Prepare to pucker up, because lips are big

Full lips have always been a sign of youth, fertility and sensuality — and now they're a bona fide fashion accessory. But don't pout if age or genetics have conspired to deny you the bee-stung look you desire. Temporary injectable dermal fillers and permanent surgical implants are available for a little cosmetic inflation.

Lip enhancement isn't just about size, however. It can also reduce fine vertical lines around the mouth and give a "lift" to the corners. Lips that are crooked or uneven also can be reshaped to appear symmetrical.

Gail Callaway's thin lips had become even thinner as the years went on, so she consulted with Dr. Donald Novick, who injected them with Restylane.

"I loved the way it looked. It was great and it felt real soft," says Callaway, 57, a bookkeeper who lives near Boerne. "You don't notice it immediately, it's real subtle. People would look at me and say, 'What did you do? Did you get a different lipstick?'"

Novick, a board-certified plastic surgeon in San Antonio, says lip enhancement using temporary fillers including Restylane is very safe and the results are immediate — although you shouldn't have the procedure done on the same day as a big event like a wedding or class reunion.

"Ideally you'd want to go in a week or two before, in case you get some bruising, although the swelling will be gone in two or three days," says Novick.

Is it painful? Well, expect the doctor to use local anesthesia, either numbing gel or a nerve block (like the kind a dentist gives). Some collagen products, like CosmoPlast, contain lidocaine, which provides some relief.

But there's no need to be a stoic.

"If you don't want any feeling at all it's easier just to get one of the dental blocks," says Novick.

The dermal filler is injected directly into various sites in your lips. One, two or more products may be used depending on the results you're seeking.

Fillers last from three to six months depending on the patient and the kind of filler used. For permanent or longer-lasting solutions, implants are the way to go. Dr. Miles Gravier, a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Roswell, Ga., has been working with the tiny FulFil implant since September.

Inserted via small incisions in the lips, it's then pumped with saline to the desired plumpness.

"It's soft, it's stretchable, it moves with the lip and it's kissable," says Gravier, who is on the scientific advisory board for Juva Medical, which makes the implant.

Gravier charges $2,000 for one lip (upper or lower) $3,000 for two. Be aware that the best candidates for any lip enhancement aren't those with the thinnest lips, but the most realistic expectations, says Vivian Bucay, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in private practice and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the department of physician assistant studies.

"Is it going to solve a marital problem or resolve issues with your best friend? No," says Bucay. "Could you feel better about yourself? Probably."

And cost is certainly a consideration when embarking on any cosmetic procedure. In San Antonio, lip enhancement can run from about $500 to $1,000 per visit.

Teresa Newsom, 39, says it costs her $525 each time Bucay injects her lips to correct a cosmetic procedure done 17 years ago. Newsom, who works at Wilford Hall Medical Center, says she loves her lips, which are now symmetrical and fuller. But she's aware of what she's started.

"I've been wanting to get another car, so pretty soon it will come down to do I want another vehicle or do I want to keep doing this?"

In addition to being realistic about what you can afford, you also need to be realistic about what's natural looking and when you're entering the freak zone.

Attractive lips have a natural fullness that's in proportion to the rest of the face — they don't float like a couple of overstuffed sausages below your nose.

"There are some women who are not blessed with full lips, but they have the right structure for enhancement," says Bucay. "You're trying to remain within what's natural for that person or what the face can sustain."

Achieving the right look comes down to the proficiency of the person doing the injecting.

"As these procedures become less invasive they rely much more on (the doctor's) artistic skills and ability to sculpt," says Dr. Anthony Griffin, director of the Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgery Institute and board-certified plastic surgeon.

When lip enhancement goes bad, says Griffin, "It's not the fault of the product, it's not the fault of the procedure. It's the fault of the person doing it because they have no artistic appreciation for what they're doing."

Lip enhancement, like all minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, should be done by a board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist in his or her office. Beauty salons and private homes are not appropriate venues for practicing medicine.

"People trivialize these procedures," says Bucay. "The fact that you can get a pedicure and your hair cut at the same place that you can get your Botox and your filler, how is that coming across to the consumer? It tells them that it's not a big deal."

In fact, Bucay says its perfectly OK to ask to examine the box that a filler comes in to make sure that it hasn't been opened and then watch as the syringe is filled.

You should also ask to see photographs of other patients. If you see lots of over inflated "trout pouts," it may be a sign to go elsewhere.

Unless, of course, that's what you want.

"I'll give them my opinion," says Griffin of his patients. "But it's their lips, they've got to wear them."

By Paula Hunt. Contact: phunt@express-news.net
Source: www.mysanantonio.com