Lip Augmentation without surgery

Lips are considered to be the symbol of the absolute femininity in a woman’s face. Every woman dreams of sensual, full, fleshy and “juicy” lips. Unfortunately this desire cannot be fulfilled as the years go by.

Many women try to increase incorrectly the size of their lips, applying lipstick on the skin above lips. The result is a very disappointing image.
The solution for the augmentation and correction of lips is not the lipstick or the lip liner, but rather the contemporary techniques of Plastic Surgery.

What happens in our lips as we grow old?

Over the years the lips are getting thinner and smaller and they “fall down”. They look like a “withering flower”.

The real reason is that the soft molecules inside the lip red pulp are getting atrophic. Consequently the lips “fall down” and they are getting softer, filled with vertical wrinkles.

Many times elderly or middle-aged women face the problem of applying lipstick on their lips. This happens for two reasons:
1. First, the lips lose its former size and shape over the years. The application of lipstick on such lips gives an unnatural result.
2. Second, the lips are getting more atrophic and they look like a thin line, if they have been thin in the past, too.

What is the easiest, safest and most controlled way of getting a lip augmentation?

Today the augmentation and reconstruction of the lip shape is considered to be very simple and safe.
Having in our disposal new injectable materials, we are able to give easily and painlessly the most appropriate volume and shape to the lips.

The most predominant injectable implant for lip augmentation is that of the Hyaluronic Acid.

The Hyaluronic Acid is not considered to be an “acid” according to the term’s ordinary meaning. It does not “burn” the tissues, since the term “acid” refers to its biochemical substance type.

In which case should we do a lip augmentation using Hyaluronic Acid?

The Hyaluronic Acid is used in order to correct the imperfections of the lip shape or size of both men and women.

As it has been mentioned above the image of some women is very characteristic when they try to make their lips more “intense” by tattooing or applying a lip liner either on the skin around the lips or above the lipstick. The result is an extremely unnatural and unsightly image.

The solution for the small and atrophic lips is not the lipstick or the lip liner, but rather the augmentation and the lift of the lip red pulp by using Hyaluronic Acid.

It is also worth mentioning that as we grow old the lips of both men and women become more atrophic and smaller. This practically means that the lips are getting wrinkled, soft and flat, losing their volume.
It is very characteristic that the lipstick of middle age and elderly women is lost in multiple, small, vertical lines along the lips. The lips look like a deflated balloon.

The solution for the lips of middle age and elderly women is the application of Hyaluronic Acid into the lip pulp and along the length of the lips in order to get back the size and the shape of their lips that they had at the age of 20-25. In such a case we do not want a lip augmentation but a restoration of their past image.

Are there any rules of harmony about beautiful lips?

There are several harmonic rules about lips as well as a special anatomy of the peri-oral region that the doctor has to take under consideration in order to correct the size or shape of the lips.

Lips cover the entrance of the oral cavity and they are found above the orbicularis oris muscle, a circular muscle which forms the speech communication.
The upper lip is always smaller in size than the lower lip and it has a different anatomy.
Specifically the upper lip has two parts, both on the right and left side, which look like «open gull wings “. These two parts of the upper lip are linked together in the middle line, known as the “cupid’s bow”, an anatomical entity called filtrum.

The lower lip has a simpler anatomy, composed only by the right and left part. The lower lip is fleshier and has a higher projection than the upper lip.

What is the aim of getting a lip augmentation?

When we want to get a lip augmentation, we have to take under consideration the following aspects:

Full lips are considered to be more beautiful and sensual than just big lips.
Big and fleshy lips do not suit all faces. Fine facial features, flat cheekbones or small noses, cannot be combined with big lips for “balance” reasons. In order to achieve a pleasant and safe result, it is necessary for the doctor to have a thorough knowledge of the face anatomy and of the aesthetics so as to avoid any kind of exaggeration.

Our primary aim when we intervene into the lips is the restoration of the rules of harmony in lips as well in the face. Also it is very important to correct the lip shape and to restore the lost volume in order to have a perfectly natural result.

