Everyone wants TIPS for looking their best without resorting to Plastic Surgery. One way to improve your facial balance and correct for lip asymmetry, thin lips or above lip lines, is through lip filler injections.
Certainly, cosmetic injections are growing rapidly in popularity, especially lip augmentation, because they can enhance not just the lips, but the appearance of the entire face. They do this by gently bringing a visual focus onto the lips, reducing fine lines above the lips (selected clients), and giving a more volumised appearance to the smile (known as luscious looking lips). And statistically, it seems that luscious, fuller lips are the proportions that people find most attractive in both women and men.
While cosmetic surgery, such as lip lift surgery or chin augmentation using implants can be a good solution for individuals who have an out of balance facial feature or lower face concern, cosmetic injections and lip filler can also do a lot.
That noted, if you want your face to look its best by having slightly fuller lips – and to cull a few years off of your appearance or enhance a feature to arrange more aesthetically balanced facial contours – without resorting to a jawline procedure, facelift, eyelid reduction or brow lift – you can’t go past the possibility of cosmetic injections such as wrinkle relaxers or dermal fillers.
Of the available dermal filler injection options – the increasingly popular lip filler injections – have a lot to offer patients with thin lips or a lopsided looking smile.
It is also popular to ease or soften the visibility of above-lip lines and mouth area wrinkles (the so-called smoker’s lines above the lips).
In this blog, we discuss How and why lip fillers can be effective for rejuvenating the look of the face – and the value of subtle lip changes versus going overboard with lip filler. First published 31 Jan 2017; updated 1 July 2018.
Our gentle Cosmetic Injectors, Sandra Wallace (RN), or Jessie Anderson (RN) can help you get YOUR lips looking luscious and voluptuous – yet still natural. We have a variety of top-quality filler solutions that you’ll love the look and feel of – so find out if injections are right for YOUR cosmetic concerns by booking a no-obligation injecting assessment consultation.
Our Melbourne Cosmetic Injections team uses long-lasting, natural-feeling lip filler solutions – and precision strategies – to get you the perfect looking pout for YOUR facial appearance concerns.
Lips are a powerful part of our face.
Wrinkles between our brows can make us appear stern, serious or angry, even when we’re not. Crow’s feet or puffy eyelids can make us look tired and aged, even when we’re not!
But there’s another reason that people like more voluptuous lip profiles.
Full, luscious lips are not only associated with youth, vitality and generosity, they can reduce the appearance of your facial age (depending on your other features and your skin condition).
To find out more about why this non-surgical treatment is so popular at our Melbourne Skin & Anti-Ageing Clinic.
What you must know about Lip Augmentation with Lip Filler Injections.
From temporary dermal fillers (based on substances that are naturally found in your cells) to anti-wrinkle injections that use muscle-relaxing medicines, you can help nature along these days – a LOT more than you ever could before.
In the non-surgical realm of facial rejuvenation, lip fillers and other dermal filler injections involve relatively little cost and minimal, if any, downtime.
And that’s exactly what makes lip filler injections and other facial augmentation injections – such as cheek augmentation injections – so popular for people across a wide range of ages.
A skilled cosmetic injector can devise an affordable injection strategy that helps YOU look your best – without facial surgery. And one of the best places to start with injections is your LIPS.
That noted, despite what injections can accomplish when administered carefully and strategically, sometimes the greatest overall improvements to your facial appearance will involve a combination of surgery and non-surgical treatments, such as lip augmentation or cheek augmentation.
Don’t get fillers just before a big event – make sure you leave at least 2 weeks, yet ideally, 3 weeks or longer, especially if you’re the bride or featured speaker.
But if you’re planning a big event, such as a wedding, graduation or public speaking engagement, be sure you get your injections strategy as far in advance as feasible to have a good result. Typically you’ll want to have at least 2 injecting sessions before a big event, with enough time between the treatment and the big event for the dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections to have their full effects.
From reducing forehead wrinkles to bringing your cheekbones a prominence they never had, modern cosmetic injecting treatments have come a long way over recent years.
What is a reasonable cosmetic injecting treatment result to expect when you get lip filler or other injections?
What makes for a good cosmetic injecting treatment result, is when the cosmetic injecting results are natural-looking, long-lasting and – in generally – symmetrical.
Be sure you choose only temporary filler solutions, never permanent, and that your Clinician uses only reputable brand names – or you might end up sorry.
