Pucker Those Lips!

What Is the Ideal Filler to Help Enhance Your Lovely Kissables?

I tell all my patients who come in for lip enhancement: “Sausage is a shape, but not for lips!”

All too often, especially around the 90210 zip code, I see lips that are unsightly due to distorted and irregular shapes. None of which are aesthetically pleasing or even kissable!

I think technique definitely has a major role in the outcome of beautiful lips, but the medium we use also plays a significant part in the feel and contour of the lips we enhance.

It is my preference to keep a conservative and natural appearance to the lips and to augment mostly along the vermilion border (the demarcation between the red-colored part of the lip and the adjacent normal skin). Although some volume in the lips themselves is attractive, I think it’s paramount not to lose the shape of the most aesthetic part of the lip’s anatomy…the double curve of the upper lip that is considered to resemble Cupid’s bow!

Now you might ask, what filler gives the lips a fuller appearance and yet allows the lips to feel soft, pliable, and most importantly…. KISSABLE?

There are many fillers out there that advertise themselves as the best of the best! Long lasting, natural feeling, least painful… The list goes on…

Some surgeons feel that fat transfer from the patient’s own fat is an excellent option… they may or may not be right. However, in my opinion, the best filler to get a natural, fuller appearance, without distorting the important parts of the lip’s anatomy is a filler similar to JUVÉDERM® Ultra.

JUVÉDERM® Ultra (like JUVÉDERM® Ultra Plus, Restylane®, and PREVELLE® silk) is one of the many fillers that is made up predominantly of hyaluronic acid (HA), a natural complex sugar that bolsters the skin’s elasticity, providing a smooth and supple appearance, that is simply depleted with age.

Although our own fat and other fillers are useful for improving volume loss in other areas of the face, I feel that for lip augmentation, JUVÉDERM® Ultra is the easiest to inject and allows the best desired shape of all the volume enhancers.

After six to nine months, the biocompatible compound is naturally absorbed into the body.

Side effects with JUVÉDERM® are rare but may include some redness, tenderness, or pain at the injection site. If any of these symptoms occur, they usually subside within three days. Rarely, discoloration may occur, but this is also reversible. Firmness, swelling, bumps, and bruises are also rare side effects, which should dissipate within five to seven days.

These days, there seems to be a slew of fillers on the market and an even greater number of practitioners who inject those fillers inappropriately.

Lips are not only the gateway to our mouths but they are an important anatomical feature that makes us appear more sensual and attractive. If done correctly, not only should lips appear “naturally full,”… But more importantly, extremely kissable!

Contact Dr. Firouz for Your Lip Fillers

Dr. Jimmy Firouz is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills with extensive knowledge of lip augmentation. Dr. Firouz aims to provide each patient with a unique and goal-oriented procedure, making sure that they are happy with their results. If you’d like to know more about fillers like JUVÉDERM® or Restylane®, contact Dr. Firouz today to schedule your initial consultation by calling (310) 274-4321.