In order to achieve a pleasant and safe result, it is necessary for the doctor to have a thorough knowledge of the face anatomy and of the aesthetics so as to avoid any kind of exaggeration.

Simply put, our primary aim is not to plump the lips but rather to give them a sufficient volume and beautiful shape, without giving the impression that we had any intervention. The most adequate injectable implant for the lip augmentation is the Hyaluronic Acid.

At what age should we apply Hyaluronic Acid into the lips?

There is no age limit for applying injectable Hyaluronic Acid into the lips. In general terms and depending on the problem it can be done at any age but we usually recommend starting it after adolescence.
In most cases, individuals 20-35 years old worry about the small size of their lips, while individuals after the age of 40 worry about the augmentation and correction of their small, atrophic and wrinkled lips, as a result of their age.

What is the procedure of augmentation / correction of the lips by using Hyaluronic Acid?

In experienced hands the treatment is completely painless, or mildly annoying. It has several technical particularities and it is extremely safe with impressive results.
In the area of the lips we apply a local anesthetic cream for 20-25 minutes in order to avoid pain.

We inject a free-flowing implant of Hyaluronic Acid with the help of a super-fine needle into certain areas in the pulp of the lip as well as in the lip contour, respecting the anatomical features of the area.
Afterwards there may appear a slight skin irritation and swelling at the injection sites, which usually disappears within 24-48 hours and can be easily covered with the use of make-up In most of the cases, people can normally go back to work the next day.
The whole process takes about 40 minutes. In order to have a complete and perfectly controlled result, it is necessary to repeat this treatment twice within 7-10 days.

Is the application of injectable Hyaluronic Acid in the area of the lips safe?

In order to have a successful result with the augmentation or correction of the lips and given that the area of the lips has fine features and a special anatomy, it is necessary to:

Use a free-flowing injectable Hyaluronic Acid
use super-fine injection needles
address to a plastic surgeon, who has a great experience and familiarity with those techniques as well as a in-depth knowledge of anatomy.

This way we can achieve a completely safe, harmonious and controlled result.

Is there any possibility of side effects because of the Hyaluronic Acid?

Since the Hyaluronic Acid (molecule wise) is almost similar to that in the human tissues, the injectable Hyaluronic Acid is highly safe.

The Hyaluronic Acid is a completely inert substance. This means that the Hyaluronic Acid does not cause any:

allergies
side effects
inflammations
malignancies
collagenoses

Also the Hyaluronic Acid is not displaceable, thus it remains where it has been implanted, maintaining its desirable result for a long period of time.

When the Hyaluronic Acid is properly applied into the tissues, it may cause a slight swelling at the injection sites, which can be appeared untimely. Yet, the swelling subsides easily with the use of simple anti-inflammatory medicine.
Another incident that can, scarcely, happen after the injection of Hyaluronic Acid is the appearance of small bruises on the injection sites, which automatically subside within a few days.
A very rare side effect of the Hyaluronic Acid that can occur at a rate of 2‰ cases is a mild hypersensivity reaction of the human organism, which is characterized by the appearance of swelling at the injection sites and it can treated by administrating an ANTIDOTE.

Is the Hyaluronic Acid the only one implant that has an ANTIDOTE?

The Hyaluronic Acid is the only IMPLANT of the contemporary plastic surgery that has an ANTIDOTE.

Considering that the Hyaluronic Acid is a glycosaminoglycan, i.e a glycoprotein, there is an enzyme, which can break the Hyaluronic Acid down.

The ANTIDOTE is injectable and is found in liquid form, which at any time can degrade and eliminate the implant of Hyaluronic Acid scarce.

In addition to other injectable implants, the use of Hyaluronic Acid is ideal since we can reduce the excess quantity of hyaluronic acid any time injecting the antidote into the application sites in order to break the excess material down.

By injecting the ANTIDOTE the face can be restored at 100% in its former state. The Hyaluronic Acid is broken down by the antidote and is removed from the human body after a few minutes or hours.

