Lip Filler Guide – All Your Questions Answered
One of the top cosmetic alterations among women—and men—seeking aesthetic enhancements is lip augmentation. While some beauty trends fade quickly, the desire for full, pouty lips is only growing, and injectable dermal fillers are the most common solution. If you’ve been considering getting this relatively simple procedure, this guide to lip fillers at La Belle Vie will give you all the information you need.
What Are Lip Fillers?
Lip fillers are a special type of dermal filler that adds plumpness and volume to the lips. Also called lip augmentation, this treatment is particularly rejuvenating to those who have naturally thin lips or whose lips are showing signs of aging, and it’s currently one of the most popular aesthetic procedures in the country.
Why Would Someone Want Lip Fillers?
There are lots of reasons why someone would choose lip fillers as a cosmetic enhancement, but they generally fall into one of four categories:
To Add Fullness
Lip and dermal fillers are a treatment for nearly any age group. From younger women looking for sexier, fuller lips to older women who want to restore their youthful smiles, almost everyone is a good candidate for filler.
To Reduce the Appearance of Fine Lines Around the Mouth
Fine lines and wrinkles can give away your age, especially for women over 50. “Smokers lines” can happen to anyone, regardless of whether they smoke or not. Lip fillers can treat these lines by smoothing them out.
To Define One’s Lip Shape
Some people have lips that are not well defined, with a border that flows into the skin and sort of disappears. Lip fillers can add dimension and sharpen the lip line. They can also define cupid’s bow, the area above your top lip that looks like an “M.”
To Correct Asymmetries
Sometimes, a person’s lips are not entirely symmetrical, causing self-consciousness. It can be that one side is naturally fuller than the other, or the shape of the lips has been altered by trauma or scarring. The goal for these individuals is to make their lips in proportion to each other.
What Are Lip Fillers Made Of?
At La Belle Vie, we have two different options for lip injections — Lip Plump and Lip Pop. Here’s what is in each of these effective fillers:
Lip Plump: Lip Plump is made with a combination of Restylane and JUVEDERM. Restylane is a hyaluronic acid gel designed to act like the natural hyaluronic acid produced by your body. Juvederm is also a gel made with hyaluronic acid, but it comes in several formulations, with JUVEDERM VOLBELLA® XC explicitly designed for lip injections.
Lip Pop: Lip Pop is made with Botox, a prescription drug made from the botulinum toxin. While that sounds scary, Botox is FDA-approved and used by doctors to treat many different conditions. The small amounts used cannot cause botulism. Instead, Botox injections into the upper lip can create fullness and smooth out fine lines and wrinkles.
Are Lip Fillers Safe?
Every aesthetic treatment has pros and cons, but lip fillers have a very low risk of complications. The main side effects you could experience include:
- Bleeding from the injection
- Bruising or swelling
- Tenderness or redness
- Reactivation of fever blisters or cold sores if you have had them in the past
More severe side effects can include prolonged swelling and soreness, infection, scarring, irregularities, or an asymmetrical appearance of your lips.
You can ensure you avoid the possibility of severe side effects by entrusting your care to a practitioner with advanced training in these procedures. At La Belle Vie, our team has decades of experience in Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine.
Additionally, one of the great things about lip fillers is that if a side effect does occur, our experts can quickly reverse the procedure to reduce any damage or complications.
Do Lip Fillers Hurt?
Surprisingly, most people say their lip filler treatment was less uncomfortable than expected. The injections themselves can cause a slight pinch, and your lips may be sore for 12 to 24 hours later. However, the procedure and recovery from it are generally not painful.
What Should I Do Before Getting Injected?
For your treatment to be successful, there are a few things you should do to prepare for your appointment:
- Avoid Advil, aspirin, and other pain relievers about three or four days before your injection. These medicines are blood thinners that can worsen swelling and bruising. You’ll also want to stop any vitamins or supplements known to thin the blood.
- It’s best to avoid alcohol for 24 hours before your injection since it is also a blood thinner.
- If you suffer from cold sores and usually take medication for a flare-up, you should take your prescription on the morning of your appointment. This is because the injections can awaken the herpes virus and reactivate it. Taking your medicine will suppress this response.
- Keep your mouth clean as you usually would, but you may want to use an antiseptic mouth wash right before your appointment as an added layer of protection against infection.
What Should I Do After the Treatment?
You’ll also want to give your lips a little TLC after getting Lip Plump or Lip Pop:
- Avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours.
- Use an ice pack and over-the-counter pain relievers to relieve discomfort.
- Stick to easy-to-eat foods and avoid salty meals, which can be dehydrating.
- Avoid touching, licking, or wiping your lips, as this can disturb the site of the injection.
- Avoid lipstick and other lip makeup.
Can I Get Big Pouty Lips Like I See on Social Media?
The idea that you can go from thin, non-existent lips to large, plump lips with one injection is unrealistic, at La Belle Vie we advise against injecting more than a single syringe in one session. Overfilling will be uncomfortable and could even be damaging.
To get the look you want, you should remember that less is often more, and you can always have additional injections to top off the original one after a couple of weeks. We take a natural approach to lip filler and recommend adding lip filler a little bit at a time until you are at the ideal amount of plumpness for your facial anatomy.
When Will I Notice the Results, and How Long Will the Lip Filler Last?
At first, you’re likely to have a little swelling after the treatment, so you’ll want to let your lips settle down before deciding if you like your new look or not. Then, after two weeks to a month, you’ll be looking at the final results. At that point, you can decide whether you want more or you’re happy where you’re at.
Remember, if you don’t like the results and your lips look or feel too full, you can always come back to La Belle Vie to have the filler partially or even completely removed.
Of course, if you love the look of your new full and youthful lips (and we think you will) you’ll be happy to know that although the results start to diminish after a year, the procedure is affordable enough that you can repeat it at that time.
Don’t forget to check out our monthly specials to save money on all your favorite La Belle Vie treatments.
Can I Combine Lip Fillers With Other Facial Procedures?
Yes! If you want to pamper yourself with another treatment on the same day, you can combine lip injections with many other procedures without complications. Additional aesthetic treatments our patients sometimes opt for include:
- Botox
- Dermal fillers in other areas of the face
- Nonsurgical facelifts
- Diamond Glow facial
- Chemical peels, masks, and facials
- Hand rejuvenation
If you have other questions not covered in this post, or you’d like to set up an appointment or consultation, reach out today!
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