One of the most sexy and youthful features of the face are the lips. Luscious, plump, and full lips are signs of youth, health, and fertility. As we age our lips lose their fullness and volume. The upper lip sags and becomes thinner. Meanwhile, fine wrinkles develop around the lips which are called "lipstick lines" or "smoker’s lines".

Lip augmentation consists of a variety of procedures designed to give a person more defined and fuller lips. Besides enlarging the lips, lip fillers or implants are also used to balance the upper and lower lips.

Injection of fillers such as Collagen, Hylaform, Juvederm, and fat into the lips is an easy way of enlarging or shaping the lips. Collagen is commercially available through plastic surgeons, but before having this procedure, you must first pass a collagen allergy test. Its advantages are, it does not require surgery and it is relatively inexpensive. Its disadvantage is that it is not permanent and usually lasts 3-5 months. Other newer injectable fillers such as those mentioned above usually last much longer than collagen and don’t need to be allergy tested. Fat, tendon, or dermal grafting is another method used for lip augmentation. They require harvesting of the fat, dermis, or tendon from another area of the body. Its biggest disadvantage is that the lips remain swollen and inflamed for a much longer period than when synthetic fillers are used.

These procedures like any other surgical procedure carry certain risks and have potential for complications. There is a risk of infection, which is minimized by taking antibiotics.

View before and after photos of lip augmentation.

Content provided by Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Sean Younai. Learn more about this board certified plastic surgeon.