The lowdown on the various lip-enhancing methods available
“There are a number of ways to plump up your mouth,” says Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Randal Haworth. The results can look natural, but “some women go overboard and keep asking for more injection,” he says. Also, if your lips don’t have the right pouty shape, adding lots of filler will just make them look fake. Still, that doesn’t stop some from supersizing. Here’s what they’re having injected:
COLLAGEN
Running anywhere from $350 to $1,000, collagen is the original lip-plumping material. The procedure takes just 10 minutes, but the results last only one to three months. Also, there’s a 1 to 3 percent chance of an allergic reaction.
HYALURONIC ACID
According to Dr. Haworth, Beverly Hills celebs and socialites are all talking about these trendy new alternatives to collagen (like Hylaform, Restylane, and Perlane). Treatments cost about $1,000 and last about three to six months.
FAT
Using a small syringe, a surgeon takes fat from the patient’s body, processes it, and injects it into her lips. The procedure requires sedation, but after two weeks of swelling (and around $2,000), her pout will be permanently fuller.
SILICONE
This is another permanent method, which costs about $600. But beware: The fluid can harden and migrate, causing lumps that can be treated only with surgery. For this reason, most plastic surgeons don’t recommend it.
ARE THOSE LIPS LEGIT?
The following are signs that a woman’s plus-size mouth might be man-made. The skin of the lips is stretched tight, making the surface of her smacker appear silky smooth (think stuffed sausage), without the vertical lines and creases found on natural lips.
Her mouth looks like it has lumps below the surface.
The Cupid’s bow isn’t very pronounced, so the top lip line runs fairly straight across from one side to the other.
The upper lip is larger than the lower one. In nature, the bottom one is almost always bigger.
SOURCE: BEVERLY HILLS PLASTIC SURGEON RANDAL HAWORTH
