Everything You Need To Know About Lip Filler

Why Our Lips Change Over Time

When your skin is young and healthy, it’s supple, firm, and hydrated; that’s because it has not yet started to lose collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid – the three essential components of healthy, younger-looking skin and lips.

However, the structure of your skin, including your lips, gradually starts to break down with age. Damage to your lips from sun exposure, environmental toxins, stress, poor nutrition, and the natural process of aging all contribute to the breakdown of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid deep within your extracellular matrix; eventually showing up in the form of wrinkles, sagging skin, uneven skin tone, and age spots.

The aging process is particularly hard on your lips. As the structure of your lips weaken, it’s more common to notice an increase in fine vertical lines, a significant decrease in volume and definition, progressive sagging at the corners of the mouth, and the loss of Cupid’s Bow – the prominent V-shaped area of our upper lip.

Why Our Lips Change Over Time

When your skin is young and healthy, it’s supple, firm, and hydrated; that’s because it has not yet started to lose collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid – the three essential components of healthy, younger-looking skin and lips.

However, the structure of your skin, including your lips, gradually starts to break down with age. Damage to your lips from sun exposure, environmental toxins, stress, poor nutrition, and the natural process of aging all contribute to the breakdown of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid deep within your extracellular matrix; eventually showing up in the form of wrinkles, sagging skin, uneven skin tone, and age spots.

The aging process is particularly hard on your lips. As the structure of your lips weaken, it’s more common to notice an increase in fine vertical lines, a significant decrease in volume and definition, progressive sagging at the corners of the mouth, and the loss of Cupid’s Bow – the prominent V-shaped area of our upper lip.

Baby, I Was Born This Way

Aging isn’t the only reason that women are growing more self-conscious about the appearance of their lips. In fact, many women are genetically predisposed to have smaller or less proportional lips; a fact that is now magnified by the “Instagram Culture”, or the nearly 800 million 18-29 year olds who use social media on a regular basis.

Interestingly, the human body is almost perfectly symmetrical, with specific proportions considered to be more aesthetically appealing than others; these proportions are also considered key to attraction and human beauty, the lips are no exception. For example, in Caucasian women this “golden ratio”, also known as the divine proportion, of the upper to lower lip is considered to be 1:1.68; while in Asian or Polynesian women, a golden ratio, or preferred proportion, of 1:1 is considered to be a more natural, desirable ratio.²

Fortunately, advances in non-surgical cosmetic injections and dermal lip fillers provide effective options for the lips to be immediately enhanced, redefined, reshaped, and rejuvenated in just a few short office visits.

What Are Dermal Lip Fillers and How Do They Work?

Most cosmetic physicians rely on injectable hyaluronic acid (HA) based fillers like Restylane, Belotero, and Juvederm to increase volume, size, and for reshaping the lips.

Hyaluronic acid, or HA, is a safe, naturally occurring substance produced by the body. Most often found in skin cells and connective tissue, HA’s main function is to retain water to keep the tissue of your lips well lubricated, hydrated, and plump.

Typically producing results for 12 to 18-months after injection, hyaluronic acid-based lip fillers replace naturally occurring HA lost over time and trap water within the lips creating a natural, beautiful, and healthy appearance.³

What Does A Non-Surgical Lip Procedure Look Like?

A typical non-surgical dermal lip filler procedure starts with a consultation where your doctor will assess your current features and examine your lips to determine which specific areas need to be addressed.  Each HA-based filler provides a different amount of true lift, support, and hydration in the tissue of the lips. At this point, Dr. Allison will decide on which specific lip filler will achieve the results you desire.

The procedure itself is non-invasive, requires only topical numbing cream and fine, tiny needles, and typically takes less than 30-minutes to complete; there is minimal pain associated with dermal lip fillers and anti-wrinkle injections.  Nearly all patients are able to return to normal activities right after leaving the office; and most importantly, the results of the cosmetic injections are noticeable immediately.