Lips have been a subject of cosmetic surgery in Toronto and all over the world ever since Nefertiti’s time. The ancient’s used a variety of natural pigments to redden their lips, and in modern times we’ve expanded lip enhancement with a range of hues and products to soften, moisturize and enlarge them. Angelina Joli has single-handedly done more to draw our attention to lips than any other individual, and has spawned thousands of imitators. However, this has resulted in something of a backlash, as many women considering cosmetic lip enhancement specifically mention “I don’t want my lips to look like Angelina Jolie!”. For many, lip augmentation has come to be equated with looking “overdone” and unnatural. Indeed, the fear of looking obvious, like you’ve had a procedure, keeps many people from even considering having a lip augmentation, even though they really aren’t happy with the lips mother nature gave them. Poor techniques, practiced at inexperienced clinics and spas have only added to the number of “bad lip jobs” out there, leading to further hesitation among many women.
However, just as loss of volume in the cheeks, under eyes, and in temple and chin are hallmark features of the aging face, so too is loss of volume in our lips. Proper rejuvenation of the face should often include some treatment of too tiny lips that have lost their definition. The good news is, with better, improved techniques of lip injection, lip enhancement need not look unnatural at all, and can in fact be very subtle, with only slight enlargement giving a much more defined border, and reduced lines above the lip, such that lipstick no longer bleeds. And, for those who are looking for substantial increase in lip size, but do not want “sausage” shaped lips, again newer techniques can insure an aesthetically pleasing, proportional look.
At MCSC we have developed our own method of lip injection that we feel gives women a natural, pleasing and long-lasting result, and has the added benefit of comfort, without any extra freezing needles, and in most cases very little bruising. This involves the application of a new topical anaesthetic agent recently introduced to the clinic that has the added benefit of reducing the likelihood of bruising. After waiting about ten minutes for this to take effect, the lips are injected in a very specific fashion developed by Dr. Weinberg. Either Juvederm® or Restylane can be used, though we find Juvederm® Ultra gives a very nice smooth consistency in lip augmentation. Ice is often applied during the procedure for further comfort. The lips are then often massaged for a smooth finish, with a small amount of Cicaplast, an excellent product for healing. Finally, we also recommend a small number of units of Botox be injected above the lip. This reduces “smoker’s” lines, but also adds to longevity of the lip enhancement.
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