Frequently Asked Questions About Lip Augmentation
You show your face to the world on a daily basis. Even with the aid of makeup, you may feel self-conscious about lips that appear out of proportion to the rest of your face.
If you don’t like the natural look of your lips, you may want to think about a lip augmentation procedure. Both surgical and non-surgical techniques can alter your lip shape and size for the better. The answers to the following frequently asked questions may help you make this decision.
Who Might Want to Consider Cosmetic Lip Augmentation?
Lip augmentation involves the artificial enlargement of one or both of your lips. If you’ve always had unattractively thin lips, you may have thought about having them augmented for quite some time. However, lips can also thin out due to age-related tissue loss, prompting people of a certain age to restore the lips’ former fullness.
Lips that lack symmetry can throw your smile or even your entire look off-balance. This imbalance can stem from undeveloped facial muscles, or you may have had the condition since birth. You might suffer from an uneven lip line, or from one lip that visually dominates the other. These issues can all make you a good candidate for lip augmentation.
How Do Lip Fillers Correct Lip Size and Shape?
Lip fillers offer a relatively non-invasive way to enlarge your lips or alter their shape. While older techniques featured injections of collagen into the lips, cosmetic surgeons commonly choose hyaluronic acid as the filler of choice. Hyaluronic acid fillers include products such as Juvederm and Restylane.
Hyaluronic acid, a naturally-occurring substance in the human body, draws water into tissues, boosting their hydration and plumping them up. Your cosmetic surgeon can administer these injections with great precision to produce exactly the kind and degree of extra fullness your lips require, with effects typically lasting up to a year.
How Does Surgical Lip Augmentation Work?
If you want a more extensive or permanent solution to your cosmetic lip issues, your plastic surgeon may recommend surgery instead of lip fillers. If your lips have sufficient tissue, you may receive a silicone or polytetrafluoroethylene implant that plumps out your lips permanently, with no need for additional treatments.
If your lips can’t accommodate an implant, your plastic surgeon can simply transplant existing fat from another part of your body into your lips. This fat auto-grafting technique reshapes your lips while minimizing the risk of tissue rejection. While not a permanent solution, this technique can give you fuller lips for at least five years.
Don’t assume that you can only make one or both lips larger through cosmetic intervention. In addition to lip augmentation, your cosmetic surgeon can also reduce the size of overly prominent lips simply by removing excess tissue, a procedure known as lip reduction surgery.
What Can You Expect During and After Your Lip Augmentation Procedure?
Before you receive a lip filler such as hyaluronic acid, your plastic surgeon may numb your lips with lidocaine, a local anesthetic. Common (and temporary) side effects from lip filler injections include minor bruising, swelling, and tenderness.
If you choose to receive a fat graft or lip implant, your surgeon can most likely perform this procedure using only local anesthetics. The implanted material goes into the lip via a series of small injections. You may need a few days of recovery time before you can resume your normal lifestyle.
If you’ve decided to change your lips for the better, Jaibaji Plastic Surgery can help you choose the right procedure to achieve your desired results. Contact our cosmetic surgery clinic today to schedule an initial consultation and discuss your lip augmentation options in detail.