Lip Augmentation

There are several approaches to enhancing your lips’ appearance.

Dermal Fillers

Dermal fillers are the fastest, easiest, and least complex method of augmenting your lips. Dermal fillers are gel-like substances injected beneath the skin to add volume. No surgery or recovery downtime are involved.

At UCI Plastic Surgery, we use special formulations of the fillers Restylane® and Juvéderm® for lip augmentation. Both fillers consist of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance in the body that helps the middle and lower layers of the skin retain moisture and volume. Filler injections also stimulate collagen production, which helps skin and lip tissue maintain youthful resilience.

Dermal fillers work to plump and smooth your lips, and a skilled injector can use these products to enhance your mouth’s shape. Different filler formulations can soften facial wrinkles and fill hollowed areas on other parts of your face, in addition to augmenting your lips. For example, Belotero Balance is an excellent choice for smoothing vertical lines above and below the lips. The filler formulations used for lip augmentation are finer and more flexible than those used for smoothing deeper facial lines and creases or for adding volume to the cheeks or under the eyes.

Filler treatments aren’t permanent, so you can use them to try out the appearance of fuller lips without committing to a long-lasting change. Each filler treatment lasts from six months to a year or more. When the effects begin to wear off, you can repeat the treatment to maintain your new look.

Surgical Options

Skilled surgeons can also perform lip augmentation using surgical techniques for longer-lasting results.

• Fat grafting uses fat from elsewhere on your face or body to increase your lips’ volume. A surgeon may harvest this fat using liposuction in a procedure to reduce unwanted fat deposits on your abdomen, thighs, or under your chin, then process it for injection into your lips. Fat grafting can also augment your lips as part of a facelift. Results of lip augmentation with fat grafting last longer than enhancement with dermal fillers.
• Tissue grafting, like fat grafting, transplants your body tissue to add volume to your lips, typically in combination with another cosmetic procedure. In tissue grafting, a surgeon removes a small sliver of skin from elsewhere on your body, such as the lower stomach or a C-section scar. After removing the outer part of the skin section, the surgeon rolls the inner layer and inserts it into your lips through an incision just inside your lip.
• Lip implants involve the placement of a silicone or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene insert into the lips through a small incision just inside the mouth.
• Lip lift and vermilion lip advancement are two surgical options for widening and raising the upper lip. These procedures don’t add volume to the lips, but make the upper lip more prominent and give more definition to the edge of the upper lip. These surgical procedures can also enhance your lips’ shape — forming a Cupid’s bow, for example, or lifting the corners of the lips for a happier look when your mouth is at rest.