lip-ugmentationLip Augmentation

How often have you found yourself staring into the mirror and examining your face and your features? We all desire big and deep eyes, a small pointy nose and pink pouting lips. Thin lips are unappealing and dull. Because lips are the center of attention and the most prominent feature of your face after your eyes, you would want them to look attractive.

Whether you possess a silent, quiet personality or you are talkative and lively, your lips can in no way go unnoticed and neglected. If you have thin, shriveled or dried up lips, it can emit a feeling of dullness. They will automatically make you appear a lot older than you actually are and people will not look at you with the admiration you have always desired.

If you have crooked, disfigured lips which are completely unsymmetrical, this may be devastating to your self-esteem, confidence and personality as a whole. Lips with an abnormal or queer appearance may attract unwanted attention and may cause people to look at you with scorn, ridicule or pity. What happens as a result is that people shy away from social gatherings and avoid going out in public, as they feel inferior and ugly. This is a very extreme case but in general, people with thin and unattractive lips do feel self-conscious and you might catch them not smiling at the camera, as they are ashamed of how their lips appear to be.

Lip augmentation is the answer to your prayers. As the name suggests, lip augmentation is used to increase the volume of the lips, making them appear fuller and therefore giving you that magazine cover pout you secretly desired.

Lip augmentation takes away the creases your lips have and make them smooth and flawless. It can also transform your lip shape and structure from being deformed and crooked, to being perfectly in proportion and place.

Lip augmentation is a part of the various facial cosmetic procedures used to enhance your beauty and change your appearance completely. It is widely popular and is practiced by all well-known cosmetic surgeons.

Techniques of Lip Augmentation

Lip augmentation is fortunately not a very complicated and risky procedure when you compare it to other face enhancement processes. The process of lip augmentation requires no cutting or incision making. Surgery is not needed. The process is simple and quick.

The most popular and widely used method of lip augmentation consists of injecting Juvederm or Restylane into your lips. These are consistent gel-like substances that settles into your lips, giving shape and adding a certain fullness to the contour. The compounds that form these gels are similar in structure and properties to the hyaluronic acid present in your body. This gives your lips a natural look and makes them appear smooth, creaseless and plump.

Another alternative to the dermal fillers is the use of your own fat to trigger growth in your lips. This fat can be extracted from any fat-rich part of your body like the thighs or buttocks and then injected into the lips where these fat cells grow and produce fat naturally. This process is a bit more complicated compared to the use of artificial fattening in the form of gels but appears more natural and is longer lasting. It takes a few weeks for the fat to really settle into place and form the shape you desire.

The process of enhancing lips using dermal fillers such as the Juvederm and Restylane is preferred over the fat implant option, as it has numerous benefits. Firstly, the doctor has more control as he can make the gel settle in exactly according to the shape and volume you want your lips to be, as compared to when fat is injected and it grows naturally from the fat stems with time.

Secondly, this process causes less bruising and swelling. Also, results are immediately achieved by the dermal fillers as compared to the fat implant technique, which requires time for the fat cells to multiply and grow. Any possible lumps can be easily dissolved as well. This is ideal for patients who do not wish to undergo the pain and complications of implanting, as this process is quick and effective.

Lip Augmentation and What To Expect From It?

Lip augmentation is something you do not need to worry about. It is a fairly simple, fast and low-risk procedure. If you have a tight schedule and cannot afford to take a day off, we have good news: at Southwest Plastic Surgery, lip augmentation requires just a few hours of your precious time.

The doctor will ask you for personal health details that you need to provide. You might also be asked to undergo a few medical tests and checkups to make sure you are in perfect health and can proceed with the lip augmentation. You might be diagnosed for allergies and your lips will be examined in detail so that the results can be compared prior to and after the operation.

Do not expect your face to transform overnight; you will not immediately get the look you wanted, so do not expect to. In fact, for the first few days your lips might feel numb, swollen, and irritable or blemished because the doctor inserted a fine needle into your lips for the purpose of injecting. Keep in mind that however low risk it might be, there can be a few side effects of the procedure.

The Side effects of Lip Augmentation

Although lip augmentation has hardly ever gone wrong, you should be prepared and understand all the risks involved in the process. It is not a naturally occurring process; therefore, there are many things which can occur as a result of this operation.

To minimize the risks involved and make sure you get the best services and achieve the best possible results, be very careful in your choice of a physician. Choose a doctor who is experienced, professional, certified and knows what he is doing. You can even get an amateur to do the task for you but then keep in mind that results may not be as expected and the risks involved might increase tremendously, if not double. These risks include:

  • Swelling and bruising of your lips and other areas concerned. This bruising might be extremely severe, painful and might even leave life-long scars on your face, leaving you worse off than before.
  • There might be bleeding from the points where the needles were injected, which might be painful and may even cause extreme loss of blood.
  • An allergic reaction or infection from the procedure.

Apart from these, long term side effects can occur which might leave you regretting your decision to get your lips augmented. These long-term side effects can be permanent deformation of the lips. Your lips might lose their shape and appear crooked, or the procedure might leave bumps that might not dissolve and therefore make your lips look uneven and ugly. There might be stiffening of your lips or jaw.

Be fully aware of what you are planning to proceed with. Understand the risks and be prepared. Do not be forced into making any decision because of pressure from friends or family. Lip augmentation is not a joke and once performed, it cannot be reversed.

The cost of Lip Augmentation

Lip augmentation, like all good things in life, obviously has a cost. This cost varies from individual to individual, as each case of lip augmentation will have different requirements and will have to be processed differently. Make sure you are aware that insurance does not cover lip augmentation or any facial enhancement treatments.

Do not make the mistake of compromising on your doctor in order to save a few bucks. Get it done from a professional who will not take your lips as a plaything. Lip augmentation costs between $2,700 – $3,200, which is not a large price to pay for beauty, confidence and pride.