Lip Service
Lips are where it’s at! Lip injections are one of the fastest growing procedures in plastic surgery. And well done lip injections look great, not fake or “done”. You can have fuller lips without it being obvious that you have fillers in them. The most common filler for lips is hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a very versatile filler and it can be prepared in different ways, giving us different filling and lifting power. Juvederm Voluma and Restylane Lyft have a lot of lifting power and are most commonly used in deep the cheeks give back some volume that age takes away. On the other end of the spectrum is Restylane Silk and Volbella that area meant to give subtle plumpness and smoothness to the lips. In the middle is Juvederm and Restylane that are used in other areas including the lips for someone who wants more volume and fullness that you can get with Silk or Volbella. So, if someone comes in and is apprehensive about having their lips look too big, and just want a soft, plumper look, I recommend Restylane Silk or Volbella. I place this using a needle after numbing with either a topical that we put on your skin, or a dental block (injection of local anesthetic similar to what a dentist uses). Because a needle is used, there is some swelling and it will be pretty obvious that something has been done for a day or two. To minimize this, stay away from aspirin, ibuprofen and other blood thinning medications for a week before, keep your head up for a couple of days after (do not lay flat), use ice the first 24 hours as much as possible and take Zyrtec (over the counter allergy medication). If someone wants a more filled lip result, I use Juvederm Ultra or Restylane. I typically place that with a cannula (blunt tip), so there is less swelling and less chance of bruising. You can still use all of the measures to prevent swelling that we recommend when we use Silk/Vobella to reduce any swelling. After two weeks, I have you come back in to look at your results once all the swelling has gone down. If a touch up is needed, we can do it at that time. Most lip fillers last 6-9 months. Make sure you see a board certified plastic surgeon to help you love the way your lips look! 💋
Sonya Merriman, M.D.