Are you looking to make a difference in your lips? The signs of aging are sometimes a surprise, and never more than when we notice our lips getting thinner and developing lines. Thankfully, there’s a way to treat these issues with Juvederm. At Ideal Face and Body in Beverly Hills, CA, we offer this effective injectible to address all the possible aging issues you might face. And the good news is there are formulas specially made to treat the lips.
The Best Type of Juvederm for Lips
You want your lips to look at their best, and that’s our goal, too. There are two great choices for you here: Ultra XC and Volbella XC. Both are perfect for treating the lips, and your choice will depend on your needs, goals, and preferences.
Ultra XC has long been the favorite, and it’s especially renowned for its consistency and comfort. On the other hand, Volbella XC is excellent for vertical lines and for smoothing out the wrinkles around the lips. It’s a less dramatic change, but it’s also very natural and lasts a bit longer. If you need a bigger effect, then Ultra XC is a great choice.
Your first step will always be to discuss your concerns with us in consultation. Then we can help you decide on the best choice for your needs.
How Does Juvederm Work?
This product is not just one injectable. It’s a whole family of products that are designed to add volume to the face while minimizing wrinkles. These injectables work by providing your skin with a substance called hyaluronic acid. This is actually a sugar that your body naturally produces, and it has two key functions: to hydrate and to facilitate the movement of nutrients through the cells.
Understanding Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is incredible when it comes to hydration. It binds to water and can hold as much as 1,000 times its own molecular weight. With all that water, your skin hydrates and plumps, minimizing lines and wrinkles. Your skin also looks more youthful and attractive.
Why Your Lips Change
It’s inevitable: we all notice changes in the mirror as we get older. We all develop wrinkles and see areas of lost volume, though it happens at different rates for each of us. Understanding why this happens makes it easy to understand why these injectables are such powerful treatments.
Developing Wrinkles
As we age, our body naturally stops producing elastin and collagen in the amounts it did when we were young, and since these proteins are key to a youthful, healthy look, the change can be dramatic. But unfortunately, that’s not the only thing working against our skin.
We also have to worry about our lifestyle and environmental factors. A lifetime spent in the sun–much of the time unprotected–takes a toll on the skin of our face, first. Even the pollution in the air around us harms our skin and brings on wrinkles and lines.
Losing Volume
Wrinkles aren’t the only thing to worry about when it comes to getting older. As we age, we start to lose some of the body fat that kept our faces looking full and youthful when we were younger. At the same time, changes in collagen cause our skin to become laxer and looser. As a result, we tend to look thinner and more hollow in the face as we age. This can happen especially around the lips. Our lips begin to thin, and we start to develop “lipstick lines” and other signs that give away our age.
Rejuvenate Your Skin
The good news is that we don’t’ have to just sit back and accept our wrinkles and lost volume. While they are natural and unavoidable, there is something you can do about them. Dermal fillers can give you back the youthful look you once enjoyed, and they can do it without a lot of downtime or dangerous side effects.
FAQ About Juvederm
What Areas of My Face Can Be Improved?
As mentioned, there’s a whole line of helpful dermal fillers, and they can be used on a wide range of imperfections. Of course, you can add volume to your lips and reduce the fine lines around your mouth. We can also use this line of dermal fillers to minimize the lines around the nose and those that appear from the corners of the chin to the mouth. It even works to minimize the look of tear troughs!
Does This Treatment Hurt?
Some cosmetic treatments can be pretty painful, and your lips in particular are a delicate area. You’ll be glad to know that these injections are fast and easy. There’s no need to worry!
We’ll start your treatment with a topical anesthesia that will numb the area so you’re completely comfortable. The needles we use are so fine that some people don’t even need a numbing cream at all.
The dermal filler itself contains lidocaine–a numbing agent–so it also doesn’t hurt going in. The whole treatment session takes between fifteen and twenty minutes, depending on how many areas we’re treating. Once you’re done, there’s no need to worry about any painful aftercare, either.
How Long Will It Take Me to Recover?
