Full, sensual lips have long been considered an aesthetic ideal. Lip augmentation with lip implants or dermal fillers plumps up lips and enhances the look of the entire face. Those who have thin lips can especially benefit from lip enhancement. Recovery time after a lip augmentation procedure is typically short, making lip enhancement one of the easiest ways to make the face more visually appealing.


What is Lip Augmentation?
Lip augmentation enlarges the lips through the use of a cosmetic lip filler or lip implants. 
Often performed in conjunction with face lift, brow lift, rhinoplasty, and cheek implant or chin implant procedures, lip augmentation methods enhance lips to create a look desired by both women and men.


Lip Implants
One lip augmentation method involves the use of lip implants. Lip implants are shaped like a small tube and filled with synthetic material. A small needle is used to insert the implants into the lips through tiny incisions during this cosmetic surgery procedure. One benefit of this method of lip augmentation is that the results are long-lasting. Unlike injectable lip fillers, the implants are not absorbed into the body, but remain fixed in place. 


Lip Augmentation with Fillers
With so many different types of injectable fillers available for lip enhancement, you are sure to find one that suits your needs. Common types of fillers include fat, collagen, and Restylane® . The effectivness of each lip filller as well as the duration of each filler’s effects will vary. The lip augmentation procedure is quite simple, lasting only a few minutes and having a low incidence of lip sensitivity.


Lip Augmentation with Fat Transfer
Lip augmentation with fat transfer is a revolutionary method for improving the volume of the lips.With this form of cosmetic lip surgery, the doctor carefully prepares fat liposuctioned from one area of the body for injection into the lips. Since the tissue used in this method comes from your own body, it is less likely to be rejected by your body, and the result is supple, natural-looking lips.


Lip Augmentation Recovery
The extent of your recovery will depend largely on which lip augmentation method you choose. 
For lip fillers, only a topical anesthetic to numb the injection site is typically required, and recovery consists of mild discomfort for one to two days. The healing period for lip implants and fat transfer is longer and may involve several weeks of recovery.


Risks and Benefits of Lip Augmentation

Very few patients experience significant complications with lip enhancement, but like all surgical procedures, risks do exist. Bleeding, infection, and swelling are a possibility with any surgery. Side effects more closely associated with lip augmentation include lumping, scarring, numbness, cold sores, and asymmetrical lips.

The benefits of a lip augmentation procedure include fuller, shapelier lips, and a more vivacious, youthful appearance. Many patients experience long-lasting results that look completely natural.


Ideal Lip Augmentation Candidates

Adults of nearly any age may be good candidates for lip augmentation. 
Patients with naturally thin lips or an age-related decrease in lip volume typically derive exceptional results from the procedure. 
Anyone who undergoes lip augmentation should be in good health and have reasonable expectations about the outcome that can be achieved.


Medical Considerations

Because there is the possibility of allergic reaction to the materials used for lip augmentation, the prospective candidates should report any preexisting allergies to the surgeon. Those who are choosing to undergo surgery to place lip implants should also report any respiratory problems that could potentially be compounded by anesthesia.

There is a wide variety of dermal fillers and lip implants available to accomplish lip augmentation, and not all of these options are safe for every person.

When using temporary fillers to enhance thin lips, the amount of time the volume will last depends on how quickly your body breaks down the filler components. Your surgeon will be able to give you a general estimation of how long each product may last to help with the decision making process.