Lip Fillers Overview
Plumping and shaping your lips is a great way to finish off the confident, fresh smile you love to flash to others. Fuller lips can also bring out the natural beauty of your face. Cosmetic Laser Dermatology in San Diego offers a variety of fillers to give you the lips you deserve.
So why should you consider lip fillers? Some people choose them to restore the lips. As we age, lips can thin due to a loss of collagen. This can lead to a loss of volume in your smile, lip wrinkles, and a “gummy” smile. Others never had the full lips they wanted and choose fillers to create the plumper pout they had merely dreamed of in the past. Fillers administered by a trained, board-certified dermatologist can plump and fill out your lips to highlight your best features.
Schedule a consultation today to get full and natural lips.
What is a Lip Filler?
Lip fillers contain hyaluronic acid that closely mimics this natural substance in your skin to restore volume in your pout seamlessly. Lip fillers usually last at least a year, and we can even dissolve the filler if you wish. At Cosmetic Laser Dermatology in San Diego, our board-certified dermatologists are experts at injectable treatments. They can recommend the best filler and apply just the right amount to meet your aesthetic goals.
When many people hear “lip fillers,” they imagine overdone lip enhancements, but our dermatologists strive to give you a natural result that fits your facial features and compliments your face. During your consultation, one of our board-certified dermatologists will examine your face and lips and discuss what you’d like to accomplish with lip fillers. If lip fillers aren’t suitable for you, we may recommend a different procedure to help you achieve your desired look.
How Do Lip Fillers Work?
Lip fillers work by restoring volume and a desirable contour to the lips. As we age, we lose fat, collagen, and elasticity, which causes aging symptoms like thin lips, wrinkles around the mouth, and sagging skin. Our dermatologists inject dermal fillers precisely where they’re needed to add fullness to the lips and smooth out surrounding wrinkles. The body slowly absorbs the filler over the next year or so.
Types of Lip Fillers
At our San Diego medical spa, we offer the best lip fillers on the market today:
Restylane Kysse
Restylane Kysse® is the latest lip filler from the Restylane® family of dermal fillers. Its formulation uses optimal balance technology (OBT) or XpresHAn technology, allowing normal, flexible lip movement after filler injections. Our own Sabrina G. Fabi, MD, was involved in the research study that led to Kysse’s FDA approval, so our team deeply understands how to best place this filler and which patients make the best candidates. When you select a provider for your lip injections, you want experienced, highly-trained MDs you can trust with such an important cosmetic procedure.
Restylane Silk
This is the first filler from the Restylane family of dermal fillers created exclusively for the lips. Restylane Silk® provides a natural fullness to the lips and can also smooth away fine lines around the mouth. Its formulation contains lidocaine, a local anesthetic that reduces pain and discomfort during injections.
Juvéderm Volbella
Volbella® comes from the Juvéderm® family of dermal fillers, and it uses its proprietary technology called Vycross. Vycross reduces the filler’s water absorption, ensuring less swelling than other hyaluronic acid fillers that don’t have this unique technology. Studies also show the results of Volbella lip injections last longer than other lip fillers.
Belotero
Belotero Balance® is a dermal lip filler best for patients who want to smooth away smoker’s lines and other lip lines that distract from your winning smile. Belotero can also revive your vermillion border, which defines the edges of your lips and guards against the annoying lipstick “bleed.”
Lip Fillers vs. Lip Implants vs. Topical Lip Plumpers
We offer lip fillers to our patients at our San Diego medical spa seeking to augment their smiles, but you may have heard of other techniques such as implants and topical plumpers. Lip implants involve surgically inserting a biological or synthetic material into the lips. It is permanent, and plastic surgeons can only reverse the results with another surgery. Topical lip plumpers are typically the least invasive option, and they involve an external cream or device that plumps the lips. The results are less dramatic and less controllable than lip fillers and can lead to an uncomfortable stinging sensation, depending on the product.
Another popular lip treatment, lip blushing, is gaining traction at medical spas around the country. This procedure, which promises to enhance the color of your lips, can increase your risk of infection and allergic reaction. The red tattoo ink that lip blushing contains is not FDA-approved and can cause lip deformities. With extensive experience in tattoo removal and state-of-the-art technology, like the TotalTat³ laser, the board-certified dermatologists at CLDerm can effectively remove even the darkest tattoo pigments from lip blushing gone wrong.