Lip filler injections can also be combined with other facial enhancements such as forehead wrinkle relaxers or brow and temple area re-volumisation after facial bone atrophy.
It’s important to recognise that the sides of everyone’s faces are never perfectly symmetrical. This includes that most people have uneven lips (right to left). Plus, naturally, your upper lift is usually somewhat smaller than your lower lip.
(It’s also usually best to keep this upper/lower lip balance even if you augment your lips).
But some people have very thin lips and they simply look better when they have a bit more volume or shape.
Remember: Faces and bodies never will be perfectly symmetrical or even in shape or size, even after getting cosmetic injections or dermal fillers. But they can be made LESS uneven with the right injecting strategies, including uneven lips.
A top Cosmetic injector can do a LOT to balance out a lopsided smile, for example, or even out other noticeable asymmetry in the face, nose, lip or cheek area using dermal filler injections or fillers combined with anti-wrinkle injections.
Choose your Injectors and Clinics carefully – beware of the use of cheap, counterfeit injecting solutions in Australia.
Not all injecting clinics use the quality products we insist on having available for our clients at Coco Ruby in Melbourne.
We are dedicated to quality solutions, and a wide range, so that we can help you enhance your face and reduce ageing with long-lasting, natural-looking and fully approved injection solutions.
The new dermal filler products on the market mean that not all dermal filler injections are alike, and a skilled injector can pick and choose from various consistencies and filler properties.
Click to read Lip Filler Disasters and Lip Augmentation Tips
A skilled injector will know what top product brands, and what product types within that quality injectables brand, are going to help you attain the best result for a particular facial area or facial feature enhancement, including lip injections.
Read our blog on Lip Filler Disasters and Lip Augmentation Tips
A good dermal filler injection strategy, along with the right amounts of anti-wrinkle injections in the right places, can sometimes postpone rejuvenating Plastic Surgery of the face.
ALL with minimal, if any, downtime or discomfort.
Yes, injections can hurt a little. But with strong numbing cream, ice packs, or various anaesthetics, it can often be reduced.
The good news is that only micro-fine needles and micro-tipped cannulas are used.
There are other proprietary ways of helping to reduce the discomfort of getting a dermal filler injection treatment or lip augmentation filler injections.
Plus, it’s transient discomfort, meaning you might feel a bit tender in the lips for a few days, but any discomfort of having the injections passes very quickly.
The good news about any pain or discomfort involved in lip augmentation/lip filler injections is that MOST cosmetic injecting procedures taking mere minutes – rather than hours.
So you can be in and out of your Injector’s chair in under 30 minutes to 60 minutes with most LIQUID FACELIFT and LIP PLUMPING injection sessions. Then you’re often ready to face the rest of the day, with soreness that typically lasts less than a few days. (Some patients CAN bruise, however, so ask your Injecting Clinician what to expect).
After Lip Injections, you’ll want to know how to care for your newly augmented lips. Read more about Lip Filler After Care and suggestions for improving your augmentation results.
Click here to read the full blog on Lip Injections & Facial Filler After Care Guide
Many patients enjoy the look of the initially swollen lips after getting lip augmentation. However, don’t be tempted to go overboard, with too much filler in your lips.
“The key thing you need to do after injections is to stay hydrated by drinking water, and looking after your skin as you normally do, using quality sunscreen brands. It’s typically best NOT to try a new product just after you get injections,” notes our Cosmetic Injecting Team in Hawthorn East.
“There are different instructions for post-injecting care for the anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers, with flying NOT recommended for several weeks after dermal fillers. You want to typically massage the lips or where you’ve had filler, but your Clinician will guide you as to what’s appropriate.
“But don’t massage near the areas where you’ve had the anti-wrinkle injections.
“Also, exercise right after injections is a NO-NO. If you can avoid strenuous exercising that might dehydrate you, over a few days, it’s usually best to do so. Ask us if you’re not sure,” suggest our Coco Ruby Cosmetic Injecting Clinicians in Melbourne.
They also indicate you need to avoid heat and sun exposure.
Surgery to reshape or rejuvenate your face might cost tens of thousands of dollars. But good plastic surgery isn’t something you’ll want to do on the cheaper side of things, mostly because you’ll be living with your face surgery results every day, and because some things are simply worth doing properly or not at all.
The same can be said of dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections. Quality facial injections and cosmetic skin care is worth the investment, for multiple reasons which may include:
You’ve all seen the puffer-face look of someone who’s had just a bit too much enhancement with injectables, implants or fillers.
