Isn’t it impossible to look at today’s celebrities and not notice their lips? Were they all so lucky to receive nature’s blessing to look so beautiful, or is there more to the story? Recently, more and more of them have admitted to receiving lip enhancement.
And why not? According to research, humans associate attractive lips with approachability, youthfulness, and happiness. In other words, our lips say a lot about us, even when we’re not speaking.
So, if our lips can do all of these things for us, it’s easy to see why more and more celebrities (and everyday people) take advantage of lip enhancement. And when you take a closer look, you’ll find there are several options to choose from:
Lip Fillers
Lip fillers, like Juvéderm® or Restylane®, are the option you’ve most likely come across. They consist of injections of hyaluronic acid, one of your body’s naturally occurring substances, into your lips. The procedure itself is considered quick and relatively painless. It’s the most popular method of lip enhancement.
Shortly after receiving fillers, your lips will take on a more youthful, full look with little to no bruising afterward. Because lip fillers are injected in small increments, they allow you to make gradual increases in size, which is preferable for some patients who want to take it slow as they increase their lip volumes.
Other than a few days of swelling, lip fillers have no recovery period. There is no scarring, and the results of the procedure last six months to a year.
Lip Implants
Lip implants are silicone devices placed through the side of the lips with a local anesthetic. They’re available in multiple sizes and shapes, allowing you to pick any look you like.
Patients looking for a permanent solution often choose lip implants. They don’t absorb into the body over time as lip fillers do. Therefore, you don’t have to return for additional treatments. Instead, you get the look you want, and it stays.
The recovery time from lip implants is usually less than a week. Expect to take a few days off work. Any minor scarring on the sides of your lips will be hard to notice and easily covered.
Fat Transfer and Tissue Grafting
What better substance to use to enhance your lips than part of your own body? Fat transfer and tissue grafting are two related procedures that accomplish this. With fat transfer, your doctor removes fat from elsewhere on your body using liposuction and injects it into your lips. With tissue grafting, a small patch of skin is harvested from another area of your body, shaped, and used as lip implant material.
With either procedure, you’re using a substance that comes from your own body, which means there’s no chance of an allergic reaction. Also, the results from either fat transfer or tissue grafting can last five years or longer.
Other than some minor bruising or swelling at the site of liposuction, patients receiving fat transfer lip enhancement require no recovery time. For the skin grafting option, you’ll need to allow yourself at least a few days for healing.
Lip Lift
For some of us, the struggle is not with the volume of our lips but the shape or location. For example, some patients can experience a narrowing or sagging of their upper lip due to age. In these cases, a lip lift, which is a procedure the repositions the lips, may be ideal. It involves raising the upper lip by first removing a small strip of skin above it.
Patients often enjoy a more youthful look that allows them to expose more of their upper teeth when they smile. A lip lift can also create a more symmetrical look to the lips, enhancing their overall beauty. And, unlike with some options, the change is permanent.
After a lip lift, you can expect to return to the doctor’s office in four to five days to have sutures removed. Recovery times will vary according to the specific procedure performed, and any scarring is minimal and usually not noticeable.
How to Get Started
So, which procedure will give you your prettiest pout? Dr. Sajjadian is here to help you to find the best option. With Valentine’s Day coming up, why not treat yourself? Contact his Newport Beach, CA office today to set up your consultation.
