If you have ever wished you had fuller lips probably you have considered lip fillers. You may also have wondered “how long do lip fillers last?”. In this article, we will discuss the answer to your question, we will also show you what you can do to make your lip injection last longer.
Types of Lip Enhancement
There are two primary types of lip enhancement: Injections and surgeries.
Surgical options to plump lips:
This type of lip enhancement is usually performed when more permanent results are desired. There are three major options for surgical lip enhancement, they include:
- Lip implants : This procedure is usually performed in an office setting by a surgeon. It involves numbing of lips by injections, producing two small incisions at the corners of the lips and producing a tunnel through which the implant is grabbed and tracked into the tunnel. These implants are permanent, finding a highly reputable and qualified surgeon who can properly assess your candidacy for this procedure is essential.
- Fat grafting: in this procedure which is also known as autologous lip augmentation your own fat is usually harvested from the abdominal area and injected into your lips. Results usually last about five years.
- Tissue grafting: This is another method of autologous lip augmentation in which a part of your skin is removed (usually from the abdominal area), processed and inserted into your lips. Result of this procedure also lasts five years or longer.
Lip injections:
If you are looking for a non-surgical lip augmentation, hyaluronic acid lip injections are your go to procedure. This involves injecting hyaluronic acid ( a gel-like substance that has a very high tendency to absorb water molecules) into your lips which in turn creates the appearance of a thicker, fuller lip.
There are many benefits to lip filler injections.
- They are injected very slowly into your lips and can easily be adjusted to produce the desired shape and thickness of the lips.
- Hyaluronic acid filler injections are definitely safer than other fillers/Procedures and do not tend to promote allergic reactions, side effects or complications associated with other procedures.
- They are easily reversible if you do not like the outcomes.
- They stimulate your body to naturally increase its collagen production, allowing you to develop thicker lips overtime.
How Long Do Lip Fillers Last The First Time?
If you have considered lip filler injections to plump up your lips, probably you would like to know how long lip fillers last. Although not all the fillers are mentioned here, just to give you an idea, Here is the breakdown of the ones that are used most frequently:
- Restlane Family: 9-12 months
- Refine
- Defyn
- Kysse
- Juvederm Family: 9-12 months
- Volbella: 12 months
- Ultra XC: 9-12 months
- Belotero: 4-6 months
- Collagen: 3 months
- Zyderm
- Zypolast
Can You Make Lip Fillers Last Longer?
Lip fillers aren’t designed to last forever. However, there are things you can do to improve your results after your injection is done. Here are some tips to help you:
The best way to keep your lips full and plump is by
- getting regular treatments
- schedule your treatments before it fully wears off
- the more filler you use in your lips the longer they will last
- keep up with your skin care and hydration
- do not smoke
- some supplements including zinc may help ( anecdotal research)
- Reduce stress and eat healthy to combat inflammation .
- Wear SPF on your lips and avoid going out in the sun, especially during the hours of 11 to 3 PM when the sun is peaked.
Here are some tips to follow right after your lip filler injections are done so that you keep your results as good as can be:
- Do not put any pressure on your lips as you may disperse or misplace the filler.
- Sleep on your back to protect your lips from any pressure leading to misplacement of your filler.
- Apply ice after injection to decrease the inflammation.
- Avoid alcohol and exercise for 48 hours after injections, this will decrease the chance of delayed bleeding to the site.
What Makes Lip Filler Fade Away?
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occuring substance under our skin. You would be surprised to know that we constantly break down our own hyaluronic acid, remake and reposit it at a very fast rate of almost every three days. Most lip fillers are also made of hyaluronic acid, the only difference between the injectable and our naturally occurring hyaluronic is the chemical bonding so that the injectable one is broken down at a much slower pace so it stays in our body for a much longer duration of time. Ultimately The injectable hyaluronic acid goes through the same process and gradually gets absorbed although we know that the injectables do stimulate collagen formation in the area and will ultimately leave you with a little thicker lips even if it is fully broken down and absorbed.
