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Enhancing lips – is it right for me?

By Dr Imogen – White Swan Aesthetics Director

Most clients that would like their lips plumped for the first time are very concerned that they will end up with a trout pout, looking false and too big. This is a common misconception with lip fillers because of the extreme examples splashed all over the media.

Therefore, I thought I would share the journey of one of my first time lip filler clients, Miss S, right through from the consultation to the end result. I hope this will demystify this seemingly scary treatment and open the door wide on the secretive world of lip augmentation.

Consultation

Miss S is 26 and always felt that her bottom lip was much smaller than her top lip and therefore that the two didn’t match. She had thought about enlarging her top lip for a number of years but was very nervous about the results, as she wanted something that looked natural.

I reassured her that with nearly all of my new clients I use a lovely, smooth, subtle Juvederm 2 product. It doesn’t last as long as the thicker product (about 4/5 months compared to 6/7) but it gives clients who are new to the procedure an idea of what it is like without it being too overwhelming.

Another thing that really reassured Miss S was that the filler could be dissolved if she really disliked the result. This was not something she was aware of before the consultation and so she felt much more comfortable once she knew that everything was reversible, if required. I did warn Miss S that when filler is first placed in the lips there is some swelling so they will look 10-20% bigger straight after the procedure.

Procedure

I gave Miss S the option of being completely frozen with an anaesthetic injection or having topical numbing cream – she chose the numbing cream and so this was placed on for 20 minutes prior to the procedure. The Juvederm filler product that I use also has a numbing solution inside it, which makes the procedure a lot nicer.

She was shocked at how comfortable the procedure was and it took just 15 minutes to complete the full augmentation of her top lip. After placing filler the most important thing is to manipulate and smooth it so that all the little lumps are gone and the gel is evenly distributed in the lip.

Afterwards

Filler doesn’t set completely for a week so I taught Miss S how to manipulate and smooth her lips in case any little lumps developed. I also warned her again that the lips would be more swollen tomorrow but then reduce to their final size after 2-3 days. She was delighted with the initial result and couldn’t believe how much more in proportion her upper lip was now. The most beautiful ratio is considered to be 60% volume in the top lip and 40% in the lower lip.

Miss S reported she was very happy with the result a week after treatment and has since sent me numerous delighted selfies with her beautiful new pout, which is always nice to receive. Around half of my clients choose to have the slightly thicker Juvederm 3 product in the future to give a fuller look and the other half stick with the subtle Juvederm 2 results – the beauty is that the choice is yours!

So don’t be afraid to explore lip enhancement, whether it’s a subtle adjustment to even up your lips or an overall fuller look, skilfully placed lip filler can achieve this without looking unnatural.

Shown below are Miss S’s ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos – the ‘after’ photo was taken straight after treatment so you can see a little needle mark and some swelling, both of which soon disappeared.