The treatment of lips in the medical aesthetic world is the most controversial of subjects. I am going to write a few blogs on the subject because I spend so much time treating lips and discussing lips with our clients.
I want to start about discussing the aging lip. I am not sure many people think about the lip as something that ages, but sadly, it ages along with the rest of us. Our lips age for many of the same reasons that our skin ages with a few exceptions.
Lips age from the natural loss of skin thickness and integrity like the rest of our skin. There are genetic and racial differences in terms of how quickly they age, but it happens to us all. Lips get a lot of sun and they can burn too. This will age them prematurely.
I think smoking is the greatest cause of an aged lip, not only causing thin lips, but also the famous “smokers’ lines” around the lips. Talking, whistling and pursing our lips also creates those famous lip lines, so don’t feel too embarrassed if you have never smoked and those pesky lines around the mouth start to show. Another trend is drinking coffee through a straw to avoid staining of teeth. I feel this also can contribute to lip lines.
I also spend a lot of time looking at teeth. If your teeth and gums have retracted over time or you have a week chin, your lips lack support and will appear smaller or imbalanced between the upper and lower teeth.
Finally, like the rest of our skin, we lose fat in the lip, thickness to the lip skin, and elasticity of the lips, as we age. For prevention, it is important to apply sunscreen and hydrate the lips along with the rest of the face.
Most of these changes start to become apparent in your 40’s, but are often very evident by the time you are in your 60’s. Clients come in with concerns of smaller, shrunken lips, lip lines and loss of shape to the lips, but are understandably nervous about the results. So, how can we help?
Full face rejuvenation with natural lip correction. Note the undereye correction.
Before I get into treatment options, this is where it gets tricky, because everyone has images of large walking lips on Hollywood housewives or that person you see at the grocery store that you can’t help but stop and stare at. Who am I to judge, but this is not what most of our customers want.
The key point is that the lips shrink with age and lip size usually suits a face. I look at our treatments as trying to return the lips to what they once were, not overstated, which can get people into trouble, creating an unnatural look (unless that is what you want).
So, I guess what I am saying is that while I understand the apprehension of providing some rejuvenation to the lips, it can and should be done in a subtle and natural way. It is a key part of looking more youthful. Stated another way, if your face has few wrinkles and proper volume and great complexion, and your lips don’t fit the picture, you will look un-balanced in your look and this can be more unnatural. I understand it takes time to trust us, but we will help guide you down the right path to a natural correction of the lips and a balanced look to the face. I promise.
Please contact my office today to schedule a consultation to discuss your facial rejuvenation needs.