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Lip filler is no longer reserved for just celebrities and social media beauty influencers.

This little-known beauty hack has become quite mainstream now, available to most people looking to plump up their puckers.

Whether because age has flat-lined your lips or because Mother Nature didn’t give you the perfect pout, to begin with, we’re delving into a few of the questions that are most probably, excuse the pun, on your lips.

So what exactly is lip filler/augmentation?

Lip filler or augmentation is a customisable cosmetic procedure that adds volume to your lips, addressing asymmetry and ‘thin, flat’ lips, by injecting a solution – most commonly hyaluronic acid-based Juvedérm Smile or Restylane Kysse – at a depth of about 2,5 millimetres using a very thin needle.

While you might picture an Instagram influencer’s ‘duck lips’ when you think of lip injections, the goal is really to achieve a natural-looking result that compliments your facial features and enhances what your mama gave you.

Results can range from big and bold to low-key and subtle but it always needs to be done by an experienced, qualified aesthetic doctor, like the ones at Skin Renewal.

How do you ensure a natural look and not fake-looking duck lips?

For the most part, getting a natural result comes down to placement and amount, rather than the type of filler used.

Each person’s lips need to be thoroughly examined – taking into account symmetry or lack thereof and overall shape – to determine placement and quantity of filler needed.

As a rule of thumb, if you want a fuller lip, it’s best to have a series of lip augmentation procedures over time rather than trying to go from zero to hero in one appointment.

Which filler type is best?

If you want to look genetically blessed rather than over-inflated (as if a sharp lip liner could pop your lips like a balloon), the trick is to opt for temporary fillers, especially if you’re a first-timer.

While the cost of lip augmentation may tempt you to go the permanent route, temporary (or semi-permanent to some) is the way to go.

Little can be done to fix a lip augmentation with permanent fillers. If you don’t love the result, the temporary filler can be dissolved, essentially reversing the procedure.

Alarm bells should actually go off if you’re a first-timer and your doctor suggests the use of more than one syringe. One syringe, distributed skillfully, is more than adequate for all-over enhancement that looks real, not fake.

In fact, Skin Renewal‘s experienced injectors might even start with half a syringe, allow two weeks for healing, and then have the patient return to examine the results and administer the second half of a syringe, if necessary.

How long does lip filler last?

The longevity of lip filler depends on several factors; the amount injected, a patient’s metabolism, the desired fullness/plumpness, and the product (injectable solution) used.

Does getting lip filler hurt?

Look, it’s uncomfortable but not painful. If you’ve been for a wax, you can manage a lip filler injection with no problem.

All hyaluronic acid fillers come mixed with a numbing medication called lidocaine. In addition to this, your doctor will numb the area around your lips with either a dental nerve block (an injection into your gums just like a dentist would do before filling a cavity) or a topical numbing cream, which is preferred by most injectors.

Once numb, patients might feel a little prick, slight pressure, and a dull kind of throbbing.

To speed up healing and reduce discomfort afterwards, it’s important to take steps to reduce the inflammation by applying a cold compress regularly for at least the 72 hours following your appointment.

At the end of the day…

As with all cosmetic and aesthetic procedures, surgical or non-surgical, it’s a personal choice, one that each person needs to make for themselves and not with their partner, agent, or social media following having too much of a say.

It should always be about how you face the world long-term and not just about following a trend or trying to achieve a beauty standard set by the media – least of all because trends and beauty standards change constantly.

No matter how popular an aesthetic procedure is, it’s important to remember that lip augmentation is a very real procedure with very real risks when done incorrectly.

Contact one of the medical aesthetic doctors over at Skin Renewal to answer any more burning questions or concerns or even to go ahead and make your lips super kissable for the Summer season.