Lip injections are the perfect option for those that are unhappy with the fullness of their lips. Whether you have naturally thin lips, uneven lips, or your lips have lost volume with age, this simple procedure could be the solution for you. Lip injections provide immediate results that can range from subtle to dramatic. You can be confident in the doctor’s experience and knowledge at the Atlanta Institute for Facial Aesthetic Surgery to ensure that your procedure is successful and that you are pleased with your results.
What are Lip Injections
Lip injections are procedures that help to increase the volume and contour of your lips. The injections can be performed with three types of fillers. These fillers include fat injections, dermal fillers- such as Juvederm®, or soft synthetic implants. Dermal fillers may also be used to reduce laugh lines, which are wrinkles that begin at the corners of your lips and continue to each side of your nose.
Why Consider Lip Injections
Your lips may lose volume and contour due to age, heredity, or lifestyle. Injecting fillers into your lips will rejuvenate them to appear more youthful. You may also have naturally thin lips that fillers can plump up. In less common cases, just the upper or lower lip may be noticeably larger than the other. Injections can help to fill the thinner lip and give your lips a more even appearance.
Are You a Good Candidate for Lip Injections
Although lip injections are a fairly simple and non-risky procedure, there are some factors that may not make you a good candidate. Lip injections are not recommended if you are physically unhealthy or if you are a smoker. Another thought to consider before having this procedure is the length of your upper lip. If you have a long upper lip, injecting fillers into it may cause an unwanted duck-like appearance. Finally, you should make sure that you have reasonable expectations for the outcome of the injections.
Lip Injection Options and Procedures
Lip Enhancements
Lip injections for lip enhancement can be achieved from the three different fillers listed above- fat injections, synthetic implants, and dermal fillers. Dermal fillers are the most popular procedure for lip enhancements. The injections are an in-office treatment that only takes a few minutes. A topical anesthetic or nerve block will be applied in order decrease any discomfort. A dermal filler, such as Juvederm®, is then injected into the lips with a very fine needle. The dermal filler attaches to naturally occurring hyaluronic acid and water just below the skin, giving you a plumper and more youthful appearance.
Laugh Line Fillers
Wrinkles that appear around the corners of your lips are known as “laugh” or “smile” lines. These wrinkles result from age, smoking, squinting, and sun-damage. These lines can easily be reduced with the injection of dermal fillers. The dermal fillers add youthful volume to these areas of the face. These injections are done within minutes in the office. The filler is injected underneath the nasolabial fold, or laugh lines, which helps the skin to visibly move outward. This makes the wrinkle less deep giving the appearance of smoother skin. At the Atlanta Institute for Facial Aesthetic Surgery there are three reputable, safe, and effective brands of dermal fillers to choose from, Juvederm®, Restylane®, and Radiesse®.
Consultation
During your consultation your doctor will evaluate your face and lip shape. Your doctor will also ask you a number of questions specifically about the look that you want to achieve. This will ensure that you are left with the results that you desire. Then the surgeon will make their recommendations on which filler would be best for you. This is also the time to ask your doctor any questions that you may have about the procedure, recovery, possible side effects, or anything else you wish to know.
Recovery
After the procedure you may be left with swelling, redness, tenderness, bruising, and discomfort. Ice will help to reduce any swelling that can occur and over the counter pain relievers may be taken for any minor discomfort. This should improve within a few hours, but can last for up to a few days. With dermal injections you may return to normal activity within one day. You may have to limit talking, chewing, smiling, and sleeping on your stomach for at least 24 hours. Refraining from strenuous activity is recommended for up to a week. If you have any abnormal symptoms after your procedure, please reach out to your doctor.
Results
Laugh Line Fillers
The results of dermal fillers are a much more youthful and plump appearance of the skin around your lips and reduction of wrinkles. Although there is not a permanent solution for banishing laugh lines, dermal fillers have results that last from 1-3 years. Results may be affected by ageing of the skin.
Lip Enhancements
Lip enhancements leave you with more volume in your lips. Dermal injections are not a permanent fix to thin lips. The procedure must be repeated every 4-8 months to maintain the desired results. If you decide to not continue with the dermal injections, your lips will return to how they appeared before you received the fillers. This is often a comforting fact, because permanency can be scary to some when it comes to altering your appearance.
Cost
The cost of your procedure varies depending on the type of injections you choose and how much of the filler you would like to be injected. Costs for dermal injections are relatively low when compared to other forms of lip injections. For example the cost of implants may include surgeon fees, surgical security fees, anesthesia fees, medical tests, prescription medication, and post-surgery dresses. With dermal lip injections, such as Juvederm®, you avoid most of these extra costs.
Side Effects
There are many possible complications whenever something is being injected into the skin; but due to the small size of the needles used, complications are very rare. Side effects may include swelling, bruising, redness, asymmetry, tenderness, infection, bleeding, skin sensitivity, and allergic reaction. Another possible complication is that fillers can cause clumps due to facial movement and ageing. These clumps may result in nodules.
Whether or not to have lip injections is a very personal decision that the Atlanta Institute for Facial Aesthetic Surgery can help you with. We provide you with unmatched service, knowledge, and experience for these procedures to give you complete peace of mind.
Contact us today to set up an appointment with one of our doctors!
