If you think your lips are too thin or want to slightly plump them up, you have options. Several options. We’ll review the pros and cons below of different types of lip fillers.
Lip Fillers are your Friends!
We’ll use the term “filler” loosely to mean anything that plumps up the lips. Typically lip fillers refer to a gel that can be injected into the lips like Juvederm or Belotero. These are synthetic fillers usually consisting of hyaluronic acid. The same “gel” found in your joints for cushioning. As the photo above shows, these type of fillers can be injected into the lips with ease. The most common risk is bruising. The most serious risk is accidental injection into the blood vessels surrounding the lips, resulting in death to the overlying skin or portion of the lip. I don’t have a photo of that but you’re welcome to google it.
To reduce the risk of accidental injection of the filler into a blood vessel, your doctor can do two things. One is to only inject as you’re withdrawing the syringe, not when you’re going in. The second technique is to use a blunt cannula. This is just like it sounds. By using a needle that is not sharp, you’re less likely to puncture a blood vessel. If you can’t puncture the blood vessel, you can’t inject filler into the vessel. And if you can’t inject into the vessel, you can’t block the vessel and result in those awful photos you saw on google!
The main benefit of fillers like Juvederm or Belotero is that they’re easy to inject and relatively inexpensive. The downside is that you have to repeat the treatment every 6 months to a year.
Lip Implants
Lip implants on the other hand are permanent. They don’t dissolve. They’re made of solid, but soft, silicone. This is a little more expensive but you don’t need a full-on operation to have these implants inserted. Lip implants can be placed under local anesthesia.
Fat injections to the lips
One of the most natural options for lip fillers is with the use of your own fat. This requires an operation to first remove fat from the abdomen or thighs. So if you’re planning on liposuction, this is a perfect procedure to do at the same time. After taking the fat, you purify it in a centrifuge and then inject into the lips. This gives the most natural appearance and lasts a long time. Check out the video below for a nice overview of your options.
Review of lip fillers video
To check pricing on various types of lip fillers from Dr. Kaplan, click here for Belotero or Juvederm or here for Volbella.
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
