Treatments · Treatment guide · Injectables
Dermal and lip filler in your clinic: records, volumes and aftercare
How a clinic documents and runs hyaluronic acid filler: the treatment record, consent, published volume ranges by area, vascular safety, and the aftercare sheet clients need afterwards.
- One syringe
- 1 ml of hyaluronic acid
- Lips
- About 0.5 ml subtle to 1.0 ml full
- High-risk vascular zones
- Tear troughs and temples
- Typical duration
- Lips 6–12 months; cheeks and chin 12–18 months
What to record
Record the product, lot number and expiry, volume by site, depth or plane, technique (needle or cannula), and where hyaluronidase is kept. Mark injection sites on a face diagram and note the endpoint. For a series, record what was left for the next visit and why.
Product and lot on the patient record is what lets you act quickly if a recall or an adverse event comes up.
Consent and contraindications
Consent records a conversation: what filler can and cannot do, the common effects (swelling, bruising, tenderness, lumps), and the rare serious ones, including blockage of a blood vessel that may cause tissue damage or vision changes. Include the alternatives, including not treating, and the aftercare rules. Record who reviewed the form with the client and when.
Screen for these before you treat
- Pregnant or breastfeeding
- Allergy to lidocaine or hyaluronic acid
- Blood thinners or aspirin
- History of cold sores
- Previous filler in the area
- Autoimmune condition or active infection
Dermal filler protocol: volume and safety by area
The ranges below are the published figures behind our filler volume calculator, which rounds up to the nearest syringe. They describe typical volumes, not what any one patient needs. The injector decides that, using anatomy and goals.
- Lips: a subtle enhancement uses about 0.5 ml and a full lip 0.7–1.0 ml. A 2024 study of 253 patients found a mean of 1.06 ml for full lip treatment.
- Cheeks: moderate enhancement uses 1–1.5 ml per side; full volume restoration up to 2.5 ml per side in the study the calculator cites.
- Tear troughs and temples are high-risk vascular zones. Arterial occlusion can cause tissue necrosis or blindness, so these need a physician-level injector, thin low-G-prime HA, and emergency hyaluronidase to hand. The calculator's tear-trough figure is a maximum of 0.5 ml per side.
- Jawline and mid-face are clinic-only treatments; confirm you carry hyaluronidase and have a protocol for vascular occlusion.
Course of treatment
Multi-syringe treatments staged over visits reduce overcorrection and let you see how the filler settles. Plan touch-ups as part of the course rather than as a correction.
- Lips: 6–12 months
- Cheeks, nasolabial folds, chin: 12–18 months
- Jawline: 12–24 months
- Tear troughs and marionette lines: 9–12 months
Aftercare you send
Lip filler aftercare is one of the most searched questions in the whole field, and the sheet has two jobs. It sets expectations (swelling, bruising, lumps that soften) so clients don't panic, and it lists the symptoms that need urgent action: severe pain, skin turning white, grey or dusky, or any change in vision. Put the urgent list high on the page, and your after-hours number beside it.
Running this in Zdrovia
In Zdrovia, HA syringes are tracked by lot number and expiry as you chart them, so injectable inventory reconciles itself and a recall is a search, not an archaeology project. Attach the aftercare sheet to the filler service and it reaches every patient after their visit.
See how Zdrovia is set up for med spas.
Frequently asked questions
How much filler for lips?
A subtle enhancement uses about 0.5 ml, a full lip 0.7–1.0 ml. A 2024 study of 253 patients found a mean of 1.06 ml for full lip treatment. Many providers start at 0.5–0.7 ml and add at a follow-up.
How many syringes for cheeks?
Moderate enhancement uses 1–1.5 ml per side (2–3 ml total). Full volume restoration may use up to 2.5 ml per side in the CPM-HA study the calculator cites. One syringe is 1 ml.
How long does dermal filler last?
By area: lips 6–12 months, cheeks, nasolabial folds and chin 12–18 months, jawline 12–24 months, tear troughs and marionette lines 9–12 months. Touch-ups maintain the result.
What should filler aftercare cover?
What is normal (swelling, bruising, tenderness, lumps), what to avoid in the first days, how to reduce swelling, and the urgent symptoms that need immediate contact with the clinic or emergency care.
Related
- Photo consent form template
- Neurotoxin and filler combined consent form
- Charting injectable treatments properly
- All treatment guides
This guide summarises published figures and common documentation practice for clinics. It is not clinical or legal advice. Dosing, depth, and device settings are decisions for the treating practitioner, the manufacturer's instructions, and your medical director's protocol, and scope of practice varies by province and profession. Confirm anything you rely on with your regulatory college.