These two lip features are majorly important to the look of your lips and overall image, and yet — chances are high you’ve never heard of them before*.
1. The Cupid’s bow is the double-curve of the upper-lip, which resembles the bow of Cupid, Roman god of love. (The peaks of the cupid’s-bow connects with the philtral columns, more on this below.)
Fun fact for you: only humans have this feature!
“One of the things we lose as we get older is lip definition,” explains Naomi Fenlin, owner of Philadelphia-based About Face Skin Care. “A crisp lip-outline and defined cupid’s bow immediately denotes youthfulness.”
Sarah Sidiqi, NP, master-injector at About Face adds that the Cupid’s Bow is one of the first lip-attributes she evaluates before administering lip injections.
“The symmetry and definition of the cupid’s bow will dictate how the treatment should go — does the patient need more lip-definition, or volume? Are we correcting symmetry, or adjusting projection? The existing cupid’s bow helps set the game-plan for future treatment(s).”
2. The Philtral Columns are the vertical grooves running from your nostrils to the tip of your lips, and help create the little indent above the center of your top-lip.
Old-wives tales have it that this part of the mouth is formed right before a baby is born. An angel presses a fingertip against the baby’s lips to remind it to keep heaven’s secrets safe, thus forming the philtral columns and cupid’s bow. (Such a cute mental image, right?)
The good news is that these lip-features can easily be enhanced by an experienced injector. Your cupid’s bow (and philtral columns) can be built-up with heartier dermal-filler products such as original Restylane, Restylane Silk, or Juvederm Volbella. These types of filler help provide / maintain structure and definition safely to the lips.
Lip-enhancing treatments take about 30+ minutes, and results last about 9x months.
* You HAVE heard of this before? Good for you!