And despite the Kardashian’s loving a fuller pout, you’ve probably seen some celebrities getting harassed online about going ‘a bit too far’ (or a lot too far) with their lip augmentation — e.g., having “a duck face” look.
Most BAD LOOKING “lip jobs” are the result of over-zealous injectors or clients who want a larger pout than suits their faces.
According to Coco Ruby Skin & Anti-Ageing Injecting Nurses Sandra Wallace (RN) and Jessie Anderson (RN) (Hawthorn), it all comes down to selecting an experienced Injector who (a) only uses quality products and (b) insists on a custom yet slightly-conservative injection strategy.
“You can always add more, to a point,” says Sandra Wallace, “but it’s difficult to go backwards.”
In our Senior Injecting Nurse’s recent blog on using a “light touch for natural-looking results,” she states the same. “Injections can end up making younger people look older than they are,” she said. “Most patients really just want a natural-looking enhancement, maybe just a bit of balance added. But every patient’s different. But if someone gets a pleasing result, they can think ‘oh a bit more next time’ – sometimes that’s appropriate, but other times it can leave them looking ‘over-enhanced’.
Senior Injector Nurse Sandra also agrees.
“Some people might look great with fuller lips,” she notes, “but it’s definitely not for everyone. I always aim to get my patient the best result for what they’re wanting; and find that often, a slightly-conservative approach, means they’ll get subtle yet pleasing result.”
So Subtle You’ll Look Twice, but Noticeable enough that You’ll Notice You Look Better
A good lip augmentation or shaping treatment can even be enhanced by makeup, but it should look nice make-up-less as well. It can really help boost the facial appearance or create more balance between the upper and lower lips (some patients have great variance or very thin lips).
If you look at this image of a patient who wanted — and came away with — a natural-looking enhancement result, at first glance, an untrained eye will have to look twice to notice the enhancement.
It’s subtle (as it should be) but will look even better with makeup on. And in the whole-face view, which we’ve not published here as she prefers we keep her identity private, the overall effect is very pleasing. (Note that individual patient results vary and that lip augmentation is not a permanent result.)
Dermal fillers used to plump the lips are usually the same fillers that are used in other areas of the face to increase volume or fill in deep lines and creases.
We are not permitted to name actual brands, but we only use high-quality fillers as well as trusted quality brand muscle-relaxant injectables.
Fillers (“dermal volumisers”) consist of a thick hydrating fluid that is naturally found in our connective tissues of the body. This is a non-animal, scientifically stabilised product, which also contains a local anaesthetic to reduce discomfort and inflammation during the injecting process.
PLUS, we apply a numbing cream to your lips approximately one hour before your treatment.
Thin lips can leave a person looking angry, terse or tired.
Lip fillers, used properly, can slightly plump your lips. This increases them in size or helps slightly adjust their shape.
Slightly fuller lips often give a more youthful and pleasing result to the overall facial appearance. *But this always depends on the individual, and plumper lips may not suit every single client. One size (one injecting strategy) does not fit all.
Lip fillers are often used to correct lip asymmetry, or to help define the lip border — or differentiate the size and shape of the top and bottom lips.
Existing lip contours MUST be taken into account by our Injector to get a natural-looking facial enhancement.
*Every patient is different, but in general, the results from lip plumping using fillers usually lasts between 9-12 months.
If a high-quality product is used in the right way (by a highly trained practitioner), then typically you should only need your lips injected once a year.
Some people have a smile that they simply don’t like – it might be lopsided, or slightly turned down or showing a lot of upper gum. Injection treatments can sometimes help.
If your UPPER lip curls under when you smile:
A small injection of a muscle relaxant injectable along your upper lip can help stop your upper lip from curling under when you smile. This is an alternative to lip fillers for patients who have substantial lip volume and shape in a non-smiling expression, but who’s top lip disappears whenever they smile.
People look at your eyes when you’re speaking, but how often do they also notice your lips? More than you think!
We can’t help but focus on the mouth when someone is speaking or making a facial expression.
So if you were born with lips that are on the thin side, or are notably uneven – or if time has made your lips turn down or grow thinner and less voluptuous and you want a prettier pout – lip injections may be your answer.
You may be looking for a way to plump up your lips.
If you were born with thin lips or your lips are thinning due to age, there are ways to readily enhance them. With one to two injection sessions (it’s best to go cautiously to not look ‘overdone’ than to risk too much filler at once) – you’ll have beautiful lips!
