Is Lip Filler right for me?

I have so many women come to my clinic who are sad that they have lost volume in their faces – the most common time is the 12 months after they head into perimenopause. Menopause plays havoc with our skin – our collagen production drops off a cliff, and suddenly our skin seems to age overnight. It becomes drier, less bouncy, crepey, saggy, and all the things that we don’t want our skin to be.

Personally, I realised that my lips felt ‘empty’ like they had no substance. There was no fullness to my lips, and they felt flat. 

But I was scared to get lip fillers! Why? I think because, generally speaking, if you know someone has got lip fillers, it is because they are particularly big – probably overfilled, or badly done.

So it put me off – it took me a very long time to decide that I really did want some fullness back to my lips. So I found a therapist that I really trusted (my timeline of my lip fillers is on Instagram here), and the rest is history – and unless you really know what you are looking for, you wouldn’t know that I had lip fillers. (And even then, they are so natural it is hard to tell that they have been filled!)

I am now so glad I had it done – I don’t really think about it most days, they feel soft and natural, and it feels like I have some of my femininity back. It took a week for all of the swelling to completely disappear, and probably 6 weeks for them to really feel like ‘mine’!!

So are lip fillers right for you? Are lip fillers safe? Will I end up looking overfilled?

It depends on what you want, what you ask for, and what practitioner you choose.

Personally, I always, always err on the side of caution. I would prefer to underfill to start with – it is a whole lot easier to add more filler to your lips later rather than dissolve filler because you have put too much in. Dissolving filler is possible, but you can’t remove it in spot areas – you basically have to start again. This is not ideal for you or your lips!! 

I never do more than 1ml on anyone initially in the lips, and often stop at 0.5, 0.7 or maybe 0.8ml. It is very personal – on one person, one syringe of filler can disappear into the lips and give a lovely subtle natural result; on someone else, a half ml of filler can create an obvious result. The type of filler used will also make a difference – some are very soft indeed, but there is a danger these won’t last as long – or you can go a bit firmer for more volume and fullness, but if it is too firm, you risk them feeling unnatural. 

I choose very much on the day, based on what the client tells me they want their lips to feel and look like. I also decide on the filler brand I am going to use on the day – for example, Volbella from the Vycross range by Allergan is an incredibly soft and natural but long-lasting filler, and Juvederm from Allergan is one of the more common fillers used – this is still a great filler but doesn’t tend to last quite as long as the Vycross range, although Volbella is more expensive. Kysense is a great, long-lasting filler that gives you “more bang for your buck”, as 0.8m tends to give the equivalent volume of 1ml of other fillers; however, Kysense is a lignocaine-free brand, which, while this helps with less swelling following treatment, can actually feel a bit nippier while you are having it done. Teoxane, Zhoabex and Maili are all other brands that I have used and am generally happy with the results! Ask for more information about filler brands – a lot of it is just personal preference.

I always ask to see you again in a few weeks – it is always useful to see the final result of their lip fillers. And I always tell clients that if they hate me for the few days after their filler because their lips feel huge, then they are probably going to be just about perfect when they have settled down, and if they love me because they feel like their lips are a perfect size, the chances are you will want some more lip filler putting in a few weeks time once they have settled down!! 

So is lip filler right for you? Do you want subtle volume, a great-shaped lip, more bounce and fullness or literally just a bit of replacement of the volume that menopause has taken from you? Then yes, lip filler could be just the thing!