The truth about subtle ‘natural’ lip fillers
Surgeons are reporting a rise in lip jobs that defy the usual plumped-up pout. Grazia reports…
THE SPIEL: For many of us, theme re whisper of lip filler is enough to conjure thoughts of trout pouts aplenty, deeming any form of lip enhancement a no-go for fear of looking obviously ‘done’. But now it seems there’s an emerging trend for notably more natural-looking lip filler; a backlash against the pillowed effect we’re accustomed to seeing on Instagram and reality TV. In the past year, Kylie Jenner – who sparked a surge in Millennials seeking enlarged lips over the past half a decade – revealed she’d started dissolving her formerly amped-up filler in favour of a more ‘natural’ look. Meanwhile, three of my friends have opted in for the ‘anti-trout-pout lip job’ – women who would have previously balked at the notion of ‘having their lips done’. But can a subtle lip job ever be just that?
THE rEAL I Ty: While the desired look is ‘natural’, there’s nothing natural about having your lips injected with hyaluronic acid. Although we naturally produce it, the substance used in dermal filler is made in a lab and will break down and disintegrate within six to nine months (depending on how your body metabolises the filler). That’s why it’s crucial to trust only qualified aesthetic doctors. Complications can include allergic reactions, occlusion of blood vessels and, in more extreme situations, exploding, leaking lips.
Professor Kambiz Golchin, a top consultant facial plastic surgeon, with clinics in Knightsbridge and Dublin, is the doctor to whom I turn. I’ve seen him before for Botox and a smidgen of filler under my eyes, but this seems riskier and I am apprehensive about what could go wrong.
‘ When your lips are naturally thinner, going bigger needs to happen gradually,’ he tells me. ‘It would be easy to pick up a syringe and just fill up the lips two sizes, but then the filler is not going to sit right or integrate well with the tissues,’ he explains. ‘If you put too much in one go, the body can’t cope and that’s when you get the telltale “trout pout” look, which affects the way you speak and how you hold your mouth.’ Golchin tells me that, while I will notice a subtle difference today, he would like me to come back in six months for a top-up: ‘Because your top lip is naturally quite thin, at this stage all I am going to do is show a little bit more of the red fleshy part and give definition around the border.’ He tells me that, after the age of 30, women’s lip density shrinks by 10% every 10 years – which would explain why, at 38, my top lip now feels pretty much non-existent.
My big question: will it hurt? ‘ We use a strong anaesthetic cream and won’t start anything until your lips are numb,’ Golchin explains. I wait about 10 minutes for the cream to kick in, and when the injections start – around 24 in total – it is uncomfortable, yes, but not painful. I wince only a couple of times and later I notice a small bruise on the inside of my top lip. The whole process takes just over 20 minutes.
THE VERDICT: For the first two days my lips are tender and I can feel the product when I touch them, which freaks me out a bit. But 48 hours later, once everything has calmed down, I definitely notice a difference – though not everyone does. My brother and my best friend can’t work out what I’ve had done, but both agree I look ‘well’. I attend a party four days later and when I put on my favourite red lipstick, it looks – in my mind – better than before. After two weeks, they’ve really settled down. I’m growing increasingly used to my ‘natural’ lips.