Pouty, Sexy Lips with Juvederm

By Garry R. Lee, MD, ©2020, All Rights Reserved

As you can see from Miss Hungary in the photos above, Juvederm can be absolutely incredible to create sexy, pouty lips…indeed, Leila was SO happy, she created and signed her own poster shown on the top right as a special surprise gift for us for her truly amazing lips.

What is even more remarkable is that we can use our revolutionary “microcannula” technique to vastly minimize discomfort, swelling, and bruising. The microcannula technique miraculously allows us to inject wrinkles up to 80% of the time--without needles. To learn more about this, go to Amazon.com for books, then search for the keyword “microcannula” and the definitive book on this terrific technique will magically pop-up, as illustrated below.

As we age, we lose subcutaneous fat and tiny vertical lip wrinkles form as illustrated in the article below, which was nationally published in MedEsthetics Magazine. These wrinkles age us and can often result in unsightly asymmetry and narrowness with one side clearly different from the other. Often, lipstick will no longer do the wonders it once so easily accomplished upon the smoothness that what was once there. One solution is lip implants, which may displace unevenly as we get older to actually accentuate asymmetry. Our experience is that lip implants are NOT the solution and often look worse that what was originally there, though we have occasionally injected Juvederm around the implant to minimize lip distortion. Other patients have presented to us after silicon injections into their lips, often from foreign countries, which unfortunately we cannot correct when the silicon almost inevitably migrates into an un-natural appearance.

Consequently, the standard for lip enhancement in the USA in 2020 is the use of cosmetic injectable HA fillers, such as Juvederm, made from Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox Cosmetic. Below, is a portion of an article entitled “Lovely Lips” by Stephanie Kramer, published by MedEsthetics Magazine, the definitive aesthetic medicine publication in our country, which was sent to every Plastic Surgeon and Dermatologist in the USA in January, 2017.

On the top right, Juvederm Ultra was used which gives a greater size enhancement for those wanting fuller lips. On the bottom right, Juvederm Vobella was used, which creates smoothness without the size enhancement of Juvederm Ultra.

We generally take an hour to properly inject lips since even a minute variation in symmetry will be magnified by close inspection by mirror with each patient. Using hypodermic needles generally is much more painful and can cause swelling which makes it difficult to properly balance symmetry. We do use needles upon request for those wanting a much more pronounced pout with repeated vertical individual injections, though most of our patients prefer the minimally invasive and more comfortable “microcannula” technique.

Patient should expect to be with us about an hour for lip enhancement and are required to ice their lips on-and-off for an hour, to minimize swelling and bruising. Often, people who have never had their lips injected before are initially dismayed at their swelling--even using our anti-swelling microcannula technique--until we reassure them that we expect their lips to shrink about 10% to 20% over the course of the next week. Also, first time patients for lips are told that it generally takes about a month to get used to the enhanced size of their lips as part of their new self-image, though their friends and family usually are immediately impressed with their appearance.

The most important part of getting sexy and pouty lips is the selection of your injector. As many of you know, I have taught physicians and nurses for Allergan and Galderma--the manufacturers--for years, so make sure your injector can show you a portfolio of their best results, since this is as much an art as medical science. If you do not like the photos of their best results, I suggest you see someone else. Someone who only does breast augmentation surgery all day is not necessarily the best at giving you the lips that you want, particularly if they only inject patients once a week. Be particularly careful of beginners, as there have been cases of skin necrosis from accidently injecting into the labial artery which can block blood flow to your lips.

Instead of buying the hottest new sexy shoes, consider getting the hottest new sexy lips!