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Timeless Lips

Alternatively, you may feel your lips could be better shaped or more voluminous. If those signs have become apparent to you and a cause for concern, the good news is there are many ways to change them. Dr. Maas offers a variety of lip-enhancing treatments, from quick office procedures to more permanent surgical solutions.

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Your Changing Lips

There are different reasons why you may see your lips change over time. One of the biggest culprits is collagen loss. This essential protein supports the dermal structure, producing a smooth, supple look to the skin. Over time, your body produces less collagen, which results in skin laxity and the formation of wrinkles. Collagen depletion also leads to thinning lips, giving you a perpetually angry or aged appearance. Sun exposure can also damage the skin, resulting in fine lines and skin tone that has lost its luster. Too much sun also causes lips to become dry and cracked, further exacerbating the aged look. Certain motions of the mouth can contribute to aging symptoms as well, such as when you suck on a straw or laugh.

Lip Enhancement & Lift Before & After

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The Fine Art of Rejuvenation and Enhancement

Dr. Maas understands that lip enhancement is a much more intricate, artistic process than merely restoring or adding volume to the mouth with a few injections of fillers. He breaks down the aging or thin lip into categories that include the pink portion of the lip (vermillion), the white area, and the border between the two. Dr. Maas aims to enhance the lip border, eliminate the fine lines in the white portion, and give appropriate fullness to the entire lip without producing too much projection. When you seek lip enhancement from Dr. Maas, he will first assess what needs to be addressed, whether it is the lips' volume, shape, or contour. He will then evaluate the condition of the skin's surface to identify any wrinkles or fine lines that might need to be treated. The third step is to ensure the correct anatomic configuration of the lip, which entails a determination of the optimal lip height and an appropriate proportion between the white and pink areas of the lip. By carefully considering each step, Dr. Maas produces lip enhancement that is natural, beautiful, and youthful.

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Non-Surgical Volumizing Treatments

The most common non-surgical treatment for aging or thin lips is a dermal filler injected directly into the lip to restore youthful volume and smooth away lines. However, some patients shy away from this approach because they have seen overdone lips resulting from this treatment, also known as "duck lips." Dr. Maas assures all his nervous patients that the result is entirely natural when fillers are done correctly, and most people won't even realize you had a treatment performed.

The aim is to give you an attractive look you could have been born with. Dr. Maas prefers hyaluronic acid fillers for lip enhancements, particularly products in the Restylane line. He also uses Juvederm and Belotero when appropriate. He likes these fillers best for the lips because they are reversible and adjustable. They also produce soft, natural results for patients. Often, it is not the type of filler used but his specific injection technique that is most crucial in creating beautiful outcomes for his patients.

During your in-person consultation with Dr. Maas, he will be able to provide you with a range of options that will suit your needs and all the information you need to make an educated decision.

Because Dr. Maas uses a topical numbing cream as a standard step with all of his injectable procedures, patients can rest assured the treatment will be quick and comfortable, with results that should last for many months.

Bellafill

As a general rule, Dr. Maas does not recommend permanent fillers for the lips, such as silicone and Bellafill. He has written papers to this effect after treating patients who have suffered side effects like granulomas. These inflammatory nodules can be challenging to manage and may become a permanent fixture on the lips, creating an unattractive and unnatural appearance. For patients who want a long-term lip enhancement solution, Dr. Maas offers surgical techniques that produce much better overall results.

Surgery for Permanent Enhancement

Surgery offers permanent enhancement for lips, and with various techniques, Dr. Maas will customize your procedure to your precise needs and the look you hope to achieve. Options include:

Lift to the corners of the mouth, creating a more youthful shape to the mouth overall.
Direct lip lift, focusing on enhancing the border by advancing the red part of the lip.
Subnasal lip lift that elevates the red portion of the lip while minimizing the white area.
Insertion of ultrasoft lip implants to produce a fuller shape with a natural look and feel.

No matter which technique is used for your lip enhancement, the procedure will likely be performed as an outpatient surgery using local anesthesia. Dr. Maas carefully places incisions where visible scarring will be minimal. In some instances, there will be no external scarring left behind. The recovery process is generally short, with most patients back to regular activities within a few days.

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Say Goodbye to Lip Wrinkles

While dermal fillers are a popular choice for smoothing away fine lines around the lips, Dr. Maas also recommends laser skin resurfacing, intense pulsed light (IPL), and chemical peels for this purpose. In addition to reducing the appearance of wrinkles, these treatments improve color differentiation, managing the entire spectrum of lip aging in a single office treatment.

If changes to your lips contribute to an aged appearance, many treatments can help reverse these changes and rejuvenate your look. If you wish to improve the shape and contours of thinner lips, Dr. Maas can also help sculpt a naturally beautiful look for you. Contact us today to determine which treatment suits your aesthetic needs and schedule your consultation.

Lip Enhancement FAQ

What Is the Cost of Lip Fillers?

Can I Create a Cupid's Bow With Lip Fillers?

Will Post-Filler Lumps and Bumps Even Out?

Which Filler is Right for My Lips?

How Much Lip Filler Is Needed the First Time?

What Is the Cost of Lip Fillers?

To answer this question accurately, Dr. Maas will first need to examine your lips and their condition, learn more about your expectations, and, most importantly, what you want. For some patients, it is filling the little lines that develop around the lips. For other patients, it might be addressing the marionette lines that form around the corners of the mouth. Or, it might be that you're after fuller lips. Dr. Maas will then be able to lay out a menu of options to address your concerns based on your budget for you to decide on.

Can I Create a Cupid's Bow With Lip Fillers?

While we can use fillers to enhance the philtral ridges or the portions of the lip that make up the Cupid's Bow, there's no specific way to create a Cupid's Bow in isolation with fillers alone. A lip lift is a surgical procedure that can help. Dr. Maas will usually not make the incision along the lip border but rather hide them inside the nostril, right along the border of the nostril rim and the columella (the skin between the nostrils). Because no one lip type or shape makes the lip attractive, Dr. Maas believes it's most important to address the relative proportions of the lip and will take the time to educate each patient about their options.

Will Post-Filler Lumps and Bumps Even Out?

Dr. Maas's patients rarely see more than pinpoint bruising that wears off quickly, so if you're seeing significant swelling, asymmetry, and hard lumps in your lips post-filler, it is essential to get it treated. The beauty of the Hyaluronic Acid formulations in fillers like Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, and Belotero is the fact that they are entirely reversible with a little injection of an enzyme for patients with over-treated lips. Symmetry and balance are fundamental concepts in lip enhancement and the keystone of a natural result. Dr. Maas can help patients fix their look by selecting the right materials and injecting them with proper techniques.

Which Filler is Right for My Lips?

The answer depends entirely on the results you're after. Different filler formulations have different textures, stiffness, and levels of water-loving Hyaluronic Acid molecules, which affects your look. However, the techniques are more important than the chosen product. Lip augmentation is an art, and whatever your desired look, Dr. Maas can accurately place the suitable filler to sculpt a naturally beautiful result.

How Much Lip Filler Is Needed the First Time?

For people with small to moderately sized lips, Dr. Maas will typically use 0.5 ml to 1 ml of fillers to enhance the vermillion border of the lips. Up to 1.5 ml of filler can be used for those with larger lips. Because getting a beautiful and natural-looking result is essential to Dr. Maas, he believes in building volume rather than overdoing extreme amounts of filler.

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