Lip Enhancements for Every Age

There is an art to lip enhancement.

Who you select to do your injections can mean the difference between getting a fuller, natural-looking pout or the dreaded over-filled ?duck look.?

The key to a natural, beautiful lip enhancement is in the injector?s approach. Depending on the age and lifestyle of the patient, there will be unique goals and motivations. For example, 20-somethings are much more likely to want fuller, plumper lips for purely a fun, cosmetic boost. For a patient in her 50’s, lip injections might be desired to help reestablish a defined upper-lip, and remove wrinkles around the mouth.

At About Face Skin Care in Philadelphia, PA, lip-injecting experts Sarah Sidiqi, NP, and Dr. Stephen Hess, MD, share their insight on the issues they see their patients facing in each decade of their lives, and how they approach lip enhancement for every age.

Lip Injections for Patients in their 20s:

According to Sarah Sidiqi, patients in their 20s are more susceptible to social-media / peer influence, and often crave plumper lips purely as a beauty boost — not necessarily because they have any issues with their lips. Inundated with images of their celebrity counter-parts, such as Kylie Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Demi Lovato (who are considered to depict the current standard of “beauty”) it is easy to see why a quick lip improvement would be desirable to this age-range.

“We have a lot of lip-injection patients who are still in college” Sidiqi explains, “and they tell us — lip injections have become so common-place that the treatment is almost a status symbol amongst them. Instead of having the new Louis Vuitton handbag, or “it” brand of jeans, everyone wants the perfect pout.” (Some girls go so far as to ask for lip injections as their college graduation present from their parents!)

?For people in their 20’s, lip injections are really about enhancement,? says Dr. Hess. ?Patients this age tend to love the look of fuller lips. Our job is to make sure they look proportionate, and appropriate for the face. Sometimes the most important decision is what NOT to do. We always seek a natural look that will be appear organic to the person’s face.”

Famous 20-something lips:

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Lip Injections for Patients in their 30s:

Lips are at their fullest between the ages of 16 to 18, which means by that by the 30s — a fair amount of thinning begins to happen.

?At this age the biggest issue is the loss of collagen and elastin, which results in thinning of the lips,? says Sidiqi.

?Lip lines, which are caused by a combination of sun exposure and the natural aging process, can also appear.” adds Hess. “Daily facial expressions also contributes to lip wrinkles. I look to fill the lighter mouth wrinkles so that they don?t become deeply ingrained into the skin, and I inject a small bit of filler into the lip itself to help retain its fullness.?

Patients in this stage of life are not as motivated by media (although they can still be subtly influenced by the trends depicted in magazines and social media), but instead are trying to proactively take care of themselves for the future. Again, natural but tangible results are desired.

Famous 30-something lips:

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Lip Injections for Patients in their 40s:

As time continues to go by, patients in their 40s experience further thinning of the lips.

?In the 40s, the area around the lips, such as nasolabial folds (laugh lines) and oral commissure (corners of the mouth) also change,? says Sidiqi. ?These areas become deeper and more pronounced, and those areas also need to be treated to support the lips.” Because of the changing volume around the lower-face, a person’s overall expression can appear to change. (Depending on the person’s face, when the face is in rest — it may look like a scowl or frown.)

For patients in their 40s, filler-injections are about restoration and enhancement. Fillers are used not only to maintain lip fullness, but also to diminish wrinkles and volume loss surrounding the area.

Famous 40-something lips:

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Lip Injections for Patients in their 50s:

For patients in their 50s, Sidiqi’s approach is to look at the overall facial structure.

?Oftentimes, a loss of collagen, fat and bone in the mid-face will greatly affect the shape of the mouth. For these patients, the distance of white between the nose and the vermilion border at the top of the upper lip gets longer, so a lot of times I need to recreate the Cupid’s bow and the philtral columns (the vertical grooves above the upper lip) to restore the youthful anatomy of the lip. Through the careful application of fillers and neurotoxins to these areas, the natural shape and volume of the lips can be restored,? Sidiqi says.

Famous 50-something lips:

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Lip Injections for Patients in their 60s:

For patients in their 60s and above, Hess addresses the same issues found in patients in their 50s.

?At this age, it?s mainly about lip restoration. I focus on restoring fullness, lip definition, addressing perioral lines and restoring facial structures around the lip,? he says.

The end goal remains however; any lip enhancement needs to fit the rest of the face, and tasteful artistry needs to be used in order to accomplish the most flattering, realistic-looking results.

Famous 60-something lips:

[metaslider id=3528]

Ageless:

No matter what the patient’s age, both Sidiqi and Hess focus on achieving results that improve the patient’s appearance, but still look natural to their face.

*It should be noted, different ages will also respond differently to lip injections. Patients under 36 years are more prone to swelling, whereas bruising may be more likely in patients over 36 years. (Click here to read about the things you need to AVOID before lip injections to help prevent bruising and swelling!)