Hot Lips, Cold Sores

 Stress, weather, chemicals and injury to the lip can all awaken the virus in your body. But needle punctures can be particularly triggering for cold sores.   As one of the Beverly Hills top lip injector of fillers, Plastic Surgeon Dr Randal Haworth does see the occasional cold sore erupt 1-2 days after a treatment. It is for that reason, Dr Haworth recommends antiviral prophylaxis is select cases.

Cold sore herpes Simplex Type I of the lips
Cold sore herpes Simplex Type I which can occur after any lip procedure.

Of course, you can be prone to cold sores, get a lip filler and have no sign of an outbreak. But it’s good practice to be precautious and minimize the risk.

Dr Haworth notes that any cosmetic procedure which causes stress to your skin has the potential to stimulate cold sore recurrence. Cold sores are a prevalent affliction and are generally due to herpes virus (HSV) type one particular (generally oral herpes), with the minority (10%) being due to HSV type 2 (usually genital).

Many main infections of HSV-1 are asymptomatic, while recurrent infections can present as fever blisters at the vermillion border. Although cold sores may well not cause any long-term skin damage, they do possess the potential to cause scarring at the contaminated area.

Roughly two-thirds of a global population under 55 are infected with HSV-1. Primary illness develops in childhood through non-sexual contact usually, for example by sharing utensils or towels, but it is regularly assumed to be solely caused by kissing. If symptoms do present with primary infection, they take place two to 20 days after direct exposure.

Aesthetic procedures such as for example lasers, injectables, microneedling and chemical peeling often require limited or deliberate, manipulated trauma to skin, which includes the potential to trigger cold sore recurrence. Dr Haworth, the world’s foremost lip reshaping expert (including upper lip and corner lip lifts) will even warn his patients that his signature lip enhancements can trigger a herpes simplex outbreak. When a fever blister shows up after an aesthetic treatment, it could be devastating for the individual due to distress, pain and potential skin damage of a cosmetically very sensitive area. You will find a particular likelihood of scarring after ablative types of procedures (lasers, peels).

Cold sore prophylaxis can be recommended in the subsequent circumstances:

-More than three spontaneous occurrences every yea
-Previous eruption at any time, as a result of a procedure
-Lip augmentation and HSV eruption regardless of date or time
-Facial resurfacing procedures; anything that breaches skin carrier, and especially medium or deep peels, facial skin lasabrasion, microneedling and microdermabrasion

Immunocompromised patients

Prophylaxis Dr Haworth recommends includes predosing with Valtrex 500mg daily for 2 days to continue for 3 after the procedure. He’ll substitute 1000 mg daily in particularly susceptible individuals.

Randal Haworth MD, FACS

‘Their lips are preposterously out of proportion!’ MAFS brides Jessika Power and Ines Basic ‘are destroying their looks with facial fillers’, says a leading cosmetic surgeon

A renowned plastic surgeon has delivered a withering assessment of this year’s Married At First Sight stars, saying they are too dependent on fillers.

Beverly Hills-based Dr. Randal Haworth says the latest crop of brides have ‘over-inflated lips’ that sit uncomfortably with their faces and ‘don’t do them any favours’.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, the CEO of DrHaworth.com also claimed that reality TV stars more generally are sending a harmful message to young fans by excessively plumping up their features.

‘Their lips are preposterously out of proportion!’ MAFS brides Jessika Power and Ines Basic ‘are destroying their looks with facial fillers’, says a leading cosmetic surgeon. Pictured left: Jessika pre-2017, and right: in 2019

After being shown before-and-after photos of Jessika Power, Martha Kalifatidis and Ines Basic, Dr. Haworth didn’t hold back.

‘Like a loud out-of-tune instrument in an otherwise beautiful orchestra, these over-inflated lips resemble baboon bottoms in heat and do no one any favours,’ he said.

Speaking about reality stars generally, he said there is a risk they are projecting unrealistic beauty standards on to a young generation of women. 

He added: ‘As a renowned lip reshaping expert, I can say it is not just the lips, but also the surgically and “filter enhanced” faces and bodies that send a bad message to young people. It breeds insecurity and bland conformity whereby everyone starts to look the same.’

