If you don’t know, now you know. Injecting your earlobes with fillers – those more commonly used to fill in fine lines, add volume to your face, and plump up your lips – is apparently a growing cosmetic trend. Why would one do such a thing, you ask?
To combat saggy ‘lobes caused by wearing heavy earrings, of course. It recently came out that Bravo star Kim Zolciak-Biermann gets earlobe fillers because her diamond earrings are too big (NBD), but it turns out that this isn’t just Hollywood hype.
“Filling your earlobes is like putting air back intoa deflated balloon; when the balloon has lost air, it becomes wrinkly and soft. Fillers can add both structure and volume to the ear,” explains Joshua Zeichner, MD, Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. “Many patients like to fill the ear so that earrings sit better,” he adds.
Still, it is important to keep in mind that this procedure is reparative rather than preventative. “Once you start to notice sagging, you can treat it, though filler injections won’t repair a ripped, piercing hole, nor change the size of the hole itself,” notes Dr. Zeichner. In most cases, a split lobe would require cosmetic surgery to repair the tear.
Also, be prepared to pay up for your newly plumped earlobes. Dr. Zeichner says most people need one, sometimes two, syringes of filler, ringing in around $850 (hyaluronic acid options such as Restylane are his top choice for this procedure).
Granted, the results will last for a few years and can be dramatically impressive, especially if you’re starting with noticeably saggy skin to begin with, he says. So if droopy earlobes are bugging you or keeping your massive diamonds from staying put, going under the needle may just be the solution you’re looking for.
