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If you have been looking to achieve fuller and shapelier lips, you may have found several different treatment options while researching online. It can be challenging to decide on the best treatment or procedure to get fuller lips with a more pronounced pout and which one can produce natural-looking results. Here at the Centre for Surgery, we offer three highly effective treatments to achieve fuller-looking lips. A surgical lip lift is a permanent way of improving the shape of the upper lip. Non-surgical injectable treatments include lip flip and lip fillers, which are temporary treatments, although they remain the most popular method of lip enhancement in the UK.
The anatomy of your lip and your needs and desires for treatment will determine whether you choose a lip lift, lip flip, or lip filler.
Lip Lift Surgery
Many people mistakenly believe lip lift surgery can add volume to the lips. A surgical lip lift is designed to create the impression of fuller lips without adding extra volume with filler or fat. As part of the natural ageing process, the area between the upper lip and nose, known as the philtrum, begins to increase in length, and this is associated with a gradual loss of volume in the lips. Many patients are keen to achieve permanent volume enhancement as hyaluronic acid-based lip fillers can only achieve a temporary improvement despite the impressive results achievable with lip fillers.
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Lip lift surgery involves shortening the philtrum with an elevation of the position of the upper lip. A surgical lip lift allows increased exposure of the upper lip, including the pink part of the lip known as the vermillion. The enhanced vertical height of the lips gives them a fuller and more youthful look.
A lip lift is ideal for patients who want permanent results and may have naturally thin upper lips with sub-optimal results previously achieved with lip fillers. Ideal patience for a lip lift includes those who have a sufficiently long philtrum, as the nose-to-upper lip distance will be shortened as part of the procedure. A surgical lip lift can also improve overall facial balance with natural-looking results without the addition of lip filler.
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The volume of the lips can be enhanced with the injection of hyaluronic acid-based lip fillers during lip lift surgery. However, the results of treatment with lip fillers are temporary, and the patient will need regular lip filler injections to maintain lip volume over time.
Lip Flip
A lip flip is a non-surgical injectable treatment that involves neuromodulators in the area of skin near the corner of the mouth and upper edge of the lip. Muscle-relaxing injections work to relax the muscles that act upon the upper lip. The treatment results in the lip flipping upward, helping to create a fuller-looking upper lip. A lip flip is designed to expose more of the upper lip.
RELATED: What is a lip flip?
A lip flip is ideal for people who want to achieve fuller-looking lips without needing lip filler injections. It helps to create natural-looking upper lips without adding extra volume to the lips, as with hyaluronic acid-based lip fillers. The results of treatment with a lip flip are temporary as the effects of neurotoxin gradually wear off by 3 to 4 months. Patients will require regular maintenance treatments to maintain the effects of treatment.
Lip Fillers
Lip filler injections are suitable for people who want to add volume to their lips. Treatment with lip fillers involves the injection of hyaluronic acid-based soft tissue fillers such as Restylane or Juvederm to produce plumper, poutier and fuller lips. Lip filler treatment using hyaluronic acid injections is not permanent. Many people view this as a benefit of treatment as lip fillers can be reversed if they are unhappy with how their lips look or, in rare cases, when a complication of treatment with lip fillers occurs. This means the treatment is very safe when performed by an experienced practitioner.
The duration of the results of lip filler injections varies between six and 12 months, depending on how your body metabolises the filler over time. Lip filler treatment must be repeated regularly to maintain fuller and pouty lips.
Lip Lifts, Lip Flips and Lip Fillers at Centre for Surgery
If you would like to enhance the appearance of your lips, the Centre for Surgery has a full range of lip enhancement treatment options depending on individual patient preferences. A surgical lip lift can achieve permanent results. If you are not keen on the idea of invasive lip lift surgery, non-invasive injectable treatments with lip flips or lip fillers can be recommended to enhance the size or shape of the lips.
Book an in-person consultation today at our state-of-the-art Baker Street clinic in Marylebone by calling us on 020 7993 4849 or completing the contact form below. One of our friendly and knowledgeable patient coordinators will be more than happy to book your consultation and will act as your point of contact throughout your patient journey with us at Centre for Surgery in London.
