Lip augmentation or lip enhancement is a cosmetic surgery procedure that aims to give a rich appearance to your lips through enlargement. Lip augmentation is an old phenomenon and has been used since long. In the earliest history of lip augmentationtribal people used to enlarge lips through piercing them and the tradition is still popular in African tribes. Recent trend in lip augmentation was introduced in 1900s when surgeons attempted to enlarge lips through injecting paraffin but that resulted in a failure. Before the introduction of modern fillers, bovine collagen was considered to be the standard against which all other injectable fillers were used to be measured.
Today we have injectable fillers that contain hyaluronic acid and are generally considered safe. Injectable Restylane and Juvederm are mostly used for lip augmentation through fillers.
Lip augmentation through lip fillers
There is a variety of injectable that have been used for lip augmentation with fillers (lip augmentation/lip fillers). Autologen, dermalogen and radiance are some of those substances that were heavily used in lip enhancement procedures worldwide.
Hyaluronic acid fillers are the modern injectable fillers that are widely used in modern lip augmentation procedures. Hyaluronic acid is found naturally in body. Some of the widely used fillers are
- Restylane
- Perlane
- Juvederm Ultra
- Juvederm Ultra Plus
They are injected through very fine needles and usually a topical anesthesia is used. Their results last usually for 6 months and you need repeated administration to maintain results.
Lip augmentation through fat transfer
Fat grafting or fat transfer is also used for lip augmentation. It transfers patient’s own body fat that is usually extracted from abdomen or hips through cannula or injection. Local anesthesia is often used in fat transfer.
Effects of lip enhancement through fat tissues usually stay longer than a filler treatment. However, the exact duration is dependent on how much the lips move and how close the area is to a major blood supply.
Sometimes extracted fat is not injected in lips rather it is placed in lips through surgery. It requires general anesthesia and the treatment poses more side effects and complications’ than a filler procedure.
Who should abstain from lip augmentation?
Lip augmentation is a safe procedure but it does have a candidacy criteria. You must not have a lip augmentation if you have any of following issues
- Cold sore
- Blood clotting problems
- Infections
- Scarring of lips
- Diabetes
- Lupus
- Facial nerve disorder
- Severe hypertension
- Recurrent herpes simplex lesions
Potential side effects
Lip enhancement through fillers and fat tissues is generally considered safe. However, there are some risks and side effects that may arise.
- Overstuffing lips with hyaluronic acid filler or fat tissues will give you a comic effect. Often it causes lumpiness in lips and sometimes may result in the formation of ridges.
- Redness, swelling and itching at the injection site are quite short living side effects and may take several days before subsiding completely.
- Uneven appearance is another possibility that may result if an inexperienced practitioner performs the procedure.
Lip augmentation gives your lips your desired contour. Have your lips done and look beautiful!