Cosmetic Lip Injections with Medical-Quality Filler Solutions using a temporary-filler-solution: Great Value over time, Low Downtime.
Remember the products that surfaced about a decade ago, that promised to plump up your lips?
Even more recently, new makeup lines that promised improved lip volume have sold out in rapid time frames!
But some products – especially the early ones that promised to plump your lips for up to 12 hours – felt gunky or left you with numb-feeling lips. Others had short term effects that didn’t always work in your appearance favour.
Lip liner was also once popular to extend the size of the lips, at least visually – but it often looked fake and awkward – plus it didn’t always stay where you placed it on your face!
Just for fun, for some great “lip liner fail” photos, visit: http://www.rantchic.com/2015/07/29/15-ridiculously-bad-lip-liner-fails/!
But fortunately, temporary dermal volumisers (known as “fillers”) are a great option for people who are wanting to enhance their lip lines or reduce around-lip wrinkles and lines. They can even correct an overly-gummy smile!
But most of all, they help give you a pleasingly plumper lip volume that gives your overall face a boost, so long as it’s done properly and not over-filled.
The most common method to enhance lips these days is through dermal filler injections (lip fillers), which is a procedure that helps to plump up lips and provide a fuller appearance.
It uses micro-fine needles or cannulas to deliver extra volume to the lip area. It can correct uneven lips or fill thinning lips in a way that reduces above-lip lines and wrinkles, but getting a great injector who knows what they’re doing – as well as what products to use on your lips – is de rigueur for ending up loving your lip enhancements.
There are a few different types of enhancements available to achieve fuller lips or correct uneven lips (asymmetry from one side of your smile to the other, or to enhance upper lip volume if it is hardly visible), but injections with fillers are the most common.
Dermal lip fillers are the most common form of lip enhancements used today in many beauty-focused communities.
A quality, reputable Plastic Surgery or Anti-Ageing Skin Care centre will only use high-quality injectables and will walk you through everything you need to know about the procedure, including potential risks (which are minimised as much as possible by our Quality Injecting Staff).
In terms of duration of an Injectables Filler Treatment for Lips, a great Injector will also inform you that your lip filler effects will be temporary in nature.
While lip enhancements can be long lasting – for some people, as long as 12 to 15 months – their temporary effects will eventually reduce over time. The temporary nature is a bonus, really, in terms of if you decide you want to leave your lips thinner again over time, or get another lip-booster treatment – maybe even opting for a bit more volume (but not too much).
There are other permanent fillers that are still available for use but top professionals believe they really should be avoided because of potential side effects and long term complications, so be sure to discuss your options with your practitioner, and know that choosing temporary fillers is popular because they tend to have more predictable and/or more reversible effects.
Examples of natural-looking lip enhancements – not too much filler, but looks fantastic with makeup on. Bonus: the added volume reduced the appearance of the upper-lip lines!
Here’s another lip enhancement example where the cupid’s bow was enhanced along with an overall volume increase of the lips; but with a natural-looking effect that gave the entire face a more-youthful boost!
Fat Injections
Lip enhancements using fat transfer involves removing fat from another area of the body and injecting it into the lips. Fat injections became popular because only the body’s natural tissue is used, so allergic reactions rarely occur. This method can be tricky, however, because fat can be unpredictable AND there are some additional complications to these methods.
Fat can move around a bit and a high percentage of what’s injected can be reabsorbed into the body. This means that you can risk getting too much injected or having not enough stay, or having it remain but a bit unevenly in different areas of your lips.
The other downfall with fat injections to lips is that you need to have another procedure to harvest the fat, which involves a liposuction-type of fat ‘harvesting’ procedure. As with any surgical procedure, there are always complications that can arise and many patients will complain about the ‘donor site’ as well as the lack of predictability with fat transfer to face methods (but sometimes, for some patients using highly adept Plastic Surgeons, it can work well on certain areas of the face). You can ask about fat transfer options, but you’ll find many Plastic Surgeons in Australia remain hesitant to fully recommend them as the best solution due to current limitations and potential complication rates. That noted, they may evolve a lot over the coming years.
Lip Implants
Another method of lip enhancement is with the use of lip implants. This was initially popular about 15 years ago, before injections became the more dominant and popular, affordable option for long-lasting lip shape enhancements.
Lip implants can be made of saline or silicone (newer types use smooth silicone). They have the advantage of being permanent and without ongoing maintenance, but they involve a much higher cost than injectable options and can leave lips feeling numb or ‘unnatural’.
