Lip Augmentation with Hyaluronic Acid – Lip Injections

The result lasts approximately 6-12 months. However, individual factors such as lifestyle and genetic predisposition can influence this timeframe.

Since the product used breaks down over time, the treatment can be repeated if desired and can always be adjusted to the patient’s personal taste.

When the hyaluronic acid has broken down again, your lips will look as they did before the injections.

Most hyaluronic acid treatments can be safely and effectively repeated as needed, typically every 6-12 months. However, it is important that you discuss your individual needs with an experienced doctor to ensure that the hyaluronic acid filler used is suitable for you and that you have realistic expectations. If too much is injected or injections are done too frequently, so-called filler migration can occur, where the filler “migrates,” which can lead to unattractive results.

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring polysaccharide that is found everywhere in the body in large quantities, including in our skin. It provides moisture to the skin and plumps it up so that it looks youthful and healthy. As we age, hyaluronic acid content decreases, leading to wrinkles, volume loss, and other signs of skin aging. Hyaluronic acid is frequently used in lip augmentation because it helps increase the volume of the lips by hydrating and plumping them from within.

After lip injections with hyaluronic acid, the patient notices changes in the treated area immediately – the increase in lip volume is evident, although this usually includes some swelling that subsides over the following days. Final results are visible after a maximum of two weeks.

Using a special enzyme (Hylase or hyaluronidase), the injected hyaluronic acid can be dissolved again. I offer this treatment in my practice when patients come who have had lip injections elsewhere and are now dissatisfied with the lip volume or lip shape, or are suffering because the filler has migrated for various reasons. This can create the dreaded duck look that is often ridiculed.

In such cases, it is better to first dissolve the injected filler and then, after a few weeks of rest, carefully rebuild the lips rather than continuing to treat on a “bad foundation.”

The lip injection itself takes approximately 15 minutes. However, you should plan for at least 45 minutes including the application time for the local anesthetic cream, consultation, photo documentation, cooling, and massage afterward.

Before undergoing lip augmentation, it is important to discuss the procedure with a doctor and ensure that hyaluronic acid is suitable for you and that high-quality products are used. It is also important to be aware of possible side effects such as bruising, swelling, or redness.

Be sure to seek out an experienced practitioner. Extremely rarely, serious side effects such as vascular occlusions can occur. Experienced and responsible doctors know on the one hand how to reduce this risk to a minimum and on the other hand how to treat these side effects if they do occur.

The narrower the lips are before lip injections with hyaluronic acid, the more carefully the treatment should be performed. Especially when patients desire significantly fuller lips, it is better to divide the buildup of lip volume over several appointments rather than injecting too much in one treatment. This minimizes unwanted risks.

Hyaluronic acid is generally well tolerated and has only few side effects, but as with all treatments, there are some risks. These include temporary redness, swelling, or bruising at the injection site.

Rarely, there are also allergies to hyaluronic acid or to the local anesthetic contained in the filler.

Very rarely, serious side effects such as vascular occlusions can also occur. For this reason, it is particularly important to seek out only experienced practitioners, as they know how to keep the risk of side effects as low as possible, but also how to quickly recognize and immediately treat unwanted side effects.

Good doctors will inform you comprehensively and thoroughly about the treatment and address all your questions. Never get treated anywhere where your questions about side effects are answered with “it’ll be fine…”

It is a very good idea to combine both treatments, but not in the same session. The Botox Lip Flip relaxes the lips slightly and rolls them outward, making them appear fuller and more voluminous even without hyaluronic acid filler, especially when smiling. Vertical lip lines (smoker’s lines or pleated wrinkles) are reduced. During the subsequent lip injection, about two weeks after the botulinum toxin treatment, less hyaluronic acid is often needed than without a Lip Flip. This makes the results appear even more natural.

If too much is injected or injections are done too frequently, so-called filler migration can occur, where the filler “migrates,” which can lead to unattractive results. The hyaluronic acid filler is then no longer behind the lip red, but also in the white area of the upper lip, where it does not belong. If filler migration has occurred, it often only helps to dissolve the filler and carefully rebuild the lips after a break of several weeks.

It is important to consult experienced doctors from the start so that filler migration does not occur in the first place.

Lip treatments with hyaluronic acid are not approved during pregnancy and breastfeeding and should not be performed.

After lip augmentation, you can use lipstick and other lip care products as early as the day after treatment.