Plumping Up the Perfect Lips
Aesthetic Plastic Surgical Institute

One look at the covers of today's popular fashion magazines says it all - full, sensual lips are "in." Adding volume and definition to your lips can enhance your appearance and is relatively easy to achieve - especially if you opt for lip augmentation using injectable materials.

Lip augmentation with "injectables" provides dramatic results without surgery. After the procedure, your lips may be swollen for a few hours, but in many cases, patients are able to return immediately to work or social activities.

Some types of injectables will require a pre-test to ensure that you are not allergic to the material. Not so for fat injections. A tiny amount of fat is taken from another area of your body, using a small needle attached to a syringe. (Sometimes patients who are undergoing liposuction will ask Dr. Mills to use some of the suctioned fat to augment their lips!) After processing to remove excess fluids, the fat is injected to create a fuller, rejuvenated lip.

There are other natural and synthetic materials that can be injected into the lips to create volume. These substances come from a variety of sources. Dr. Mills can review the current options with you and make recommendations.

Lip augmentation with many of the popular filler materials is not permanent. Many patients like the idea that they can change their mind and their lip volume! To maintain results, you must be reinjected periodically. The amount of time between treatments varies, depending on the injectable substance.

Plumping up your lips also helps reduce those annoying vertical lines around your mouth that encourage lipstick "bleed." So pull out those long forgotten shades - the fire engine reds, cool violets and hot pinks. Lip augmentation may make you feel like wearing all of them again!