Lip Filler

Lip Fillers

Lip fillers are one of the most popular types of dermal filler. They increase the volume of your lips. Candidates should be in good physical and mental health and have realistic expectations.

What are lip fillers?

Lip fillers are injections that add volume to your lips. They’re a type of dermal filler.

Lip fillers consist of synthetic hyaluronic acid (HA) - HA is a natural substance in your body. There are many different brands of lip fillers, including Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane.

 

Who gets lip fillers?

Getting lip fillers is a personal decision. Pursuing your wants and desires for your body can be empowering.

To be considered for lip fillers, you should:

- Be in good physical health.

- Have realistic expectations.

- Not have an active oral infection, including canker sores or cold sores.

Many people who get lip fillers want to increase the size of their lips. You might want to enlarge the size of your lips for many reasons, including:

- Restoring a previous lip size. As you age, your lips may get smaller or thinner, your philtrum (the groove between your upper lip and septum) may get longer and flatter and the distance between the corners of your mouth (intercommissural distance) may increase.

- Correcting the shape of your lips. It’s common for your lips to be different sizes or shapes (asymmetrical).

- Smoothing wrinkles. When you smile or laugh, wrinkles sometimes develop on the sides of your mouth.

- Boosting confidence. Lip fillers can help improve your self-esteem and body image.

 

Why are lip fillers used?

Lip fillers restore or add volume to your lips. They don’t stop the aging process, but they might help delay the need for a more invasive surgical lip augmentation, like lip implants or a lip lift. They can also help you achieve a desired look, which boosts your self-esteem.

Over time, you may lose volume in your lips, which may be a result of: Genetics, Smoking, Sun damage.

 

Lip filler procedure?

During a lip filler procedure, your healthcare provider will apply a topical anesthetic to your lips. The topical anesthetic will numb your lips so you won’t feel any pain and the process is as comfortable as possible. The numbing creams often consist of benzocaine, lidocaine and tetracaine (BLT). About 15 to 30 minutes later, your lips should be numb.

If you have a BLT allergy, your healthcare provider may give you a nerve block injection to numb your lips. About 15 to 30 minutes after the injection, your lips should be numb.

Your healthcare provider will then use a thin needle to inject lip filler into any or all parts of your lips, including the edges of your lips (vermillion border), the curve in the center of your upper lip (Cupid’s bow) and your oral commissures (corners of your mouth). You won’t feel any pain, but you may feel a pinching sensation, and your eyes may water. On average, your healthcare provider will insert 1 milliliter (mL) of lip filler into your lips, which is about one-fifth of a teaspoon. The needle won’t go deeper than 2.5 millimeters (mm) into your skin.

Your healthcare provider may apply an ice pack to your lips throughout the procedure to minimize swelling and bruising.

The entire procedure may take as little as 30 minutes or as long as two hours.

 

What happens after a lip filler procedure?

After the procedure is complete, your healthcare provider may gently massage your lips so that they absorb the filler. They may continue to ice your lips as well.

Your healthcare provider will monitor you for up to 15 minutes to ensure you don’t experience any side effects, including dizziness, nausea or substantial bleeding. Once they determine that you no longer require monitoring, they’ll let you go home (discharge you). A local anesthetic won’t make you tired or groggy, so you can drive yourself home. However, you may want to have a family member or friend drive you home just in case.

Your lips may be swollen, sensitive and bruised. Swelling usually goes away after 24 to 48 hours, but it may take up to a week.

Your healthcare provider will also schedule a follow-up appointment about two weeks after the procedure to monitor your lips. They may take another picture for your medical record so you can see what your lips looked like before the procedure and after they’ve healed.

The following tips will help your lips as they heal:

- Apply an ice pack for up to 10 minutes to reduce inflammation, pain and swelling.

- Avoid wearing lipstick, lip balm or any other product on your lips for at least 24 hours.

- Refrain from touching or puckering your lips, including kissing and sipping from a straw.

- Be careful brushing your teeth.

- Drink plenty of water.

- Avoid exercising for at least 24 hours.

 

What are the advantages of lip fillers?

 There are many advantages to lip fillers, including:

- They’re safe, and the lip filler procedure is also safe — there’s a low risk of complications or side effects.

 - They can boost your self-esteem.

 - They’re reversible. If you’re not happy with how you look, your healthcare provider can inject an enzyme (hyaluronidase) to dissolve your lip filler.

 

WHAT IS THE RECOVERY PERIOD AFTER THE PROCEDURE?

After lip lift procedure; oedema, numbness, pain and swelling may appear. Cold compress may minimize the swelling. Pain is controlled by low-dose pain medication. These situations are temporary.

There is a recovery period of 1 week. Sutures are removed 5 days after surgery.