In short. A hollow that is not the feature actually bothering you, a headache history, and a change better made somewhere else on the face. Deciding not to proceed.

Key points

  • Declining now is not a verdict on your face and it is not a permanent decision.
  • A hollow that is not filled this year can be filled in two.
  • What you should leave with is a description of which change is present and what would need to be true for treatment to be worth doing.

Most of what is written about cosmetic treatment is written for the person who has decided to proceed. This page is for the other decision, which is taken less often than it should be and is not a failure to make one.

When the hollow is not the feature

Patients often arrive with the right observation and the wrong target. They have noticed that the upper face looks tired or that the brow sits low, and the temple is where they have decided the problem lives because it is flat there. Cover the temple in a photograph with a finger and look again. If the brow, the lid or the skin is what draws your eye, the temple is not the feature you are reacting to, and filling it will produce a change that does not answer the complaint.

When the brow has moved

Where the hollow is deepest directly beneath a brow tail that has dropped, the hollow is a shadow and the brow is the problem. Adding volume fills the shadow and leaves the position where it was, and the result is an upper face that is fuller without being more open. That is not a complication; it is a treatment aimed at the wrong feature.

When the cause is still active

A temple hollowing with illness, with treatment or with weight that is still coming off is a symptom of something still happening. Filling it during that process means treating a moving target, and every review is against a different face. The assessment belongs with whoever is managing the cause, and the contour can be planned when the shape has stabilised.

Declining without closing the door

Declining now is not a verdict on your face and it is not a permanent decision. A hollow that is not filled this year can be filled in two. What you should leave with is a description of which change is present and what would need to be true for treatment to be worth doing.

When the rhythm is the problem

Some people are unsuited to a treatment that repeats rather than to the treatment itself. If a result that fades over months would be experienced as a loss each time rather than as maintenance, that is a reason to decline now. Fat transfer, an operation, or no treatment at all may fit better, and none of those is a worse answer.

Reasons to say no, at least for now

  • The hollow is a shadow cast by a brow that has moved, and a lift is what is being avoided.
  • The temple is still changing with illness, treatment or weight loss.
  • The realistic result is temporary and a repeat rhythm would be experienced as a loss.

What the alternatives change, and who each of them suits, is set out in Alternatives to Temple Filler, From Fat to the Frame. Where the answer is that treatment is worth doing after all, the sequence is described in What Temple Filler Costs You in Sessions and Months.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether the hollow is what actually bothers me?

Cover the temple with a finger in a photograph and look at the rest of the upper face. If the brow, the lid or the skin is what draws your eye, then the temple is not the feature you are reacting to, and filling it will produce a change that does not answer the complaint. It is a crude test and it is more informative than it looks.

Is a headache history a definite reason not to proceed?

No, it is a reason to discuss it before booking. Deep placement in the temple is commonly followed by a dull pressure headache for a day or two, and in someone who already has frequent headaches that is harder to distinguish from their usual pattern and harder to tolerate. It is a judgement made with the history in front of you rather than a rule.

Is it reasonable to change my mind at the consultation?

Yes, and it is the point of having one. A consultation that ends in no treatment has done its job if it established which change is present and whether an injection reaches it. Nothing about a temple hollow is urgent, and a decision deferred costs nothing except the result you did not have.

Risks & Limitations

  • The temple is crossed by named vessels in a small space: the superficial temporal artery and its branches, the vein known as the sentinel vein near the outer orbital rim, and the deep temporal vessels beneath the fascia. Material entering an artery can travel, and because the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery communicates with the vessels around the eye, skin loss and — rarely — loss of vision are possible. This is time-critical rather than cosmetic.
  • The temporal branch of the facial nerve crosses the same region on its way to the brow. If it is affected the brow will not lift on that side. Most such weakness improves over weeks to months, and a proportion does not recover fully, which is why the way the brow lifts is recorded before treatment rather than only examined afterwards.
  • Deep placement beside the temporalis muscle is commonly followed by a dull pressure headache that settles over a day or two, and by an ache on opening the mouth wide or chewing hard. A headache that is severe, one-sided in a new way, or worsening after the first days is not ordinary recovery and should be assessed.
  • Adding volume to the temple does not lift a brow that has descended. It fills the shadow beneath the brow tail and changes how the upper face reads, and the position of the brow is unchanged. Where the distance between brow and eye is the complaint, the answer is an operation rather than an injection.
  • Swelling and bruising, firmness and small lumps in the first weeks, asymmetry, nodules and delayed inflammatory reactions can occur. Every result is temporary, the material is not fully cleared between sessions, and only the reversible class can be broken down at all.

When to Seek Care

  • Any change in vision, including blurring or a patch of lost sight — seek emergency care immediately.
  • Severe pain out of proportion to the injection, or pain that is worsening rather than settling.
  • Skin turning white, grey, mottled or dusky anywhere near the treated temple, the forehead or the eye.
  • A brow that will not lift on one side, or a headache that is severe or worsening after the first few days.
  • Swelling that is increasing after the first few days rather than settling, or fever with spreading redness, warmth or discharge.

References & Further Reading

  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) — procedure and safety guidance
  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, UK) — relevant guidance
  • Cochrane Library — systematic reviews
  • Chinese Medical Association Plastic Surgery Branch — clinical guidance

Medically reviewed by Ke He, MD (何锞), Deputy Director & Head of Skin & Laser Aesthetics. Last reviewed: 19 September 2026.

This page is patient education, not medical advice, and it does not cite individual studies. Discuss your own case with a qualified clinician. To arrange an assessment at Chongqing West District Hospital, see Contact & Consultation.