‘These over-inflated lips resemble baboon bottoms in heat’: After being shown before-and-after photos of several Married At First Sight stars, Dr. Randal Haworth didn’t hold back. Pictured left: an undated photo of Martha Kalifatidis from several years ago, and right: in 2019

Several MAFS contestants, including single mother Susie Bradley, have admitted to using off-the-shelf lip fillers, such as Juvéderm.

In photos taken before their cosmetic transformations, the reality stars are almost unrecognisable compared to how they look today.

But Dr. Haworth believes that facial fillers have not necessarily improved or complemented the brides’ natural features.

‘Instead of enhancing facial sensuality, overly plumped lips tend to do the opposite and even age the face in a strange way,’ he observed.

Plump pouts: Several MAFS contestants, including Ines Basic, have admitted to regularly getting lip fillers. Pictured left: Ines in September 2018, and right: on April 18, 2019

‘The exaggerated lips of Jessika only serve to distract from her natural beauty’: Dr. Haworth told Daily Mail Australia that ‘overly plumped lips tend to age the face in a strange way’. Pictured: Jessika before and after having lip fillers

He added: ‘For example, the exaggerated lips of Jessika only serve to distract from her natural beauty, while the lips of Martha just draw attention to her other churlish facial plastic surgery, including her rhinoplasty.’

Dr. Haworth went on to say that ‘so-called practitioners’ of cosmetic enhancements are allowing ‘their own aesthetic judgment to be hijacked by social media influencers’ and reality stars like the Kardashians.

‘This [fixation] encourages tunnel vision in doctors and nurse injectors alike, focusing only on lip volume and not on shape,’ he said. 

‘Doctors and nurse injectors alike focus only on lip volume and not on shape’: Dr. Haworth wasn’t a fan of Martha Kalifatidis’ cosmetic enhancements. Pictured before and after she underwent facial fillers

Speaking to NW magazine on Monday, Jessika confirmed she has spent $25,000 on her cosmetic transformation so far – and has no plans to slow down. 

Last month, Ines also admitted she has been getting lip fillers ‘for years’. 

Furthermore, Martha has acknowledged having Botox and facial fillers in addition to undergoing a rhinoplasty and breast enlargement.

Mummy makeover: Susie Bradley underwent extensive cosmetic work after having her first child. Pictured left: Susie in 2015, and right: earlier this year

Needle Away your Concerns about Stretch Marks and Sagging Body Parts

Needling treatment also known as CIT (which stands for collagen induction therapy) has actually been around for quite a long while now. It is truly a low-tech device but it has found a new place in my bag of aesthetic tricks.

Why? Simply because it works. It seems to be the most effective procedure in this day and age to reduce stretch marks (striae distensiae), firm and elevate  tissue(knees, elbows, buttocks etc.), reduce scars (including acne ones), reduce hyperpigmentation-all in all it seems to result in a healthy, more youthful appearing skin.

How does it work?

The patient starts applying fat-soluble vitamins A and C antioxidant oils to the skin two weeks prior to the planned procedure date. The fat solubility of these vitamin oils allow them to penetrate human epidermis and dermis far more effectively that many of the other available competing products. These in turn stimulate the skin to produce more collagen and rejuvenate their elastin component. The device (which is basically a roller with approximately 200 needles attached to it perpendicularly) is then utilized to produce tens of thousands of small needle marks penetrating into the dermis. This in turn, induces a cascade of collagen production, the effect of which is amplified by the combined use of the antioxidant vitamins. In a way, the roller is not only producing a controlled injury to the skin but also acting as a very efficient drug delivery system.

I generally recommend a number of treatments to get the most optimal results. Here’s just one example of the fairly dramatic effect one could achieve by this methodology. The woman had undergone myriad laser treatments to reduce her stretch marks, but to no avail. After just two Roller treatments, she achieved the following result.

Abdominal Stretch Marks
This woman had a previous abdominoplasty in order to help reduce her stretch marks. She was dissatisfied with the result and had many laser treatments to reduce her stretch marks. They are still very obvious in width and depth.


After Needling/CIT
She underwent two rounds of Needling/CIT. Note the dramatic reduction in stretch marks both in terms of width and depth.


For further information about CIT, needling therapy, call the office of Dr. Randal Haworth (310 273 3000) located in the Haworth Institute.