat those types of wrinkles with injectables, you turn to fillers.

Lastly, getting fillers in your 30s will ensure better results compared to getting fillers later in life, such as in your 50s, when most of the damage is already there.

Common Areas Treated in Your 30s

• Cheeks to restore youthfulness
• Tear troughs, also known as under-eye hollows
• Lips for volume and definition
• Smile lines, also known as nasolabial folds
• Jawline and chin for contour and definition, and to neutralize jowls

Things to Know Before Getting Fillers in Your 30s

• This is the most important thing: choose a qualified injector. Fillers work well only when they’re done by a professional.
• Start small. You can always go for more, but never go in and just get fillers for every area you think needs fillers.
• Fillers are temporary. So you need to renew them every 6 months or every year, or every 2 years, depending on the treated area. This can be costly!
• Beware of the downtime. Bruising and swelling are expected, so don’t book an appointment right before a special occasion.
• Manage your expectations. You’ll still look like you, only fresher. The changes are usually subtle.
• Things can go wrong. There may be unevenness on the treated area or a bluish color visible on the skin. These are usually treated by dissolving the fillers by your injector.

My Experience Getting Fillers in My 30s

Why I Decided to Try Fillers

I’m very mindful of other people ending up with unnatural-looking faces after fillers and certain areas, such as under-eyes, that require extra attention.

So even though I’d love to have a more lifted appearance with fillers around my temples, or fresh under-eyes with under-eye fillers, I intentionally stayed away from those. I think the risks outweigh the benefits. So all risky areas are a ‘no’ for me now.

I wanted a more defined and proportionate appearance. My problem was with the structure as opposed to individual wrinkles. And the safest choice for contour and definition is chin fillers. I’m also insecure about my thin lips, so I wanted a bit of volume in there as well.

How I Chose My Injector

I’ve been going to the same injector for Botox for the last couple of years. Dr. Arda Yapar is an internal medicine doctor who then switched to medical aesthetics. During these years, he customized my Botox injections to my face after each treatment. He knows my face and understands my facial structure.

Even though customer satisfaction is important, he said ‘no’ to me on several occasions when I wanted more Botox for my forehead wrinkles. His reasoning was that I already have hooded eyes, so a completely smooth forehead means heavier eyelids, which is not that aesthetically pleasing. These are all green flags!

Also, he refuses to do nose fillers and under-eye fillers as a principle because of the potential for filler migration, which might lead to, in extreme cases, blindness. Another green flag!

So I’ve seen firsthand that he is very conservative and prioritizes my health and not his income. I got chin fillers and lip fillers on separate occasions. And I went for the lip fillers only after I decided that I was happy with my chin fillers.

The Treatment Process: Chin Fillers

I have a very small chin, which looks disproportionate considering that I have a big nose and a big forehead. It’s shaped inward, and I have a huge crease there, giving the lower part of my face a wrinkly, shriveled appearance.

It also draws attention to wrinkles around my mouth, which became deeper in my 30s. So, a bit of enhancement in that area would make my overall face look more balanced and symmetrical.

After the initial consultation and examination, my injector applied numbing cream to the chin area. Then I waited about 15 minutes until it kicked in, and then moved on to the injections.

My injector applied small amounts of filler to my chin. I wasn’t necessarily curious about the amount or the exact placement. But at some point, he brought out a cannula to open up my chin crease.

After my chin, he then applied a tiny, tiny amount of filler on each side of my jawline, but he did not fully treat that area, as I already had a big face from my enlarged masseter muscles.

Filling the whole jawline would result in a wider-looking face, so we decided to try masseter Botox there to slim down the jawline at another time and to focus only on the tip of the chin for now.

Results

The treatment took about 15 minutes, and the results were instantly visible. I had a nicely defined chin, which made my face look more balanced and harmonious.

The distance between my lower lip and my chin was now longer, giving my face a bit of a longer look as opposed to wider. It relaxed my mouth area and even gave my lower lip a boost!

It took about 6 months until my chin filler started to go down and lose its initial fullness and more than a full year until about 90% of it was gone. I loved the results and would definitely try chin fillers again!

The Treatment Process: Lip Fillers

I already have a very chubby face, so I didn’t want full-blown lips to add to that. I lack definition on the outer corners of my lips, which makes me look like I’m frowning all the time.

My big cheeks are pressing against my lips, making them look even thinner and turning them inward. But still, I specifically asked my injector to make it look like I didn’t have anything done.

The numbing cream worked like a charm, but I could still feel the needles. On a pain scale of 1 to 10, I think it was 2, and my eyes did get watery. Injections for the lips are higher in number. It’s like small dots all over the lower and upper lips as opposed to 3 big dots on the chin. That’s why it’s uncomfortable.

After he was done injecting, he gave my lips a massage to make sure the filler was evenly distributed and there were no clumps. Again, the results are instantly visible, and I loved them!

Results

Even though some people could tell I had fillers, it was obviously natural and not overly done. I received compliments all over, and some people couldn’t tell what it was! My face just looked fresher.

I also loved the fact that I could smile, and my gums weren’t visible as if I’d gotten gummy smile Botox. It’s been about 10 months since I got the fillers, and I feel like they’re almost all gone. Compared to chin fillers, my lip fillers dissolved faster. I’m considering a renewal soon!

The only problem is that the swelling for the first two days was visible. So people could tell there was something on my lips. But after that, my lips looked natural.

What I Wish I Knew Beforehand

Focus on the structure, not tiny wrinkles.

You really don’t need to sweat over wrinkles that much. I spent years thinking about a nose job, but could never muster up the courage to go for it. My chin filler, such a small treatment compared to nose surgery, gave me a more balanced profile, making me forget about a nose job!

I hate my smile lines, but I don’t want to get fillers there because it’s such a big area, and I’m afraid my face will end up looking bigger, and I won’t like the results.

A little bit of volume on my lips gave me a chance to pay attention to that area, whether it’s using lip gloss more frequently, or trying out red lips on a Wednesday morning, making me forget about the creases around my mouth!

The slight volume on the outer corners eliminated the frowning appearance. So sometimes, if you can’t do anything about a problem, fix something else!

Customize your treatment to your unique face.

I was so afraid of looking fake, huge, and just unnatural. That’s why it took me so long to go in for lip fillers. I could’ve gone sooner if someone told me that fillers are customizable!

You don’t need to do it like everybody else. People are going in for duck lips on purpose, you don’t have to look like that! Ask for minimal intervention and clearly define your expectations to your injector. Just because some people want to look unnatural doesn’t mean you have to.

Be smart with the placements.

Rather than a cookie-cutter approach, focus on strategic areas for enhancement that will elevate other areas of the face. Going in to fill in every single wrinkle is a tedious, costly task, one that’s very likely to disappoint.

Instead of obsessing over every single wrinkle, which is normal, expected, and unavoidable, be smart with the filler placements. Focus on subtly enhancing your features!

As an example, jawline fillers are incredibly useful in reducing the appearance of jowls, which would, under normal circumstances, make you feel hopeless, as there’s no way to lift jowls with Botox or skincare!

Final Thoughts on Getting Fillers in Your 30s

I think they’re worth it when done by a professional. When you think about it, fillers didn’t do anything about the wrinkles I was annoyed about. But it did enhance my structure, which was all the confidence boost I needed.

Do your research before going in for a consultation to get the best results. But remember, at the end of the day, fillers are not a necessity. Wrinkles and other signs of aging are all normal! You don’t need to intervene unless you want to!