A kiss. Nothing symbolizes love more than a warm heart-felt kiss. Full plush lips are a sign of sensuality. Like the eyes and nose for the upper and midface, the lips are the centerpiece of our lower face. Yet it is often misunderstood and neglected.
Young women often want their lips to be fuller and more sensual. Angelina Jolie’s lips are the quintessential envy of most women! Older women often overlook or neglect their lips in favor of other areas for facial rejuvenation (brow, eyes, face and neck). Yet facial rejuvenation is also about balance. The beauty of a well rejuvenated face and neck are easily lost with the tell tale of disharmony of a youthful face juxtaposed with aged lips.
Although lips come in various shapes below are typical standards for women which are considered natural and aesthetic.
1. Volume. Lips should be full, but not too full. The pink vermillion should be visible. The lower lip should be slightly larger than the upper lip or equal. The upper lip should never be larger! For the younger women who desires volume these are basic and important proportions to abide by. We all know of overdone lips gone bad (can you say “Lisa Rinna”).
2. Length. As we age, the distance between our nose and lip lengthens (labrum or columella-labial length). Due to gravity and deflation, there is less and less pink vermillion show over time.
3. Angle. The youthful upper lip turns up and out. On side profile the columella-labial line curves up as at reaches the lip, almost like a ski jump. In the aged lip, the line is almost straight sometimes even curved in. This flattening and loss of angle is another age related sign.
4. Wrinkles. Like spokes of a wheel we begin to see wrinkles radiating all around our mouth.
Often referred to as “smoker’s lines” these perioral wrinkles are accentuated by long term over activity of the underlying orbicularis oris muscle. A circular sphincter muscle of the mouth the orbicularis oris muscle’s long-standing contraction (pursing your lips) will create these perioral wrinkles. Over time the previously dynamic wrinkles become etched into the skin of the lips.
At Liu Plastic Surgery, your lip enhancement or rejuvenation consultation begins with a thorough assessment of all four of these components (volume, length, angle and wrinkle) to see which area(s) you are deficient in.
The aesthetic fellowship trained plastic surgeons at Liu Plastic Surgery offer the full-spectrum of surgical and non-surgical procedures for the enhancement and rejuvenation of the youthful and aged lips. Lip augmentation with hyaluronic acid (HA) (Restylane® or Juvederm®) is a simple office procedure that can be performed to enhance lip volume both in the youthful or aged lips. HA can improve pink vermillion show and lip angles. The added volume can also
soften fine perioral rhytids.
If you have had lip augmentation with HA and liked the results but wanted something more longer lasting there are surgical options with solid silicone lip implants, fat, dermis, SMAS, tendon or acellular dermal matrix (See page 1 Introducing Surgical PermaTM Facial (Lip) Implants). Which of these methods is best suitable for you requires an analysis and consultation with one of the plastic surgeons at Liu Plastic Surgery.
If perioral wrinkles is what bothers you don’t be discouraged. There are options for treatment including combination HA injection for static wrinkle improvement, neuromodulation with Botox®/Dysport® to prevent further hyperactivity, and microdermabrasion.
Each method of lip enhancement or rejuvenation can be performed alone or in conjunction with other lip or facial aesthetic procedures. To see how your lips can be fuller or more youthful in time for your Valentine’s day kiss contact info@liuplasticsurgery.com or 650-539-4808.
Jerome Liu, MD and Tom Liu, MD are fellowship trained plastic surgeons specializing in facial rejuvenation, facelift, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), rhinoplasty (nose job), breast augmentation (breast implants), mastopexy (breast lift), mommy makeover, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and liposuction in Northern California. Dr. Jerome Liu and Dr. Tom Liu operate at multiple locations throughout the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay offering convenient service for the communities of Los Altos, Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Campbell, San Jose, Almaden, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Atherton, Menlo Park, Fremont, Morgan Hill, and Santa Cruz.
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