We’ve all seen results from cosmetic surgery gone awry. One of the biggest offenders, in my mind, is the very avoidable problem of overdone lips. Lip augmentation should look natural, not like it’s part of a bad Halloween costume!
The secret for naturally enhanced lips is this: The goal isn’t to simply make lips larger. Even if you have small, almost nonexistent lips, the goal is to sculpt, rather than to inflate.
If a patient has nice lips that have deflated over time, we focus on replacing volume along the areas where volume has been lost, including the cupid’s bow, philtral columns (the two columns of skin above the cupid’s bow), oral commissures (where the upper and lower lips meet) and, of course, the vermillion red border of the lips.
For most people, the perfect lip is one where the ratio of the top lip to the bottom is 1:1.6. The top lip has a more central pouty fullness that tapers. The bottom lip is robust, mostly in the middle half. Some people, for example the actress Audrey Tautou, have entirely different ratios that are also beautiful.
When augmenting lips, I create symmetry, correct irregularities (from nature or trauma) and restore the lips’ more youthful fullness.
My top filler picks for the lips include hyaluronic acid fillers Juvéderm Ultra Plus or Perlane. Sometimes, I’ll use a little Restylane, depending on the patient’s needs. For fine, superficial vertical whistle or smoker’s lip lines, I prefer Belotero Balance or Prevelle Silk. Creating beautiful lips is art work and not simply squirting something in the lips.
Avoid overdone lips. For examples of our lip augmentation befores and afters (real patients), visit our Photo Gallery.
