Social Media Analysis of #LipFiller: Content and Quality

The popularity of fillers for lip enhancement—commonly referred to as "lip fillers"--has grown substantially in recent years.^1,2 A 2024 survey reported a 3.4% global increase in aesthetic procedures.¹ As lip fillers become more widely offered in medical offices and medspas, there has been a corresponding rise in social media content related to these treatments.^2,3 Visual social media platforms, such as Instagram, use the hashtag #lipfiller as digital repositories of user-generated content, provider marketing, patient testimonials, and educational materials, subsequently shaping public perception and influencing consumer behavior.³ As the range of providers who perform lip filler procedures has expanded from MD/DOs to mid-level providers and aestheticians, there remains the question of discrepancies in information quality among posts between providers.^2,4 However, there are no studies to date evaluating the educational content and quality of the top social media posts containing content about lip fillers.

This study aims to evaluate Instagram posts tagged with #lipfiller across two domains: information content and quality. We hypothesize that posts from MDs/DOs will feature higher-quality educational material compared to those from non-physician providers. We aim to better understand how lip filler procedures are portrayed online and to identify gaps, biases, or misrepresentations that may shape patient expectations and clinical practice.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on April 10, 2025, in order to evaluate the content and quality of the top 50 #lipfiller Instagram posts. Three independent reviewers analyzed each post and extracted data, including content category, comment number, number of followers, GQS scores, and mDISCERN scores. Posts were analyzed by the type of provider posting content, which included dermatologists, plastic surgeons, dentists, other physicians (MD, DO), nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, aestheticians, and brand representatives. Modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) and Global Quality Scale (GQS) were used to assess the reliability and quality of top #lipfiller Instagram posts, respectively. Higher mDISCERN and GQS scores indicate higher degrees of reliability and quality. For statistical analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's multiple comparison test was used to compare mean mDISCERN and GQS scores among different post types. Statistical significance was defined as P<0.05. Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA).

Only 26% of the top 50 #lipfiller Instagram posts were made by physicians. The average mDISCERN scores of physicians were 3.31 (SD=0.65), while the mDISCERN score for non-physicians was 1.95 (SD=0.81). Among all posts, aestheticians accounted for 34%, nurse practitioners for 16%, brand/product representatives for 12%, physician assistants for 8%, registered nurses for 6%, dentists for 4%, plastic surgeons for 4%, and individual users for 2%. Interestingly, only 1/50 posts were made by a dermatologist. The average GQS scores for physicians and non-physicians were 3.38 (SD =1.3) and 2.21 (SD =1.1), respectively. The mDISCERN scores for posts made by physicians were significantly higher than posts made by non-physicians (P=0.0001). The most popular posts contained before and after photos, education about lip filler, patient cases that were not before and after, and complications of lip filler use.

Social media functions as a powerful tool to disseminate information about dermatological procedures. However, the educational quality of popular Instagram posts is poor across all creators. Posts created by physicians had significantly higher scientific reliability than posts made by non-physicians. The most common content contained in these posts was before and after photos with limited educational content. Given the widespread popularity of social media posts containing content related to lip filler, it is crucial that dermatologists implement evidence-based, scientifically accurate information in posts containing #lipfiller. While patient testimonials and before-and-after photos offer meaningful insight into personal patient experiences, it is important for healthcare providers to disseminate reliable information about lip filler injections to prevent the dissemination of inaccurate and possibly harmful misinformation about cosmetic injectables.