Will Lip Fillers Turn Me Into Kylie Jenner?

In the West, Lip Fillers have become synonymous with the likes of Kylie Jenner and the Kardashian clan. In the East, there is a slow but sure resurgence of interest in lip fillers as a greater understanding on lip aesthetics and the different types of lip fillers unfolds. We ask Dr Kenneth Lee, medical director of SW1 Clinic, who has been in the medical aesthetics industry for over 15 years to shed some light on this key area.

Salma: Do you see more women coming to you for lip fillers?

Dr Lee: In my 15 years of performing facial fillers, there has been perhaps a slight increase in women coming to me for Lip Fillers, perhaps not as significant an increase as in the Western world. The reason being that Asians are still relatively conservative when it comes to their lips. Additionally, there exists in our Asian society a misconception that anyone undergoing Lip Fillers are likely to see a big change like Kylie Jenner and will come out with huge lips! This is most certainly not the case. In fact, patients who have undergone lip fillers have been one of my most loyal subset of patients. This is because lip fillers are relatively inexpensive, and when done well can add instant sex appeal to a face. There are not many aesthetic enhancements that can do that. For instance, if I laser away someone’s pigmentation, yes, they will look better, but they won’t look sexier.

 

Salma: How important are our lips in terms of facial beauty?

Dr Lee: I am glad you asked that because our lips are one of the most overlooked features on our face. This is not just my personal opinion. According to a study by Manchester University, lips are the first thing a man notices in a woman. Researchers tracked eye movements of fifty men as they looked at images of different women. They found that the average man spends 54% of the first ten seconds when they meet a new woman, looking at her lips.

 

Salma: Are there different types of Lip Fillers?

Dr Lee: Yes, dermal fillers have been around for a long time so there is now a huge plethora of different types of dermal fillers, each with unique filling properties that can deliver specific benefits to your lips. For instance, Revitalift Lips are fine natural hyaluronic acid fillers that has excellent water-attracting capacity. Their main function when added to the lips is to hydrate and soften the lips without adding volume. Lip Shaping Fillers can be done with Restylane Lip which are only injected into strategic areas of the lips to improve the final shape and correct the overall proportions. For example, someone with a wide and flat lips may desire a sexier “rosebud” shape and will have her fillers injected to outline her cupid’s bow and to enhance the central portion of the lips and the “pillows” of the lower lips. Lip Volume Fillers are mainly used to augment the overall volume of the lips.

Lip Shaping Fillers can make all the difference

Salma: Who are suitable for the different types of Lip Fillers?

Dr Lee: Actually, everyone can benefit from some amount of lip enhancement at some point in their lives. Even if you were born with ideal lips, your lips will lose its natural shape and suppleness with age. A smoker may have lip lines and dehydrated lips. It is not true that only women with thin lips need lip fillers.

Someone with dehydrated lips, or lips with many lip lines but does not want an increase in lip volume can benefit from Revitalift Lips. If you have a flattened or an aging pair of lips, you may benefit from Lip Shaping Fillers. Simply put, if you want to improve on the proportions of your lips, then Lip Shaping Fillers may help bring your lips closer to the ideal. Finally, someone with thin lips can restore volume with Lip Volume Fillers. The truth is that many women may have combinations of any of the above to get the ideal end-point; someone may start with Lip volume fillers to restore the volume then maintain with Revitalift Lips for hydration.

Salma: Do you have patients who want to look like Kylie Jenner?

Dr Lee: Yes and No. There are patients who bring in photos of celebrities such as Kylie Jenner or Angelina Jolie and demand for identical lips as them. However it is important to remember that what looks good on someone else may not always look good on you. It is far better to look at what you already have, and work with that to match the rest of your face. This way, you are guaranteed a naturally enhanced result and not an unnatural one. I also have patients who so fear a drastic change that they tell me that they DON’T want Kylie Jenner’s lips, to illustrate the point that they do not want a big change. So I work with all lips and all expectations. Understanding what my patients want is first and foremost the most important thing in my role as a doctor.

Relaxing muscles that cause downturning of mouth corners

Salma: What other treatments are there for the lips?

Dr Lee: Unbeknownst to many, there are certain muscles around the mouth that create a downward pull on the corners of our lips, resulting in a constantly downturned mouth. Sometimes, a small touch of muscle relaxant in these muscles can relax these tense muscles and make the lips appear more balanced and happy. This also goes for the Mentalis muscle in our chin; many ladies don’t realise they are tensing their chin, resulting in a constant dimpling effect on their chin, this distracts away from the beauty of the lips. I would also relax this mentalis muscle to smoothen out the chin so that it doesn’t detract away from the beauty of the lips.

By Salma Kang