The existence of the Hyaluronic Acid ANTIDOTE makes it UNIQUE, since there is NO OTHER contemporary injectable implant of the plastic surgery with an ANTIDOTE.

The antidote can be used during the application procedure of Hyaluronic Acid, even if an excessive quantity of the material has been misplaced. In any case, we can remove the hyaluronic acid from the lips in the future.

How long does the result of lip augmentation last?

The Hyaluronic Acid, which is used for the lip augmentation, is a little more free-flowing than this for the face, so as to be invisible and intangible.
Consequently it can be easily cleaved by the human organism and is absorbed at about 20% to 25% within 8-10 months.
Simply put, the Hyaluronic Acid remains after 8-10 months at a rate equal to 75% -80%. In order to maintain a successful result, it is necessary to refill about the 20-25 % of the amount of the absorbed Hyaluronic acid every 8-10 months.

In addition to Hyaluronic acid can we increase the lips using another material, promising more permanent results?

The lip augmentation could be also performed with other techniques of Plastic Surgery such as:

Autologous fat transplantation
Skin grafting
Permanent massive silicone implants
Injection of other types of injectable implants such as that of the Calcium Hydroxyapatite.

Despite the fact that the above surgical techniques are more complicated and difficult in contrast to the hyaluronic acid implants, their results last longer and are considered to be more “permanent”.

The non-existence of an ANTIDOTE is the biggest disadvantage of the permanent lip augmentation techniques and consequently a situation may be irreversible in case of unpleasant results.

Are these “more” permanent techniques safe for the lip augmentation?

These techniques are certified and tested in Plastic Surgery for a long period of time and they are still used by some people.

The advantage of these techniques is the achievement of long-term results and sometimes more permanent.

The disadvantages are the following ones:
1. The lip augmentation is surgically performed (except for Calcium Hydroxyapatite)

2. The recovery time period is quite long, and the area of the lips is getting swelled and deformed. This fact keeps us away from social life, even for months (one cannot exit from his/her house the next day).

3. They are not totally predictable and controlled techniques

4. There is no injectable antidote. So, in case of removing a part of the implant, it has to be surgically treated.

How can the malformations of famous people’s lips be explained?

The malformation of facial features of famous people may be a result of the misplacement or use of:

liquid permanent implants and
wrong application techniques.

These malformations of the facial features are usually a result of the permanent implants such as the liquid injectable silicon, paraffin and acrylic spheres.
These liquid permanent implants:

1. cannot be absorbed by the human organism
2. tend to displace
3. tend to form granuloma, which can be difficultly treated surgically and
THESE IMPLANTS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

The permanent lip malformations are not due to the Hyaluronic Acid, since there is an antidote in order to easily correct any technical mistakes.

Why should I prefer the Hyaluronic Acid lip augmentation instead of the more “permanent” solutions?

The invention of the Hyaluronic Acid is a great innovation concerning the lip augmentation techniques.

The Hyaluronic Acid is a completely inert substance. This means that the Hyaluronic Acid does not cause any:

allergies
side effects
inflammations
malignancies
collagenoses

Also the Hyaluronic Acid is not displaceable, thus it remains where it has been implanted, maintaining its desirable result for a long period of time and the most important THERE IS ANTIDOTE

The safety, the ease of application, the long-term duration as well as and the absolute predictability of the results provided by the Hyaluronic Acid outweigh compared to those of other permanent techniques.

As it has been already mentioned, the most permanent solutions do not have an antidote. Considering that our facial features change over the years, a permanent material does not follow up the tissue changes, causing deformations.

To sum up regarding the issue of lip augmentation technique if the doctor does not have in-depth knowledge of the anatomy or a high understanding of the aesthetics or if he is affected by unreasonable demands, the results may vary from the desired ones or to be destructive using permanent materials used. “Less is more”.

The lip area is located in the center of the face. It has special anatomy and aesthetics in relation to other regions of the face or body. In case of lips every good or bad result seems more “intense” than in other parts of the body or face.

If the lip augmentation is properly performed by an experienced plastic surgeon, using the most appropriate technique without any permanent material, then we can achieve