Getting Lippy
Aging Lips
As we age, it often feels as if our faces “melt”. We often hear “It looks like someone held a candle near my face, and it just started melting!” or “Gravity, baby. It’s all falling down.”
Sounds about right, but gravity actually isn’t the cause of facial aging. As the years pass, the structure of the face begins to shift and change. There is fat loss and repositioning, bone density loss, and slower production of collagen. Muscle contraction from smiling, eating, yawning, frowning causes lines to begin to form around eyes, cheeks, and mouth. UV damage from time in the sun causes age spots, loss of elasticity, and wrinkling.
We expect some of the brown sun spots, the tired eyes, the smile lines…but one thing that sneaks up on us is the change seen in the lips. Lips will seem to “shrink”, vertical lines above and below the lips appear, and lipstick begins to bleed. The “cupid’s bow”, the little v-shape in the middle of the upper lip, flattens. The plump, perky lips that gave kisses and smiles are becoming flat and thin, and are giving us away…suddenly our face seems to look much older.
What to do?
Can anything be done to prevent all of this?
Certainly a lip balm with sunscreen is helpful to protect the lips from aging from harmful UV rays. Drinking out of a straw can be curbed, and obviously, smoking is detrimental to lips (among other things).
Still, with all of these things under control, lips lose their stuffing and elasticity.
So fill ‘em up! The good news is, there are multiple hyaluronic acid fillers that may be used to improve lip definition, proportion, and volume. “Proportion” is an important word. A 60-year-old won’t have a 20 year-old’s lips. And they shouldn’t. It looks unnatural and disproportionate to the rest of their face. Too much filler in the wrong places gives an unnatural appearance and “trout pout”…you know what I mean. This happens when too much filler is put in the wrong place. Filler is should only be given by a Master Injector who will skillfully and artistically places the filler in the correct places with the correct amount. Lips should compliment the rest of the face…they should never “walk into the room” before you do. A well-done lip is subtle and appropriate for your face. Not to mention it sheds a few years off of your stated age J
The Right Tools for the Right Project
The wonderful thing (and the sad thing) about hyaluronic acid (H.A.) fillers is that your body produces H.A. naturally. The filler will gradually dissolve over time, and your lips will appear as they did before you ever got the filler. More permanent fillers are dangerous and tend to shift over time, sometimes causing more trouble than they’re worth.
The Next Best Thing!
More good news: Volbella has been FDA-approved in the United States! It is an H.A. filler specifically designed for the lips that we are SO excited about! More to come on Volbella. You’ll be the first to know when it officially arrives in our office!
