Our lips thin with age and demonstrate less fullness and projection when viewed both in front and in profile This process is called soft tissue atrophy and commonly affects the lips and corner of the mouth. As these areas become less plump, they wrinkle more easily and the mouth develops a "mouth frown", a very ageing sign. Another ageing sign is a smoker's lines or vertical lip wrinkles in the skin on the top lip resulting from the constant use of certain facial expressions such as pursing lips, chewing, sipping from a straw or bottle and even talking. These wrinkles can become evident from an early age, especially if one has an overactive muscle around the mouth.
Lip enhancement has gained much popularity since the '90s. Patients young and old, desire fuller, more sensuous lips. The lips have been associated with female sexuality throughout time, and women who possess large full lips are thought to be more physically desirable. Filler procedures are not invasive and they don't require much recovery time. The sooner one starts with soft tissue rejuvenation with fillers, the better as early-developing lip wrinkles are much easier to treat with dermal fillers.
For a natural-appearing lip, the body of the lip should be plumped as well for a fuller yet more natural shape. Lips should not be over-filled and with proper techniques, they can be made fuller yet still look natural. Natural lip rejuvenation requires the expertise and experience of the doctor as the result depends very much on the doctor's technique. Do your research well to ensure that the doctor you choose for a natural lip rejuvenation procedure performs numerous treatments each day.
Treatment of advanced lip wrinkles is a challenging problem as there is no complete cure in most cases, just an improvement. If these lip lines are left neglected, they become permanently ingrained and scar-like and very resistant to treatments.
At Skin Renewal, for advanced lip wrinkles, we offer in-house treatments with dermal fillers such as Juvederm, Restylane and Saypha.
Using the MD Codes system and Liquid Facelift, which is based on the strategic placement of dermal filler, and combining this with treatments, we can achieve direct and indirect effects by giving volume and structure to the face.
Other in-office treatments such as Skin Renewal Fractional Fusion, Pearl Fractional Laser, Pearl Fusion Laser, Laser Genesis, Carboxytherapy, Vampire Facial, Mesotherapy, Endymed RF, can be combined with dermal fillers for optimal results. In the more severe cases of smoker's lines, a small amount of injectable wrinkle reducer is injected into the top lip to help reduce the amount of muscle movement and improve the lip rejuvenation process.
Laser Genesis resurfacing after lip augmentation with injectable filler is the treatment of choice to treat more advanced lip wrinkling issues. This procedure is done one day after lip rejuvenation with dermal fillers and is repeated every 2 to 3 days for a total of 6 treatments for optimal results. Laser Genesis post filler has a twofold benefit: The bruising post filler rapidly resolves and the bruising present in the skin "post filler" attracts the heat from the laser and has a superior effect on treating the ingrained wrinkles.
