Since the beginning of recorded history, lips have been associated with youth, beauty, and elegance. It’s no wonder that cosmetic treatments like lip fillers and threads have increased in popularity over the last several years. Both treatments are known to enhance and replenish lips for a fuller, sexier look without hassle or stress. But what exactly are these treatments? What do they involve? For anyone with doubts or questions, this is your guide to lip threads and fillers.
What are lip fillers?
Most readers are probably at least a little familiar with lip fillers. Over the past couple of years, lip fillers have become increasingly popular among celebrities and influencers like Kylie Jenner. Lip augmentation is a nonsurgical treatment designed to deliver fuller, plumper lips. Most commonly, a dermal filler is used to achieve this effect.
Dermal fillers can vary in the materials they’re made of, how much they cost, and how long they last. Some examples are Restylane Silk™, Revanesse Versa™. There are plenty of options out there! Most dermal fillers contain materials similar to Hyaluronic Acid (HA), a naturally occuring substance produced by the body. HA and similar compounds can be used in other ways as well. They can smooth out wrinkles and fine lines, restore volume to the cheeks, and eliminate the vertical lines (puppet lines) that form around the mouth and nose area as you age. The use of HA and substances similar to it also allow for an easy reversal of the lip augmentation treatment should you be unhappy with the results. There are antidote injections that dissolve the effect of the augmentation available upon request.
Once the type and brand of dermal filler has been chosen for a lip augmentation treatment, the filler is injected into the lips using a cannula. A cannula is a fine, hollow tube that can be injected into the lips with minimal bruising or pain. If you’re worried about the pain you may experience during this treatment, you don’t have to be! There are plenty of options available for patients who feel a little nervous about needles or injection. You can talk to your doctor about using a numbing cream around the area to be injected. Dental blocks are also an option, and are completely numbing for anyone who wants or requires that. Replenishing and enhancing your lip look does not have to be painful or uncomfortable.
After lip augmentation, patients should see results straight away. Swelling directly after the treatment is completely normal and could last anywhere from 12-48 hours. After the swelling has gone down, most patients report being overjoyed with the results. The effects lip fillers produce are wonderful for subtly enhancing the natural pout of your lips, or restoring the fullness and volume of your youth. Lip augmentation can be thought of as a sort of lipstick, but the kind of lipstick that you can wake up to every morning and be happy with.
It’s important to discuss with your doctor exactly what kind of look or effect you are going for. Lip fillers can be used to restore volume and definition that naturally depletes during the aging process, to make your face a little more symmetrical, or even to “plump up” the corners of your mouth. Working with your doctor to create a goal for your new look will naturally lead to an end result you’re satisfied with. With the right filler, the right amount, and the right technique this treatment will reliably produce beautiful results.
Why bother with lip fillers?
There are plenty of benefits to getting lip fillers! Lip augmentation is a fast, stress-free cosmetic treatment with immediate results that are well worth the cost. Those results? Fuller, sexier lips and a great confidence boost!
There’s more to it, of course. The aging process generally thins and deflates lips, upsetting natural face symmetry and increasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth. Lip augmentation is a fantastic way of combating that by restoring lost volume and adding balance to the face.
Another great aspect of lip augmentation is just how customizable it is. The wide variety of dermal fillers available means that your consultation could go in a lot of different directions. If you have any specific insecurities about your mouth, there’s a near guarantee that your doctor will know which type of filler or technique best treats those insecurities.
Lip augmentation is a fantastic, affordable treatment with many benefits. If you’re looking to add volume or youth to your lips and mouth, it’s absolutely worth consideration. Plus, if you’re not satisfied with your results, the nature of dermal fillers makes it so that they can either be treated with a serum that dissolves them or simply allowed to fade away on their own.
What are lip threads?
Lip fillers have enjoyed widespread popularity for several years now, but lip threads are an alternative or complementary option only recently gaining traction in North America (though the treatment has enjoyed plenty of attention in Europe). While lip augmentation can be thought of as a particularly long-lasting lipstick, lip thread lifting is more comparable to lipliner. The goal is not only to boost volume, but to add or enhance definition to the lips.