The concept of “recovery” makes us think of surgeries and other invasive procedures, but the term hardly applies to having dermal filler injections. This is an easy, gentle treatment that has no downtime. You can drive yourself home or back to work right after treatment and go back to your normal schedule.
What About the Results?
One reason these treatments are so popular is that they produce results very quickly. Most people see a change within just a few minutes, and at most you’ll only have to wait a few hours to see results. Those results will last until your body absorbs the hyaluronic acid, which it will do eventually, just as it processes the hyaluronic acid you produce naturally.
This means it’s hard to say for certain how long your results will last since it all depends on how quickly your body processes things. There are also some differences based on the type of filler we use. However, you can typically expect to enjoy your fuller lips and minimized wrinkles for at least nine months and up to a year. By scheduling occasional follow-up treatments, you can keep your great results indefinitely.
Scheduling Your Treatments
Scheduling maintenance treatments is simple, but the timing will be unique to your needs and your skin. Some people want to get a touch-up as soon as they notice a change, while other people prefer to set up regular appointments and keep those changes from ever showing up again. Whatever your preference, we can help you design a plan that works for you.
What Age Do I Need to Be for Treatment?
It’s fairly common for people to seek injectable treatments in their 40s. That’s about the time that the signs of aging start to really show for the average person. However, this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule that you have to obey!
If you’re older and have never had treatment before, it’s not too late. If you’re younger and experiencing premature aging signs, the time to begin is now. If you’re not seeing anything yet but want to prevent problems from appearing, you can have treatment. Instead of thinking about age, you should be thinking about your skin and the way you want to look.
Your Unique Skin
Let your skin tell you when it’s time to start using fillers. Your body is unique, and we all age at a different rate. Some people show signs of aging earlier than their peers, and that’s fine.
Loving Your Look
Maybe you’re not really seeing signs of aging that bother you yet. Perhaps you’d just like to improve on the face you’ve always had. You have the right to look the way you want, and if you’ve always dreamed of having full lips, you can get started right now on the look you’ve always hoped for.
What Is the Difference Between This and Botox?
You’ve probably heard of Botox and know that it’s an injectable treatment designed to improve wrinkles and the signs of aging. But how is it different from this treatment?
How Botox Works
We have two types of wrinkles on our faces: static and dynamic. Static wrinkles appear no matter what we do, while dynamic wrinkles form in places where our muscles make regular movements.
Botox is designed to treat dynamic wrinkles by interfering with the signal between the nerves and muscles so the muscles relax and the skin can smooth out. Juvederm, on the other hand, is especially effective against static wrinkles, and it can add volume to your face, which Botox cannot.
How to Decide
Choosing the right treatment is something you should do in consultation with us. We can help you understand what kind of wrinkles you’re dealing with and choose the right treatment or combination of treatments to get the look you want. In some cases, you will get the best effect from using both a dermal filler and Botox.
Are There Other Ways to Improve My Skin?
If you’re concerned about your lips or other signs of aging on your face, at Ideal Face & Body, we can offer a full line of useful treatments that can help you get the look you want. In addition to lip enhancements, dermal fillers, Botox, and other neuromodulators, we can also offer IPL and laser resurfacing, microneedling, and other effective treatments that will restore your youthful and vibrant look.
Am I a Candidate for Treatment?
Most people who are interested in getting treatment with a dermal filler are suitable candidates. Your body produces hyaluronic acid naturally, so you’re unlikely to be allergic. In addition, this is not an invasive surgical procedure, so there are very few contraindications or health conditions that can keep you from seeking treatment. There are just a few things to know.
First, if you have an allergy to lidocaine, you should not get treatment. If you’re not sure, but you’ve had severe allergic reactions to things in the past, we will probably advise you to treat your signs of aging another way.
When you meet with us for your initial consultation, be sure to tell us about your medical history, any health conditions you’re struggling with, and any medications or supplements you’re taking. Some of these should be paused for a short time before and after treatment to get the best results.
Get the Lips You’re Looking For
You don’t have to just live with the lines, wrinkles, and volume loss that come with age. You can improve your look with Juvederm, and we can’t wait to help you get started. Come visit us at Ideal Face and Body in Beverly Hills, CA today to learn more!
