Makeup can do wonders for plumping lips, but for a longer term solution to thin-lipped woes cosmetic injectables could be the answer.
Lips help represent sexuality and communicate one’s personality to the world – and people often look to change or perfect their lips when they do not naturally convey qualities in the way they would like. As you age, your lips also produce less collagen, leading to thinner, more delicate lips.
Lip augmentation
Lip augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures and involves injecting filler into the lips to give them a youthful plumpness and add more definition. As well as changing the lip size for those who desire bigger lips, this procedure can be used to correct a host of imperfections including wrinkles around the lip area and redefining the Cupid’s bow.
Cosmetic injectables have come a long way from the ‘trout pout’ days of over-filling lips, and with the procedure taking around 30 minutes it can be easily performed in a lunch hour with no downtime – meaning you can go back to work immediately. If you have lost lip plumpness with age or simply wish for bigger lips then you could be a candidate for lip augmentation.
There is usually some swelling on the lips after they have been injected but generally this quickly subsides and other side effects are rare. Results can last anywhere from a number of months to a number of years, depending on the filler that is used and your individual response to it.
While lip augmentation has a very good safety record, it is important to ensure that your injector has the required training and credentials for the product they are injecting.
There’s a huge selection of fillers available on the market, including collagen fillers which have been one of the most widely used cosmetic injectables over the past 25 years. The collagen is derived from purified cow skin and is biocompatible.
Fat transfer is another option and involves harvesting fat from your body (usually from the thigh or buttock area) and using it to inject into your lips. The downtime is longer than with other lip enhancement procedures and the injected fat is reabsorbed by the body over time. Results typically last between three and five years.
Anti-wrinkle injections
As well as lip augmentation, another popular non-surgical way to achieve a more youthful looking face is with anti-wrinkle injections.
It’s most commonly used to combat crow’s feet around the eyes, the central frown lines between the eyebrows, the worry lines across the forehead and the ‘marionette’ frown lines from the corner of the mouth to the chin.
The injections work by relaxing the muscles that cause wrinkles. When relaxed they don’t contract, so they temporarily go away. Results typically last from three to six months.
Did you know?
- Like fingerprints, your lip impressions are unique and could be used in an identification process.
- A passionate kiss can burn up to 50 kJ of energy in a few minutes, working as many as 30 muscles.
- The average woman consumes 6 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime
- The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
- The average human has about 10,000 taste buds – however, they’re not all on the tongue. Some can even be found on the lips – these are especially sensitive to salt
- Leonardo DaVinci spent 12 years painting the Mona Lisa’s lips
- Your lips need protection from moisture loss when you are indoors because low humidity and heating system effects indoors during winter can dry lips
- Lay off the alcohol – it dehydrates your lips!
