Recently, the digital community went into a bit of a crazy spiral as people attempted to obtain a set of Kylie Jenner Lips. Some clever cookie figured out you can temporarily swell your lips by sucking them through a glass bottle, thus obtaining a fuller pout for an Instagram pic. They also figured out this is a pretty good way of incurring painful bruising.
If emulating your favorite Hollywood star’s trout-pout is your goal, let us recommend one of the following procedures instead of the glass-bottle method. You’ll get far more bang for your buck, and results that last much longer.
What you also might want to know is how different celebrities obtain their varied looks. In particular, some celebrities choose a more permanent solution to enhancing their lips, and opt for a surgical lip augmentation. Alternatively, many also choose less permanent but faster options such as dermal fillers. Here, we discuss three main types of lip enhancements that have different aesthetic results.
First, let’s have a quick look at why we are so lip-obsessed. This insider info may help you make a wise decision as you decide which lip-augmentation procedure is correct for you.
Why Do We Consider Full Lips More Attractive?
Though it may sound strange, our attraction toward individuals with full, pouting lips probably stems from an innate desire to care for that person.
Full lips in adults are what scientists refer to as a “neotenous” feature – meaning they are juvenile characteristics retained by an adult. Typically, juvenile facial characteristics include large eyes, protruding cheekbones, and full lips – physical traits that signify youth. And as humans are, at base, social, caring creatures, these juvenile physical traits prompt positive caretaking responses from other people.
The youthful nature of full lips makes other people instinctively warm toward that individual. But how can you best achieve full lips without sticking your mouth in a vacuum?
While dermal fillers are one option, many people also consider a more permanent lip augmentation procedure, such as one of the following.
Vermilion Lip Advancement
Vermilion is the pink, reddish part of the lip, and is what defines the lips on our face. Our lips are pinkish-red because the skin here is particularly thin, and reveals the blood vessels close to the skin surface. The vermilion border is the boundary of our lips’ delicate skin and our thicker facial skin.
As the name of the procedure implies, a vermilion lip advancement extends the pink skin of the lips. We can achieve this goal by removing some of the skin above the vermilion border, thus repositioning the vermilion border of the lips and making the pink skin more prominent.
Lip Lift
There are two different types of lip lift. One lifts the upper lip, and the other lifts the corners of the mouth. Both of these procedures result in a more friendly, relaxed complexion, and like the vermilion lip advancement, increases the prominence of the vermilion border.
During an upper lip lift, the surgeon excises some of the skin between the upper lip and the base of the nose. By doing so, they pull the upper lip up and out, thus revealing more of the pink skin of the upper lip.
A corner lip lift sets the corners of the mouth slightly higher, thus creating a small, permanent smile.
Both the vermilion lip advancement and lip lift are surgical procedures. If you would prefer a faster, less drastic fix for your mouth, you may consider the viral “keyhole pout” technique.
Keyhole Pout
Achieving the keyhole pout relies on dermal fillers injected into the upper and lower lips. These celebrity lip injections create a subtly sexy divide between the upper and lower lips. This lip augmentation procedure provides satisfying results, but they don’t last as long as their surgical counterparts.
If your lips lack volume, shape, and pout, consider a lip augmentation procedure. Many patients get highly satisfactory results with the vermilion lip advancement or a lip lift procedure, but if you are unsure whether surgery is right for you, perhaps choose dermal fillers first to see the results.
Dr. Maya Kato, founder of Aesthetic Art Facial Rejuvenation, is a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in facial cosmetic surgery. Her clients have voted her Palm Springs Life magazine’s Top Doctor for seven consecutive years due to the unmatched patient experience she can provide. To consult her about your lip-enhancing procedure, please don’t hesitate to call 760-610-5558 now or fill out her online form to arrange a consultation.