The desire to have fuller lips is not a recent trend and was in demand earlier as well. But it took up a new wave recently after many of the Hollywood heroines underwent lip plumping procedures and  looked fabulous. A beautiful smile with fuller and accentuated lips is a main attraction and most of the women wish to have luscious lips that can attract others.

But many times, aging cause atrophy of facial fats including that of the lips and produce fine lines and wrinkles in and around the lips. Lip plumping injections are cosmetic treatment used to plump up the lips for lasting voluminousness. Lip plumping injections soften the lines and restore the fullness and volume of the lips and the tissues surrounding the lips.

Using lip injections to enhance the lips is a common practice now even though there are more surgical options such as implants, lifts etc are available. This is because lip injections are easy and quick to do and produce instant results and there are different types of injectable fillers available in the market. Apart from plumping up the thin lines it also improve the appearance of sunken scars. In order to have successful lip plumping, the patients should identify the experienced plastic surgeon in their locality.

During the first visit, be prepared to discuss with your doctor about why you want to do this procedure and what do you expect from this. Discuss the current medical conditions past medical history, drug allergies, usage of herbal supplements, medications, alcohol, smoking etc. Also describe him in details about any past facial shaping, lip filler injections, facial rejuvenation, Botox therapy etc. as all these help him to determine the type of injection his patient needed.

Types of Injectable Fillers

Collagen

Collagen is the most commonly used lip injection and collagen is of two types, one derived from humans and other from cows. Bovine based collagen is derived from cows raised in a closed herd and hence is devoid of any contamination. But certain people are allergic to bovine based collagen and hence one should undertake two skin tests at one month apart before its actual use.

Human based collagen is derived from excess tissues removed during surgery or cadavers and hence it does not require any allergic tests. Collagen derived from human dermis is available as Cosmoderm and cosmoplast while that derived from bovine are zyderm or zyplast. Evolence is a purified collagen filler derived from porcine collagen. Result of collagen lip injections may last up to 6 months.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid is a viscous mucopolysaccharide found in the tissue space of the lips and it binds water and provides a lubricating effect to the lips. Hyaluronic acid based lip injections uses a clear gel similar to that of hyaluronic acid and binds with the water in the body tissues and improves the plumping effect of the lips and even fills up the creases in the face like nasolabial folds. It is even beneficial for concave scars and wrinkles and this effect last for about 6 months. Juvederm and restylane are the commercially available hyaluronic acid injections.

Human Fat

Fat from human body is extracted through liposuction technique is then injected back into that person itself to get fuller lips. Fat is extracted from the thigh or abdomen of the same individual who is receiving lip injection and is purified before injecting in to the lips. It does not cause rejections and allergic reactions and moreover it provides natural looking lips. But the effect of fat injections does not last longer  and is a more extensive procedure.

Calcium Hydroxylapatite

This is a mineral like component present in the teeth and bones of the human being and is suspended in a formulation of gel type. It is one of the heaviest facial filler that is used to fill the deep-set scars, frown lines, marionette lines or nasolabial folds and to enhance the lips.  This injection does not require skin test and its last for 2 to 5 years but at times causes lumping within the lips. Radiance, radiesse are the commercial preparations available in the market.

PMMA or Polymethylmethacrylate

This type of fillers contains 20 % PMMA suspended in 80 % collagen gel. It is widely used for correcting the smile lines and its effects last more than 6 months. All these procedures need to be followed properly and should undertake some routine procedures periodically to maintain result.

During the Procedure

Normally during the procedure the patients are given topical anesthesia and hence the procedure remains painless. Once the effects of anesthesia wear out the pain arises and some of the doctors prescribe pain killers. Since the skin around the lips is very sensitive and very thin, very fine needles are used for injections and the filler is injected directly under the skin. It takes around 10 minutes and does not require general anesthesia.  Most of the patients have swelling, bruising and sore that last from few days to one week and depends mostly on the patient.

In order to obtain faster relief the patient must limit himself from talking, chewing, smiling, laughing etc and all other strenuous activities such as exercise for first few days. It will be ideal to keep ice packs on the lips during first 48 hours of lip plumping injection. Care should be taken to maintain the lips clean to avoid any infection. Usually complications are rare and some of them are infection, bleeding, allergic reaction to anesthesia, slow healing, cold sores, numbness, permanent stiffness and asymmetrical lips.

Since there are chances of allergic reactions towards the topical anesthetic lidocaine, the doctors usually follow a skin test prior to the actual procedure. Very rarely the injected fillers get rejected by the body. Further people having diabetes, cold sores, blood clotting disorders, scarring on the lips, lupus etc should avoid such injections. In case of any reaction the patient must consult the doctor immediately.

After discussing all the pros and cons of lip plumping injections, follow the best plumping injection that suits you. Nowadays not only the women but also the men who have hard and thin lips also prefer lip plumping injections to look young and attractive.

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