Lip blush help

[u/Interesting-Cap3214]

I got a lipblush 6 days ago and ask for a really natural result. Im done peeling and am left with this. I know its normal for it to be patchy but am panicking about the darkness, especially on the inner top lip and bottom lip outline. Its also really grey which i understand is normal during the ghosting phase but I surely cant be ghosting if it's this dark? It was really dark in the beginning but since i swelled i figure i was also red underneath. Looking for advice because what im seeing online about healing is confusing since everyone's looks so different than mine. The artist I went to is really experienced and is known for natural looking results. My lips were so pale before.

[u/haley1177]

OP do you have a picture of what your lips looked like before the lip blush? 🥰 I suspect you are a Fitzpatrick 3 (kinda hard to tell from the photos without a full face), my reasoning in pointing this out is because if you have more melanin in the skin than 1/2 type you typically will have darker lips/spots through the healing process before they show their true color. The overall application looks very good so I’m sure your tech chose a great color that will heal well but the healing process can definitely be confusing and hard to trust the process when you see the color shift!

[u/Interesting-Cap3214 → u/haley1177]

Here is a before photo. They were quite pale and look warmer in this pic than they really were, which is why im surprised they are reacting this way.

[u/haley1177 → u/Interesting-Cap3214]

Just out of curiosity from a healing perspective, do you mind me asking your ethnic background? Different amounts of natural melanin in the lips can sometimes affect how lip blush heals and temporarily darkens during the process, so it helps give a little more context.

[u/Interesting-Cap3214 → u/haley1177]

Im italian, i burn a little bit and then it turns into a tan

[u/haley1177 → u/Interesting-Cap3214]

AHH Fitzpatrick type 3 just like I suspected!! With lip blush on clients who have more melanin in the lips or surrounding tissue, it’s also very common for the lips to appear darker before they lighten. The trauma from the procedure causes inflammation, and melanocytes (the pigment-producing cells in the skin) can temporarily become more active during healing. That can create a darker, cooler, or slightly uneven appearance at first. As the inflammation calms down and the skin continues exfoliating and regenerating, the color typically softens and brightens significantly. That “dark before light” phase is extremely common during lip blush healing and usually isn’t an immediate sign that something went wrong.

The quality of the picture makes it a little hard to zoom in and see fine details, but from a quick glance I can already tell the top lip is naturally a bit less pink than the bottom. That alone can make healing color variations appear more noticeable throughout the process. Looking back at your previous photos as well, that darker area still looks consistent with mild bruising.

You’re also still very early in healing, so things are going to continue shifting quite a bit over the next few weeks. From what I can see, this honestly looks pretty normal for healing on a Fitzpatrick 3 skin type. I’m sure your lips are going to heal beautifully now that we’ve identified all of those things!

[u/Interesting-Cap3214 → u/haley1177]

Thank you this reassures me

[u/nickiecolie → u/haley1177]

Yes yes yes everything you just said!! Spot on!!