Lip Enhancement
As one of the most sensual parts of the body, lips are widely seen as appealing when they are luscious and plump. Full, smooth lips are also a sign of youth, as lips tend to lose volume and shape as we age, becoming thin and undefined and a new source of wrinkles and lines.
In some cases, thin lips are a trait you are born with. Lip enhancement can also be done to add volume and shape to lips that are naturally thin and undefined.
Dr. Sajjadian’s goal with lip enhancement is to create naturally soft, fuller, and well-proportioned lips. Lip enhancement can have you looking and feeling younger by restoring volume to your lips. Dr. Sajjadian will discuss the possibilities with you in a personal consultation to decide if lip enhancement can help you achieve the look you are after, and which treatment will be most effective for you.
Am I a Good Candidate for Lip Enhancement?
If you are bothered by thin, poorly defined lips, if your lips disappear when you smile, or if your lips have lost volume with age, lip enhancement might be the answer for you. Skillfully done, lip enhancement can:
- Add volume to naturally thin lips
- Restore volume to aging lips
- Improve the aesthetic balance between the upper and lower lips
- Smooth vertical lines in the lips
- Refine the shape of the lips
Lip Enhancement Treatments
Dr. Sajjadian offers a full range of lip enhancement treatments, including:
- Lip fillers
- Lip implants
- Fat injections
- Tissue grafting
- Lip lift
Each has its advantages for different lip enhancement goals. Dr. Sajjadian, in a personal consultation with you, will evaluate your lips, discuss your desired outcomes, and recommend the procedure or combination of procedures most suited to your needs.
Lip Fillers
Lip fillers are fine forms of the injectable dermal fillers that are also used to add volume to or reduce wrinkles on the face and neck. These include Juvéderm® and Restylane®, which are made from hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance in the body that binds moisture in the tissue below the skin surface. Both Juvéderm® and Restylane® also contain lidocaine, a numbing medication that makes the procedure more comfortable. Different formulations of the fillers are used to add volume to and plump lips or to fill and soften fine lip lines.
Injections of lip filler take about 15 to 30 minutes and require no downtime for recovery. Improvements are noticeable immediately after treatment and reach their full effect in about two weeks. Each treatment lasts from six months to a year, after which it can be repeated.
Lip Implants
Lip implants are a more permanent alternative to lip filler injections. In a lip implant procedure, small incisions are made in the corners of the mouth and implants are inserted into the lips. The implants are made from a soft form of silicone that matches the flexibility of the lips, or from a biodegradable material with the same resilient qualities.
While it involves a minimal level of surgery, a lip implant is performed in Dr. Sajjadian’s office with a local anesthetic. The procedure takes about 30 minutes to complete. It does require some downtime for recovery, typically one to three days. The results can last for many years.
Fat Transfer
Another alternative to dermal fillers for lip enhancement is to harvest fat tissue from elsewhere on the body, using liposuction, and inject it into the lips. This is known as autologous fat transfer or fat grafting. Like dermal fillers, the procedure is fast and easy. It is done in Dr. Sajjadian’s office and typically takes 60 to 90 minutes, with little or no downtime for recovery.
The results of fat transfer are visible immediately and can last for five years or longer. Because the procedure uses the body’s own fat tissue, the plumped lips have a very natural look and feel.
Tissue Grafting
In tissue grafting, a piece of your own skin is used for lip enhancement. The donor skin can be taken from the lower abdomen or the thigh, or as part of another procedure, such as a facelift or surgery to remove a C-section scar. The top layer of donor skin is removed and a thin strip of the underlying tissue is rolled to create the desired implant shape. This is then inserted into the lips in a procedure similar to that used for a lip implant.
The tissue-grafting procedure takes 60 to 90 minutes, and one to three days should be allowed for recovery. The increased lip volume achieved with tissue grafting can last for five years or more.
Lip Lift
A lip lift is used to address a different set of aesthetic issues, either a narrow upper lip or a downward slope of the mouth. In this procedure, an incision is made just below the nose or on the side of the mouth and a small section of skin is removed to pull the lips upward. Fine cosmetic sutures are used to close the incision with almost invisible scarring. These sutures must then be removed in the doctor’s office four or five days later.
In a variation on the lip lift procedure, called vermillion advancement, a strip of skin is removed along the borders of the lips, and the colored portion of the lips is pulled to fill the gap. The result is a more visible area of colored lip tissue.
Dr. Sajjadian will discuss the many lip enhancement options with you during an initial consultation. Dr. Sajjadian takes time with each patient to discuss the desired result and expectations. He then creates a personalized plan for your lip enhancement, recommending the procedure or combination of procedures that will best achieve the desired results.
Different procedures have different recovery times, and Dr. Sajjadian will discuss those with you as part of his recommendations. His goal is to come up with a treatment plan that fits with your busy life, and that results in the look that you are seeking.
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