Kylie Jenner put "plastic pouts" on the map, but after recently getting her lip fillers removed, is she starting a whole new trend of embracing natural smaller lips? Roberta Moradfar, CEO of EFFACÈ Aesthetics and certified aesthetic nurse specialist, a.k.a. face injector, seems to think so.

“When Kylie got her lips done we just saw this rise of everybody wanting to get their lips done, and now it’s the same that she is getting them dissolved.” “Dissolving” is the official term used for the lip filler removing process where essentially hyaluronidase is injected into the area where the filler is to break down hyaluronic acid, which is most commonly used in fillers like FDA-approved Juvederm.

Because of HIPAA, a legally binding doctor/patient confidentiality agreement, Roberta can’t say that she’s worked on any of the KarJenners, but she also can’t say that she hasn’t. She’s an expert in the field, and actually part of an exclusive group of nurses, physician assistants and nurse practitioners that went above and beyond through rigorous training to become a certified aesthetic nurse specialist. Originally from New Jersey where she worked as an ICU nurse, she now runs her own clinic in Los Angeles where she’s injected many celebrity clients and aided in their transformations.

Known among Hollywood’s elite, I stumbled across Roberta after she was featured in a YouTube video circulating titled “Why I Got My Lip Filler Dissolved: The Truth & My Mistakes” by lifestyle blogger Amanda Ensing. The video already has over 800K views and, ironically, was posted back in April before Kylie played lip switcheroo on us.

Roberta stresses that “If someone came to me [with their lips done] and I ask them what was used to inject it, if they tell me, ‘I don’t know,’ I’m not going to inject hyaluronidase, because I could be dissolving their own collagen and that could result in very unsatisfactory looks for them. There are some fillers out there that don’t respond to hyaluronidase.”

She adds, “It’s really interesting, because people will be quick to have a brand name bag or have a pair of Balmains, but they don’t know what was injected in their face, and that happens so much. It’s really frustrating.” Is she spitting facts, or nah?

Here are Roberta’s “what you need to know” if you’re looking to get your lip filler dissolved the right way:

• First and foremost, she recommends “people don’t just do this as a trend or a fad.” If you decide it’s for you, do your research. Look up somebody who is reputable and who is either a nurse, nurse practitioner, PA, or board certified doctor. And look for before and after pictures, because those pictures will say 1,000 words!


• Normally there’s a little swelling and a bit of pain at the site of injection, but nothing a little ice can’t help with; perhaps minimal itching, but it mostly goes away within minutes. Bruising may happen in some cases, but will fade away like bruises.


• Because it may require numerous treatments, anywhere between $100 to $200 a visit is typical, but it really depends on your practitioner and the area you live in. If you have a situation where a full syringe or two was injected and you want to remove it all completely, that might cost anywhere up to $600.


• Do NOT get hyaluronidase and filler done the same day. It’s not recommended because it can actually degrade the hyaluronic acid that you’re injecting, so it’s counterproductive. You should wait until the dissolving takes effect and come back another day if you are looking to get filler again.

Roberta notes that there’s been an increase in women of color doing injectables, like Botox and Juvederm, in general. “Before it was kind of put in the box that it was just a thing that only Caucasian people do, but you know that’s not the case.” Our favorite cousin Angela Rye, CNN commentator and NPR analyst, is one of the many clients that have recently sought Roberta’s services for filler dissolver. However, she wasn’t seeking to dissolve anything in her lips. Roberta explains her case was a tear trough augmentation (that’s the under-eye area in which many experience wrinkles and “bags”) that she had done previously by another practitioner.

Angela wasn’t thrilled with the results and felt that her tear troughs appeared worse due to possible “overcorrection.” Roberta was able to successfully dissolve away the pesky, small lumps, using Hylenex, from underneath Angela’s eyes in one visit. She returned a week later and had her tear troughs re-treated by Roberta, which resulted in a softer, smoother and more natural look. 

You might be surprised to know that another client of Roberta’s is Martin Lawrence, but it’s not what you think. Roberta is actually Martin’s real-life Gina as in his fiancé, and he’s visited EFFACÈ Aesthetics before for treatments. “I am trying to get him to do more stuff, I don’t think he is down for it. He has come in for a hydra facial, which he loved. It brought his skin to a nice and healthy glow. I did give him a [chemical] peel one time, and he didn’t know, He’s my man, so I felt like he needed it” she says, laughing.

Martin wasn’t fond of the peel, and for those of you who have tried one before, you know why. Chemical peels hurt, and a temporary side effect is often redness before leaving your skin with a beautiful glow. Needless to say, Martin has trust issues when it comes to coming in for treatments now with Roberta, and no more peels.

But back to lips! Although no one should get any cosmetic procedure because it’s trending, this particular movement that Kylie is pioneering has people starting to embrace their natural pout or at least realize you don’t need to go extreme. Easy on the filler. Take it slow. You can totally take your time, and, the slower you go, the more natural the look will be.

However, Roberta leaves us with this drop of tea: “For the record, based off of Kylie’s previous lips, she may have dissolved some, but trust and believe there is still a lot of filler left. Her lips did not look like that prior, so, um, I just wanted to make that clear.”

(Editor’s note: Angela Rye has given Roberta Moradfar and BET approval to use her name.)