Plump, full lips are a popular fashion statement for women of all ages because attractive lips portray youth, health, and beauty. Lipstick and makeup can highlight the shape and contour of your lips, but what if you are not born with full lips or if you have lost lip volume with age? When make-up alone isn’t providing you with the lips that you desire or if you want a longer-term solution, implants or fillers can accentuate or add volume and definition to your lips. Kissably soft, plump lips are achievable.
Fillers and implants are two of the most popular enhancement options for fuller, more-youthful, kissably-soft lips. So, how do you choose between fillers and implants?
The Difference Between Lip Fillers and Implants
In today’s medically advanced world, you can choose lip enhancements that are performed using implants or fillers. Lip fillers are injected during a nonsurgical treatment and offer a temporary answer for fuller and more defined lips. Implants are inserted during a simple, same-day surgical procedure that provides a permanent solution for full, plump lips. Dermal fillers have a long history of success around the world and are used to enhance lips, treat facial lines, wrinkles and add volume and contours to the cheeks and jaw. Some fillers can last up to 2 years. Fillers are a temporary lip rejuvenation while silicone implants are a permanent plastic surgery.
Lip Rejuvenation with Fillers
Lip fillers or injections are a huge trend and are considered a go-to temporary cosmetic treatment for full and luscious lips. Fillers are a safe and effective way to achieve natural looking results without surgery.
Dermal fillers are recommended for clients who want a noninvasive, temporary treatment that will significantly sculpt, plump, and contour their lips. The dermal filler will define your lip borders and fill lines caused by age or smoking. Treatment only takes a few minutes, requires no downtime and offers results that may last three months to two years depending on the filler. Restylane and Juvederm products, such as Volbella, provide well-contoured lips in one session. Volbella can last up to one year and is used to treat lip lines and to define the upper lip.
Lip Implant Rejuvenation
Lip Implants are a more costly option but may be recommended if thin lips are a concern. These implants are customized to match your cosmetic goals and are used to increase volume and reduce the appearance of lines by filling age-related creases along the border of the lip. If you are a non-smoker, in good health and have realistic expectations, you may be considered a good candidate for lip implants. But, you should also consider the risks and benefits of lip surgery before making this decision.
Lip implant surgery is a same-day procedure that takes approximately one hour. Both lips can receive implants or only one, depending on the desired results. Small incisions are usually made in the corners of the mouth but can be made elsewhere depending on the specific technique. A thin tunnel will allow the implant to be inserted, moved within the lip and positioned precisely. The implant is then trimmed to provide beautiful formation, and the incisions are closed. The total recovery after the lip plastic surgery is one month. There is a risk of the implant shifting. Following all after-care instructions can reduce this and other risks.
Which is Better: Implants or Injections?
Silicone lip implants or injectable lip fillers like Volbella have pros and cons. Volbella and other filler injections are FDA approved and are a popular lip augmentation method with extremely low risk. Each injection has a numbing agent included, and the treatment is described as comfortable. Injections take only fifteen to twenty minutes and the results and recovery time are very fast. Your lips may appear swollen for the first 24 hours and slight bruising at the injection site may be experienced. The treatment is temporary and will gradually reduce in size without maintenance treatments.
In contrast, lip implants are a permanent augmentation. They are also more costly, have longer recovery time, and carry slightly higher risks. Implants are more difficult to undo than fillers if the patient is unhappy with their results. While a filler can be reversed with an injection of hyaluronidase to reduce the augmentation, implants must be removed during a follow-up surgical procedure.
Choose Lip Augmentation Specialist
Choose an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon like Dr. Leonard Miller who is an expert in lip augmentation in Boston and provides women with gorgeous, natural-looking lips that are proportionate with their features and match their lip goals. Dr. Miller is a highly respected plastic surgeon at The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation and the ground-breaking creator of several noninvasive techniques and filler materials.
If you find that you like the results you achieve with lip fillers, you can have maintenance treatments completed every six to nine months so that your lips consistently display a full and shapely appearance. Discover what’s the best treatment plan for you – visit Dr. Miller’s website at www.leonardmillermd.com.