The lip thread lift is a nonsurgical treatment that utilizes small dissolvable sutures to boost collagen in the lips and around the mouth area. These threads are largely made up of sugar-derived polymers that dissolve over a period of 6-8 months. They’ve been used in surgeries, both cosmetic and non cosmetic, for years since their initial invention. Some examples of the types of threads your doctor might use during this treatment include Novathreads™, Eurothreads™, and MINT™. It is important to note that the rejuvenating and lifting effects of these threads are a result of the stimulation of collagen in and around the lips. This stimulation leaves some lasting results even after the threads have dissolved.
During the treatment, after any numbing agents are applied to avoid discomfort, these threads are injected underneath the skin around the lips. The exact placement, type, and design of the threads used during lip thread lifting will influence the end result. The threading itself is guided by your lips’ existing architecture, creating an enhancing effect that looks and feels completely natural.
After the threads are under the skin and the treatment is essentially complete, the body responds by producing collagen around the affected areas. This is what makes lip thread lifting so beneficial in the long term: even once those threads have dissolved, some of the definition they produced will remain in the form of collagen stimulation.
In the days following the treatment some patients might experience slight swelling or, less commonly, bruising. These side effects are likely to dissipate over time. It is recommended to allow for time up to two weeks for all initial asymmetry or swelling to go away before judging your new look.
Just like with lip augmentation, it is important to discuss what exactly you want from this treatment with your doctor during initial consultation. There may be specific points of interest on or around your lip area that you’d like to see defined and the variability of lip threads allows for almost complete customization in this regard. Lip thread lifting can be used to create definition in lip shape, to smooth out fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth, and even to lift the downward corners of the mouth. The way that lip threads act as a sort of scaffolding for loose and saggy skin can take years off of your face and lips.
Why should I get lip threads?
For lost or missing definition, the lip thread lifting treatment is absolutely invaluable. It’s affordable, safe, and results in long-lasting benefits due to the threads’ ability to stimulate collagen in affected areas. If you’re concerned about sagging or shapeless lips, lip threads are the way to go.
The benefits of lip thread lifting are not just limited to definition either. Any loose, flappy skin around the mouth area can be given a boost of sorts with this treatment. Common signs of aging like downturned lip corners and sagging cupid bows can be treated with the scaffolding effect of lip threads. Deep and obvious lines around the mouth that can arise from smoking or aging can also benefit.
We’ve already discussed the wonderful advantages of lip augmentation, but for those who really want more lip definition without much additional volume: the lip thread lift is the way to go. Of course, there’s always the option of getting both lip threads and lip fillers.
Is there any reason to get both lip threads and lip fillers?
Yes! There are absolutely benefits to having both treatments done! Lip augmentation and lip thread lifting are complementary treatments at their core. If you’re looking for your best set of lips, lip threads and fillers should be your first and second priorities.
Both treatments on their own are fantastic anti-aging measures. Lip augmentation replenishes and enhances lost volume and pout while lip thread lifting restores definition and reduces the fine lines and wrinkles that appear around the mouth over time. Together they literally take years off of your face. There’s nothing quite like it.
Getting both lip threads and lip fillers is also the optimal way to ensure that your dream lips are fully realized. Need for definition or volume can vary from patient to patient, so having both treatments on the table during consultation allows for maximum customization. Both treatments are also relatively affordable, simple, and fast.
If you’re looking to seriously up your lip game, you should definitely consider getting both lip augmentation and lip thread lifting.
TL;DR
Beautiful lips are not a trend. They’ve been a landmark of all things aesthetic for centuries, all around the world. If you don’t feel satisfied with your current lip look, you should look into getting lip fillers and/or threads.
Getting lip fillers, or lip augmentation, is a treatment wherein dermal fillers are injected into the lips in order to add volume and pout. There are plenty of different types of dermal fillers available to you as a patient, but most of them use materials similar or identical to Hyaluronic Acid (HA). HA is naturally produced and broken down by the body, so lip fillers last around 3-12 months. Benefits of lip augmentation include the replenishing of lost lip volume, the smoothing out of fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth as a result of that additional volume, and a youthful look and feel.
Lip threads are used specifically in lip thread lifting, a treatment in which small threads made of sugar-derived polymers are stitched through the borders of the lips in order to add definition and shape. Lip threads provide a sort of scaffolding structure that supports and stimulates collagen around the lips. This creates a long-lasting effect that encourages lip definition and also reverses some of the signs of aging that appear around the mouth.
If you’re interested in getting either (or both) of these treatments done the right way. Call MetaGlow for more information!