Treatment
Lip enhancement, working to your proportions
The lip that reads as beautiful is rarely the biggest one. It is the one whose proportions, border and central fullness belong to the face around it.
- Appointment
- 45 minutes
- Anaesthetic
- Topical, plus lidocaine within the product
- Onset
- Immediate; swelling obscures the result for 3 to 5 days
- Duration
- Typically 6 to 12 months
- Downtime
- Marked swelling for 48 hours; bruising possible
What it is
The lip is a small structure with a great deal of anatomy in it. The vermilion, the white roll at its border, the philtral columns, the Cupid's bow, the wet-dry junction, and the orbicularis oris beneath — each contributes something different, and each can be addressed independently. Treating the lip as one uniform volume to be inflated is what produces results that read as work rather than as a mouth.
Proportion is the other half of it. An upper-to-lower vermilion ratio in the region of 1:1.6 is a common aesthetic reference in a European-influenced literature, but it is a reference and not a rule, and it does not describe every face or every ethnicity well. Your own baseline proportion, the height of your philtrum, the position of your dental show and the projection of your chin matter more than any published ratio.
What is assessed
Age changes the lip in a specific sequence. The vermilion thins and rolls inward, the philtral columns flatten, the distance between nose and vermilion border lengthens, and dental show at rest decreases. Volume alone does not reverse that sequence. Definition of the border and support at the corners often does more, with less product.
There is also a limit set by the tissue itself. A lip with a long, flattened cutaneous upper lip and thin vermilion has a ceiling on how much projection it can take before the product starts to sit forward and read as a shelf. Naming that ceiling honestly at the consultation is more useful than discovering it afterwards.
- Existing upper-to-lower proportion — measured on your face, not assumed from a template.
- Cutaneous upper lip height — a long philtrum changes what filler can achieve and may point elsewhere.
- Vermilion border definition — often the single change that makes the largest difference.
- Oral commissures — downturned corners are a support problem, not a volume problem.
- Dental show and incisor position — the teeth are the backdrop the lip is displayed against.
- Previous product — old filler in the lip is common and needs to be identified before more is added.
Where it applies
- Vermilion body — measured fullness, usually weighted toward the central lip.
- Vermilion border and white roll — definition and light reflection along the edge.
- Philtral columns and Cupid's bow — restoring the architecture of the central upper lip.
- Oral commissure support — lifting downturned corners rather than filling the lip to disguise them.
- Perioral lines — fine vertical lines, treated with soft product and sometimes with other modalities instead.
The appointment
Assessment
Photographed at rest, smiling and in profile, and measured. What you want is discussed in specific terms — more projection, more definition, more symmetry are different requests with different answers.
Agreement on volume
A first session is usually modest. Building over two sessions produces a more predictable shape than a single large one, and it lets swelling resolve before the next decision.
Placement
Topical anaesthetic first. A soft, low cross-linked gel is used, placed by needle or cannula depending on which sub-unit is being addressed. You are shown a mirror during the session.
Review
Seen at two to four weeks. The lip swells more than any other facial site, and judging the result before that is not possible.
Before and after
Photographs, unretouched
Each pair below shows the same person, photographed in the same position, under the same lighting and with the same lens. No retouching or filtering has been applied. Drag the handle to compare.
Before
After
/assets/before-after/lip-enhancement-dubai-case-01-before.jpg
/assets/before-after/lip-enhancement-dubai-case-01-after.jpg
- Treatment
- Lip enhancement
- Interval
- Add the interval between the two photographs
- Note
- There is no guarantee that the result will be the same, as it might vary from one individual to another.
Before
After
/assets/before-after/lip-enhancement-dubai-case-02-before.jpg
/assets/before-after/lip-enhancement-dubai-case-02-after.jpg
- Treatment
- Lip enhancement
- Interval
- Add the interval between the two photographs
- Note
- There is no guarantee that the result will be the same, as it might vary from one individual to another.
Before
After
/assets/before-after/lip-enhancement-dubai-case-03-before.jpg
/assets/before-after/lip-enhancement-dubai-case-03-after.jpg
- Treatment
- Lip enhancement
- Interval
- Add the interval between the two photographs
- Note
- There is no guarantee that the result will be the same, as it might vary from one individual to another.
Please read. There is no guarantee that the result will be the same, as it might vary from one individual to another. These photographs record outcomes in specific individuals and are not a prediction of what any treatment will achieve for you. Anatomy, skin type, age, medical history and healing all differ between people.
Every procedure described on this page carries risks, which are set out in full below and are discussed with you in person before consent is taken. No result is guaranteed, and some people are advised at assessment that a treatment is not appropriate for them.
All photographs are published with the written consent of the individual concerned. Consent can be withdrawn at any time by contacting the clinic.
Risks and limits
These are discussed with you individually before consent is taken. The list is not exhaustive, and it is not a substitute for that conversation.
- Significant swelling for 48 to 72 hours. The lip swells more than anywhere else on the face and this is expected, not a complication.
- Bruising, which is common.
- Lumps or irregularity, usually settling or correctable within a few weeks.
- Asymmetry, correctable at review.
- Reactivation of herpes simplex (cold sores). If you get them, antiviral prophylaxis is prescribed before treatment.
- Vascular occlusion of the labial arteries — rare, but the lip has a rich and variable blood supply. You are told exactly what warning signs to look for.
- Delayed nodules, weeks to months later.
When this treatment is not appropriate
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- Active cold sore or any infection of the lip or perioral skin.
- Known hypersensitivity to hyaluronic acid or lidocaine.
- Recent dental work, deferred by two weeks either side.
- Unrealistic expectation of what the tissue can hold, which is a reason to decline rather than to proceed cautiously.
After treatment
- Expect the lip to look larger than the final result for the first three days.
- Ice intermittently for the first few hours if it is comfortable.
- Avoid strenuous exercise, saunas and hammams for 48 hours.
- Avoid very hot drinks and food for the rest of the day while the lidocaine wears off.
- Do not have facials, massage or laser on the area for two weeks.
- Contact the clinic immediately if you develop severe pain, blanching, dusky discolouration or blistering.
Questions
Asked often
Will people be able to tell?
With modest volume placed to your existing proportions, most people find the change is read as looking well rather than as having had something done. Large-volume single sessions are far more likely to be obvious, which is why they are not the default here.
How much will I swell?
Considerably, for the first two to three days. Do not plan the treatment within a week of an event you care about.
How long does it last?
Six to twelve months typically. The lip is a mobile area and product turns over faster there than on bone. Duration varies between individuals.
Can it be dissolved?
Yes. Hyaluronidase reverses hyaluronic acid filler in the lip within hours, and it is kept on site.
I have old filler that I do not like. What happens?
It is assessed first. Dissolving it and allowing the lip to return to baseline before rebuilding often gives a better final shape than adding to it, though it means waiting between visits.
Can filler fix my downturned corners?
Sometimes, but the answer is usually support at the commissure and sometimes botulinum toxin to depressor anguli oris, rather than more volume in the lip body.
Also relevant
Related treatments
Consultation
Every face is read before it is treated
A consultation establishes whether this treatment is the right one for you. Sometimes the answer is that it is not.