I got my lips done in Tijuana, Mexico! Botched or Not?!

I know we are supposed to embrace the appearances God has gifted us with but I'd been wanting to get my lips done for the longest. My lips have always been a big insecurity, to be honest, I'd seen how much celebrities and influencers’ appearances had changed due to getting lip fillers and knew I needed to get some. I don’t know if any of you have ever seen the show Botched on E! but if you ever want to get some work DON’T watch this show it will traumatize you haha. So although I wanted to get my lips done my fear of having botched lips outweighed my desire to get lip fillers. Also, lip fillers are not cheap! They average around $600+ per syringe and don’t last forever so you have to go back and get them refilled (and that mostly depends on how fast your metabolism dissolves the product). So not only was I scared to get botched but also spending that kind of money hit a spot. But I did turn 25 this year and like began to think how all of my early 20’s I didn’t take care of myself as much as I should have. When I say take care I mean as in not working out as much as I should have, not taking care of my skin as I should, or just spend money on things that would help my appearance. So when I hit 25 and realized my youth is going in a blink of an eye I decided that I could no longer use my busy lifestyle as an excuse to not take care of my appearance (and like I’m not trying to be vain whatsoever but I do think it’s important we respect and appreciate our bodies). So here I am 2 months in of working out consistently, eating healthier foods (but girl Hot Cheetos still tempt me at the target checkout) and doing a skincare routine regularly. I began to see results and was feeling really good about myself and what I’d accomplished and I knew the cherry on top would be to get my lips done. I thought to myself what better time to risk being botched then when you are stuck at home and have to wear a mask over your lips when going out in public?! So I started looking into places and came across this place in TJ (living in San Diego, going to TJ is like 20 min drive and may occasionally wait an hour or so to cross back into the U.S). Now TJ is very infamous for cheaper plastic surgery than in the U.S., but taking a cheaper route can be a little scarier. So I watch youtube videos on this place, I read yelp reviews, google reviews, read comments on their Instagram, and tries to see every pro and con of this place. They had some really good reviews with some bad ones (which mostly coerced their bad customer service than anything). My friend who also wanted to get her lips done told me she knew people who’d been there and liked the work they got done so I began to start to feel confidant about this place and finally getting the lip fillers. Mind you I had to make a decision quickly since they were having a July special on lip fillers for $280 and it was already the last week of July. So on a whim I decided to make an appointment and thought I could cancel it later if I chickened out. So I continued to watch numerous videos on youtube of people who got lip fillers and naturally, videos of botched lip fillers started appearing in my suggested and I clicked on it (I know, I know, I was so dumb) and omgh the lips that I saw in these videos did not look normal. I just kept thinking in my head the price for this place is too good to be true, I’m for sure gonna be botched! By this point, though my friend had also made an appointment for the same day and had planned to make a whole outing (following proper COVID regulations) out of the trip to TJ. So canceling would involve canceling plans, which I hate to do! Our appointment was set for Saturday and when Friday night came around, I couldn’t even sleep because I just felt a knot in my stomach and kept thinking it was a sign to back down. Saturday morning came along and for sure could not back out now since my other friend from Inland Empire was on her way down to join us in this crazy experience. I still had this knot in my stomach and as the appointment time got closer and closer I grew more nervous. Before the appointment, we decided to stop by and get some tacos which was the worst idea ever because the knot in my stomach just became worse! So when we arrived to the Med spa, the building looked super nice and had parking which was a huge plus. We checked in and a nurse came over to where we waited to give us some numbing cream to put on our lips (but let me tell you this cream ended up numbing even the whole inside of my mouth). They called me and my friend into a room that along with the rest of the building looked super bougie and clean. We waited around another 10 min for the doctor to come in, and mind you the nurse kept coming in to check that everything was ok and ensuring us the Dr. would be right with us. When he finally came in my friend was brave enough to go first. I tried not to watch as they injected her but it was hard not to see what awaited me next. Upon my turn, the Dr. asked me (in English) how I wanted my lips. I told him if I didn’t end up looking like Kylie Jenner I wanted my money back but was totally kidding. There wasn’t a specific picture that I had in mind but I do recommend having one just to make it easier on the Dr. but due to a childhood accident I did have surgery above my upper L lip, therefore, my left lip made my smile look crocked (seen in the picture below). I asked the Dr. to place more filler in my upper lip overall and more on the L side then the R due to my crooked lip. Before he started to inject me the nurse brought in the packaging with the filler and syringe. She showed me the sealed packaging to ensure the patient they are getting injected with Juvederm and that it’s a brand new formula and syringe. The Dr. then lowered the chair and got to work and let me tell you it didn’t hurt one bit! Before he was done with the full syringe he handed me a mirror to ensure I liked them and where I thought I wanted more filler. To this, I told him I trusted his judgment as to where he thought I needed more product or not. And before you knew it he was done! This blog has gotten a little long and I know your a busy women so this story will be continued. stay tuned to see if I was botched or not!!