Cosmetic medicine professionals of Doral, Florida, offer advice for clients with thin or thinning lips.
Treatments for Thin Lips
The most desirable quality of lips in our current culture and fashion is plumpness. Thicker lips seem to indicate youth and sexual appeal. The main factors in full lips are hydration, collagen, age, and genetics. As people age, a natural thinning of lips happens due to reduced collagen production. Even if a person’s lips have always been thin, there is hope for fuller lips without surgery. Let’s look at the factors that affect the perioral area, available treatments, and aftercare.
Factors that Increase the Chances of Thin Lips
As stated in the introduction, our lips thin as we age, but there are factors that can increase the appearance of thin lips. Obviously, genetics play a factor in how full or thin any person’s lips are to begin with. Some people are blessed with naturally full lips, but even they will feel and see the results of the natural aging process.
Some of the other things that can contribute to thin lips are:
- Chronic Illness: Certain illnesses affect the skin and can cause a thinning of the tissue around the lips. Examples include lupus and sclerosis.
- Dehydration: Not drinking enough water can temporarily cause skin to lose elasticity and cause lips to become chapped and dry.
- Smoking: Smoking makes a person’s skin look older and lose its elasticity earlier, resulting in wrinkles, particularly around the mouth.
- Sun Exposure: Being outdoors without proper skin protection(SPF 30 or higher) can be detrimental to more than just a person’s lips. It can lead to painful sunburns and skin cancer.
Treatments that Are Available for Thin or Thinning Lips
While there are many medical options for thinning lips, a client may want to try a few home remedies first before seeking the lip filler option.
The options include:
- Lip scrubs
- Lip plumpers
- Artistically applied makeup
Any of the above products can be purchased at a local department or cosmetics store. Lip scrubs can also be made at home with honey, sugar, and olive oil. They are meant to be used on the lips to treat chapped or dry skin and are not really meant to “scrub” the lips. They can be put on the lips and left for a minute, then wiped off gently with a damp cloth.
It’s best to apply some lip balm to hydrate the lips. Lip plumpers are used to actually increase the circulation in the lips via slight irritation or vitamin boosts. They do make lips look fuller and can be used in lieu of or along with lipstick, lip gloss, or lip balm. Makeup can also be used to enhance the appearance of your lips.
The procedures in aesthetic medicine are certainly longer-lasting than any of the above solutions and give the most dramatic results in terms of shape and fullness that topical or at-home remedies don’t necessarily give.
- Lip Flip: Neaurotoxin injections like Botox or Dypsort can help give the appearance of a fuller upper lip when injected by relaxing the lip muscle and allowing your lip to lift or “flip upward even when you smile.
- Lip Filler: We can inject dermal filler into the lips themselves to help shape and fill the lips to give them a more hydrated and plump appearance. Dermal fillers are hyaluronic acid and it’s affects last from 12 to 18 months depending on how quickly your body metabolizes them.
These three treatments provide different results, and after consulting with our team of professionals, we can help each client decide which treatment will give them the results they want.
Post Treatment Care
If you do decide to have a lip filler or lip flip treatment, there are several things you can do as a patient to help speed your recovery. Initial swelling and bruising can be mitigated by the use of ice packs and arnica gel. It is recommended that clients not drink from straws for the first few hours after the procedure, as that puts pressure on the lips. Clients should also wait until the numbing wears off before they eat or drink so they do not unintentionally injure themselves.
About FaceBeauty Med Spa
At FaceBeauty Med Spa, we say, “Self-care is not an expense. It’s an investment.” Our highly qualified professionals offer a variety of aesthetic services to help you look and feel your best. Call today to book a consultation in our Doral, FL, location.
