Are you bothered by thin lips? Is one side of your lips thinner than the other? Or perhaps age has caught up and the vertical lines on your lips bother you? Fret not as there is a fast and safe option to enhance these lip woes in mere minutes. Contrastingly, there are many myths surrounding lip fillers that make us shun this treatment. Before you take the plunge and get your lips plumped up, check out these top 5 things you need to know before getting a lip filler augmentation.

1. You will not get duck lips or trout pouts with lip filler enhancement

When we talk about lip fillers, this burning question lingers at the back of our minds. Are bigger lips sexier?

Kylie Jenner and Angelina Jolie certainly made big lips look hip. But lips should not be seen as a feature on its’ own. Lip size must be assessed in comparison with other facial features. This includes the nose, eyes, and chin. A pair of beautiful lips is not just two sausages on the face, but one that harmonizes and enhances all other facial features.

So don’t put a sum to how much filler should be injected into your lip. Trust your injector to decide what is best for you. And if you feel you need more, a top-up in the following session will be a good start.

2. Lip filler enhancement can be slightly painful, but well-tolerated

Unlike injecting fillers into other facial points, lip fillers probably rank higher on your pain-threshold scale. But rest assured that there is a way to manage such discomfort.

Administering regional anesthesia on the face will help to dull the feeling of pain during the procedure. By injecting the anesthesia on each side of the cheek, and one on the chin, lip filler becomes almost painless. The injection on the cheek serves to numb the upper lips. And the injection on the chin numbs the lower lip.

In addition, using a blunt cannula as opposed to a needle helps to minimize bruising. With a cannula, only one entry point is needed to augment the upper or lower lip. This also helps to minimize bruising and improve patient tolerability.

3. Don’t Get Your Lips Done Just Before A Major Social Event

Lip filler enhancement is a zero-downtime procedure. You can go about your normal activity immediately after the treatment. But expect to have some mild swelling on the treatment day.

So it is best that you do not have your lips done the night before your wedding ceremony, a major presentation or any social event that will put you under the limelight.

Three days after your lip filler enhancement, you will be ready to flaunt that fuller set of lips.

And if you are feeling self-conscious about your newly plumped up lips but cannot avoid socializing, this is the perfect reason to wear a face mask . Just the thing you need to flatten the Covid-19 curve simultaneously! 

4. Lip fillers are safe

FDA-approved lip fillers are made of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in our body that attracts water and binds to moisture. This makes hyaluronic lip fillers very safe for the human body.

If your injector suggests administering other substances such as silicon or any permanent filler, steer clear as these non-licensed treatments can cause skin necrosis.

5. Lip fillers are reversible

If you do not like looking overdone, or yearn for your original lip shape or size, then the effects of lip fillers are easily reversed. The hyaluronic acid filler can be effortless melted down using hyaluronidase.

On the contrary, lip fillers can be a rewarding aesthetic treatment. Most patients book follow up appointments to plump up their lips rather than request for the filler to be dissolved. A skilled injector will be able to decide the right technique to use to maximize your appearance and improve symmetry.

Conclusion

Just like our eyes, lips play an integral role in enhancing one’s beauty. When it comes to the lips, the “Trout pout” and “duck lips” look is something we want to avoid. These are not normal results of a skilled injector. In fact, administering lip filler is a combination of science and art. The injector must know the lip anatomy well and its functions to bring out the best in the patient.

REVIEWED BY

Dr. Peter Ch'ng Wee Beng

Dr Peter Ch'ng is a consultant dermatologist who always put his patients' safety and wellbeing as his top priority. As an esteemed dermatologist and skin specialist, Dr Peter prides himself in being able to treat acne patients of all types, with a 100% acne treatment success record.