Lip Augmentation

Full lips are a sign of beauty and youth in many cultures. Your lips actually become thinner as you age. Fine lines and wrinkles can appear around the mouth area as well. There are a number of different ways to get the look of full kissable lips, while reducing the fine lines above the upper lip, from lip augmentation surgery to cosmetic products. Cosmetic surgery can include methods like implants and injections. Cosmetic products seek to plump the lips through chemical means. Either way, the result can be a hit or miss process.

By far, the most popular way to augment the lip area using surgery is by injecting fillers. These fillers can be natural or synthetic compounds that are used to give the lip a fuller appearance. They last about three to six months. They are not permanent and can result in numerous complications. Some of the potential complications are: lumps, allergies, hardening, infection, numbness, stiff lips, swelling, and scarring. Cosmetic implants, like Gore-Tex or Softform implants, which come in strips and are slipped into the lips through an incision made inside the lip. They are permanent because they are not absorbed into the skin, like the fillers. They can have many of the same complications as the injected fillers; however, they can be removed if the body rejects them.

There are cosmetics sold that are sold as “lip plumpers.” They are typically infused with collagen, which is applied to the skin either as a separate product or as a colored lipstick. The effects of lip enhancement cosmetics are temporary and only last as long as the lipstick is applied, however, there are some that are said to produce cumulative effects. The advantages are that there is no post-operative recuperation period and the cosmetics are less expensive than surgery.