When to Choose a Lip Lift Over Fillers

Gracing magazine covers, movie screens, and social media posts, enhanced lips are everywhere. If you want to enjoy fuller or more luscious lips, you have multiple treatment options. 

Many people go straight to fillers for lip enhancement. Fillers are effective, nonsurgical, and reversible, making them an excellent choice for plumping your lips for months or even years. 

But you might not be as familiar with a lesser-known treatment for lip enhancement called a lip lift. In fact, a lip lift can increase the thickness of your upper lip by over 31%. 

At his private practice in Katy, Texas, board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon John P. Freeman, MD, DDS, FACS, performs upper lip lifts to augment and elevate your upper lip. 

Dr. Freeman's in-depth understanding of facial balance and harmony ensures a natural-looking, subtle, and flattering result from a lip lift.

In this blog, we compare the lip lift procedure with lip fillers and help you choose the most suitable method for your desired look. 

What is a lip lift?

A lip lift is a surgical procedure that can give you long-lasting plump lips. If you’ve ever considered lip fillers or admired the results of lip fillers you got in the past, a lip lift can give you results that look similar but are permanent. 

Generally, a lip lift involves shortening the space between your nose and upper lip to make your upper lip appear plumper or better defined. However, different types of lip lifts allow you to accomplish specific goals for the appearance of your lips. You can use a lip lift to:

• Accentuate a shallow cupid’s bow
• Shorten a long philtrum (the groove between your cupid’s bow and nasal septum)
• Increase the visibility of your teeth when your lips are parted
• Make your lips appear larger or fuller
• Create poutier lips
• Create better balance among facial features
• Eliminate age-related lip lines

You might be interested in enhancing your smile with a lip lift if you’ve always had thin or poorly defined lips.

Comparing lip lifts and fillers

The duration of results and procedure type are among the key differences between lip fillers and lip lifts. While fillers are nonsurgical (they’re injectables) and involve little to no recovery time, enhancements from a lip lift surgery are permanent. You might also find that lip lift results look more natural than the results of fillers. 

Because a lip lift involves surgery, you should anticipate some recovery time. You’ll need to take some time away from work and social engagements as you heal. After a week or two, you can return to your typical routine and conceal any remaining redness with makeup. 

If you’re unsure whether to choose a lip lift, fillers, or both, Dr. Freeman can evaluate your facial structure and balance during a consultation at his office. 

When to choose a lip lift

Typically, lip fillers are better for younger people interested in lip enhancement who may not be ready to commit to permanent results. You might prefer a lip lift because of the natural elongation of the upper lip that happens with age, which can cause you to appear older.

Compared to lip fillers, a lip flip might be more suitable if you have a downturned or elongated upper lip. For some people, years of using fillers for lip enhancement leads to lip stretching or distortion. If this is true for you, a lip lift can restore a more appealing shape.

The permanent results are a significant draw of lip lift surgery. If you’re ready to commit to permanent lip enhancements, book a consultation online or over the phone with John P. Freeman, MD, DDS, FACS, at your earliest convenience.