Lip injections and lip surgery are increasingly popular ways to help balance the face, even out a smile or plump up a thin top lip.
Injections: with hardly any downtime and minimal risks when performed by one of our Top Injectors such as Sandra and Jessie Anderson (RN), you can be on your way to a better-looking lip proportion in very little time.
Send an enquiry form for information or phone for a Skin Consultation.
There are several procedures available to change the shape or volume of the upper lip.
A lip lift can permanently change and enhance the size and shape of the lips without the need for repeating lip fillers.
As we age, our lips lose their plumpness and begin to descend or droop, typically around the corners – similarly losing firmness and fullness just as the skin on our face does.
The lighter portion of our lips (or along the edges) can begin to get larger as the tinted area of our lips becomes thinner and even down-turned.
Some people notice their upper lip begins to hang lower over the front teeth (or as the lips thin, more gum begins to show).
Fuller lips in better proportion to the overall face will not only tend to help you look a bit younger, but it can give you a more “subtly-pouty” lip or more appealing smile. Both of these changes can help rejuvenate the facial appearance, especially when your improved lip shape is highlighted by power lipstick or lip gloss colours that complement your skin tone.
Some of these lip enhancements can be done with lip injections alone, but others may require surgery to improve the lip and smile.
If you want a fuller lip or to balance out a lopsided or gummy smile, lip injectable treatments alone – consisting of an approved temporary-filler-solution solution – may get you the lip shape, size and smile improvements that you’re wanting. But sometimes you want a bit of a different lip or lower face look and might explore lip surgery or lower facial surgery, such as a chin augmentation, a facelift or a Upper Lip Lift.
You can also have a lip flip with botox instead of lip fillers.
If you have any other questions on Lip injecting or any other procedure feel free to contact us on (03) 8849 1400 or fill out an enquiry form below!
You may be thinking that fillers are the best option for you and they most likely are, if you’re wanting long-lasting but potentially reversible lip enhancements that will accentuate or help balance out your face and smile.
So if you’re getting ready for the Racing Carnival Season or for a wedding or holiday later in the year, you can get your lip injections done a few weeks to a few months before the event.
If you have a big event planned and want enhancements, we recommend trying a few months in advance, to allow enough time to add volume if you want a stronger enhancement (it’s easier to add volume than to remove it, so our Injectors are experts at not over-doing filler or leaving people with a fake-looking lip shape). In the example below, you’ll notice a natural-looking injectables effect that is subtle but effective.
Please be sure to discuss all of your options with your practitioner (Sandra Wallace (RN) and Jessie Anderson (RN), including potential risks and how they will manage any potential unwanted outcomes – in other words, do adequate due diligence before your procedure so you know what to expect – and what makes for a quality injectables procedure.
If it’s your first time, read our blog on Tips for First Time Lip Fillers or Injections.
It can help to ask to speak with other patients who’ve had the procedure – and look at photo examples to be sure you’re not choosing a ‘filler-happy’ injecting person who overdoes it. It’s also important that you feel as though you are not rushed during your consultation, which means you should always have a thorough consultation and get a good sense of whether or not you trust the injector with one of your most visible facial features – your lips!
If you are interested in learning more about lip augmentation from one of our leading Melbourne Injecting Team members give us a call at (03) 8849 1400 to arrange your injectables consultation appointment.
Coco Ruby in Melbourne (Hawthorn East), you’ll benefit from the wisdom and aesthetically balanced approaches of highly-experienced Injectors who have ~ 20 years of cosmetic injection experience.
Plus, our Senior Injecting Team uses only high-quality brands – not cheap brands of lip fillers that can leave you less than happy with your lips.
Read our blogs including our Senior Injectors blog on “Looking Natural and Avoiding Filler Fatigue” and “Five Things to Know about Injectables and Makeup”
Plus, find out about potential bruising after getting lip filler, and how to avoid it by being prepared before you get cosmetic injections.
For more information, read our other blogs about “The Dangers of Flying After Facial Fillers” and “How to Get the Most Out of Your Dermal Fillers or Anti-Wrinkle Injections.” And send an enquiry today to hear more via our newsletters or monthly FREE events at our Hawthorn East location.
Or schedule an injecting assessment with one of our Senior Injecting Clinicians to find out what injections can do for your face, lips, temples, cheeks, forehead or skin smoothness appearance.
Want to learn more about injectables, skin rejuvenation or facial surgeries?
Register to attend our NEXT event by visiting our Events page.