How lip fillers are done

Carrying on with our theme of commonly asked questions about lip fillers, I thought I would pick some of the most common questions to answer.

The most common has to be people asking how are lip fillers done – it’s one of those things, if you don’t know, you don’t know! Are lip fillers done in one injection? Lots of injections? Does it hurt? What are you actually injecting into my lips – is it the same as botox?

So in a nutshell I thought I would outline how lip fillers are done.

Lip fillers are made from a substance called Hyaluronic Acid, which is a naturally occurring substance. When hyaluronic acid is formulated as fillers, it is prepared in a special way to make sure the product stays where it is put for as long as possible, while being soft, malleable and natural looking and feeling. Different types are designed for different parts of the anatomy – cheek fillers, for example, tend to be firmer than lip fillers. Lip fillers are generally the softest type of filler, for what I think are obvious reasons.

The first job of the practitioner (please make sure that yours is an experienced, insured and reliable medical practitioner) is to assess you, the client, firstly to make sure you are suitable for this kind of treatment, and then to determine the type of product they will be using for your lip fillers. There are a huge range of lip filler products available for use, for example Juvederm by the manufacturer Allergan, produce a range of products for a whole variety of filler requirements and the newer but exceptional range from Kysense.

Once you are prepped, and the product has been chosen, the practioner will usually apply some local, topical anaesthetic such as LMX or Emla cream to numb the lips slightly. This helps with the initial sharpness of the procedure. Lip fillers can be a little sore, but should not be very painful. Your practitioner will assess your comfort levels as you go.

The fillers are applied into the lips in different ways. In my case, I focus on volume first – I want to see what the lips look like when they are gently plumped up, before I decide on other areas such as outlining the lips. I find that starting with outlining can give a more artificial look, whereas starting with lip volume gives a better overall impression of the final result. The filler is applied in either bolus doses (a small ‘blob’ for want of a better word!), or in ‘threads’ which is, as the word suggests, thin lines of filler to add shape, support and structure to the lips. These can also be added to the lines in the corners of the mouth to correct a sad mouth shape. (These lines are known as oral commisures).

The needle that is used is very very thin, and also very sharp which leads to easier, more accurate placement of filler, and filler syringes always come pre-filled with their own needles. Syringes of filler should NEVER be shared with more than one client – this is a huge infection risk, and completely unethical – if anyone ever offers to give you a reduced price based on sharing fillers, run!! Some practitioners also use something called a cannula to apply filler, which uses a bigger needle, but fewer injection points.

Slowly slowly is the technique I prefer – you can always go back and add more filler, it is much harder to take it out! I find it a complete joy to see the shape of the lips develop, and sometimes even stop part way to show the client how they are progressing – it can be really exciting to see things taking shape!

A brand new lip client will usually start with 1ml of filler, although may not always need all of it. This can be used to add definition, volume, shape and hydration to the lips, as well as smooth out lip lines (‘smokers lines’), downturned lip corners and into the Philtrum Columns (the little rises from the top of the cupids’ bow to the bottom of the nose). This really lifts the cupids bow and gives a very feminine look to the mouth.

A more nervous client may opt for just 0.5ml to start with, but they more often than not come back for a top up within a few months!

So to answer the question how are lip fillers done, it is carefully, slowly and with precision, one bit at a time! But if you really want to find out how lip fillers are done, why not come and try them at Sally Wagstaff Aesthetics?