What to Expect
Despite the name, lip fillers aren’t just about “filling” the lips and making them bigger. Instead, properly administered doses of Juvederm Volbella, Restylane and Belatero will return your lips to a natural fullness and shape that fits your unique facial structure.
How Long Do Lip Fillers Last?
Lip fillers last for different lengths of time for each person, but generally, they last between six and twelve months, depending on the filler used and the amount injected.
What is the Lip Filler Procedure Like?
All of the hyaluronic acid dermal fillers our board-certified dermatologists use contain a small amount of lidocaine, a local anesthetic, to minimize pain. We also use tiny needles or cannulas during a procedure to further ensure comfort.
Trust Our Medical Spa Experts
Our physicians at Cosmetic Laser Dermatology are expert lip filler injectors. We are one of the few cosmetic practices in San Diego where doctors perform all injections. Our highly-trained and experienced staff are experts at using precision techniques that deliver results and minimize discomfort and pain.
Getting injections done by a fly-by-night operation can get you big lips, but you may be left with bloated and oversized lips that draw the wrong type of attention. The dermatologists at Cosmetic Laser Dermatology in San Diego are board-certified and trained to ensure your procedure is safe and effective. Don’t trust dermatology procedures to someone operating out of their living room or spa. A visit to our state-of-the-art facility and expertly trained staff will give you peace of mind and ensure your lip filling procedure is safe and effective.
It is important to have all your cosmetic dermatology work done by a real board-certified cosmetic dermatologist. Not only will you be in the care of an actual medical doctor, but the professional administering your injections will also be well-versed in the latest techniques to prevent swelling and bruising.
The board-certified dermatologists at Cosmetic Laser are already masters of these procedures and due to advances in technology and technique, they’ll only get better.
A Natural Lip
According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD):
“The biggest breakthrough may be that patients are seeing more natural-looking results. Injected properly, you’ll look refreshed. Friends, family, and co-workers, however, aren’t likely to know what you’ve done. The results look that natural.”
A proper lip refining procedure will give you full and vivacious lips in a matter of minutes. It will look so good and so natural that your friends will notice, but be unable to pinpoint what you’ve changed.
Fillers are a reliable cosmetic face & neck procedure because they are versatile. Not only can you use them to revitalize your lips but these products can be used to return a natural refreshed look to your cheeks, brow, chin, and even your hands.
In addition to fillers, we offer a holistic approach to restoring the natural beauty of your lips. This San Diego dermatology team offers a variety of products and procedures to give your smile that finished, natural look.
- Botox can be used to give your smile an upturned look as well as reduce “gummy” smile
- With laser removal of the hair right above your lip, your lips will have more prominence.
- Laser treatment for the removal of freckles and sunspots on lips can restore their natural color and hue.
- Lock-in your results and keep your lips thriving with these dermatologist-recommended sunscreens and lip balms.
Schedule your appointment today.
FAQ
Q: Do fillers look natural?
Yes, when done correctly by one of our board-certified dermatologists. You should only trust real medical experts to administer this or any other dermatological procedure.
Q: When will I notice the results?
You will notice immediate results. You may have some swelling for a day or two, but afterward, your lips will look full.
Q: How long do lip fillers last?
Depending on the type of filler, injection technique, and your personal physiology, fillers can last anywhere from 6 months to 1+ years.
Q: What is Hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is the active ingredient in the Juvederm and Restylane brand fillers. It is a substance that is made by humans naturally and helps plump and fill-out skin and lips.
Q: Are lip fillers the same as Botox?
No. Botox is a neuromodulator that relaxes wrinkles and softens expression lines such as crow’s feet. Dermal and lip filler injectables restore volume to wrinkle areas such as laugh lines and lips.
Q: Are there any side effects?
Side effects for lip injections include redness, swelling, tenderness, and bruising.
When administered by a medical professional, side effects are kept to an absolute minimum. Risks associated with injections administered from a non-professional are much greater and include severe swelling, over-filled areas, lumps, allergic reactions, and infection. Plus HA fillers are easily reversible, so if you’re unhappy with your look, we can dissolve and remove it quickly.
Q: Do lip fillers hurt?
Our doctors and medical staff are trained in pain management and work hard to ensure lip injection procedures are as painless as possible. Not only do we use the pain-numbing medication lidocaine during our procedures, but we can also apply a numbing balm to the lips before the procedure. It is paramount that you go to a trained and certified cosmetic dermatologist as only they will be able to properly prepare for and manage any potential discomfort that could arise from a lip injection procedure.
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