Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.

Or a good grasp of what Juvéderm is. (That’s NOT Botox.)

Juvedérm is a hyaluronic acid that is injected into the lip to make it fuller.  It is also used in deep “1” lines in between the eyebrows and sometimes in the cheeks and naso-labial folds.  It’s a sugar your body naturally produces.  You don’t need allergy testing with this product.

It can be natural looking.  

There are two techniques for augmenting the natural lip.  A lot of women want/need volume.  As you age, your lip naturally beings to thin out.  Physical Facial Changes That Occur As We Age.  In order to restore the volume, the product must be placed in the wet/dry border (where your lip goes from wet to dry).

The full length of the needle is inserted into the border of the lip.  Yes.  It sounds like it hurts, but a topical numbing  cream should be applied 15-30 minutes prior to the procedure.  A lot of places will cheap out on this.  The stuff is expensive.  Trust me you want it.  Even if the product being used has a numbing agent in it (like Juvéderm XC – the XC stands for xylocaine, which is in the lidocaine family).  Plan on being numb from 1-4 hours.

If you have a low pain tolerance, request having a dental block.  This the procedure you have before you have dental work done.  The nerves are blocked with a pain killer, and you don’t feel anyyyyything.  Don’t drink or eat for 4 hours after a block.  I rarely do blocks, because I’m so good with a needle.  But natural redheads and light blondes are usually more sensitive to pain.  I usually recommend them for these Fitzpatrick I and II’s!

The Duck Look

I like my lips ducky.  Other people who like the duck look:  models, 21 year-old’s, bartenders, strippers… you get the point.  People who need to look sexy.  (You can WANT to look sexy and any age and any profession though!!!)  This look is achieved by inserting the length of the needle into the lip line, otherwise known as the vermillion border.  The volume there curls up the line.  Again, it should be numb so it won’t hurt as much.

Mouth Corners

Gravity turns down the corners of your mouth making you look a little frown-y as you age.  By inserting the needle at the lower lip and curving it around the lip’s corner, the lip turns more upward, getting rid of that frown.  A nice smile is attractive.  A frown is not.  This can be a little painful even with numbing cream, because of the location of nerve endings.

Columns

The Philtrum Columns are the two lines that come from your nose to your cupids bow.  They flatten as you age, so by recreating them, you look YEARS younger.   It pulls up the “Cupid’s Bow” area, which also becomes flatter as you age.  I’m not going to lie.  This hurts.  A lot.  There are a ton of nerve endings that come out of your nose and it’s very difficult to block them.  Expect there to be tears.  In this case, the tears are worth it though.  It lasts a good year or more.  And although I haven’t gone through child birth, it can’t possibly be as painful.   

The Pout

I am fully aware not everyone likes the Trout Pout (a term my friend Lauren gave me – http://www.shapeupwithLauren.com).  It’s another look I really like though.  Depending on how your natural lip is pre-injection, the product is deposited along the wet/dry border and/or the vermillion border.  I usually like to do both to make it extra pouty.

Proportions.

Proportion: The Rule of Thirds and Fifths and what should it be when it comes to  your lips?  The natural lip is 1/3 volume top lip and 2/3 volume bottom lip.  I see this isn’t necessarily true with darker Fitzpatrick types (V and VI).

Balance.

Many women who have larger noses and big eyes don’t need a nose job.  We need balance.  I naturally have huge eyes and a large nose.  By augmenting my lips, I’ve found some peace with my face.  I look proportional and balanced.  I have tons of clients who feel this way.  Lip Aug is way cheaper than a nose job!

Symmetry

You can use lip augmentation to fix a-symmetry.  Don’t expect it to be PERFECT though.  We all have a little a-symmetry with our face.  If you look at my lips, they aren’t perfectly symmetrical.  But, if you had your lips done, and your friends point stuff out without you telling them, go back to the practitioner.  If it’s real bad, they should fix it free of cost.  If it’s not noticeable, they’ll re-assure you that you’re crazy and you might have Body Dysmorphic Disorder.  It takes about 2 weeks for swelling to go down completely (even if you don’t see it, the inflammatory process is still in gear), therefore, wait two weeks before going back.

Pearls of Wisdom:

• Expect that you might bruise.  Everyone bruises differently.  If you are anemic (which many of us are during menstruation) or very fair skinned (Fitzpatrick I and II) I highly recommend buying Arnica cream and Bare Essentials makes a purple tinted gloss that works wonders, called Starr.
• Because you might bruise, don’t do your lips the day/week before a family get-together or a big party.  Questions will be asked.  That dentist was such a witch.  Wink wink.
• You will be swollen.  Anytime you puncture or traumatize the tissue your body responds with inflammation.  ICE.  20 minutes on 20 minutes off.  The more you ice, the less you swell.
• The next day, you will look a little more swollen, and your lips will feel very dry.  That is because hyaluronic acid attracts water molecules and you are still swollen from the injection.  Keep icing and applying a hydrating product to your lips.  I like Image’s Ormedic Balancing Lip Complex.  Pharmaceutical grade repair!  A lot of people like Burt’s Bees too.
• Juvéderm Ultra Plus XC is the best product for your lips.  It lasts 1 year + in most people, unlike Restyline, which lasts about 6 months or less.  Juvéderm Ultra isn’t as plumping because it’s not as concentrated with hyaluronic acid (although it is cheaper – so make sure your practitioner is using Ultra PLUS).

In Conclusion.

It’s ok to be sexy!  This isn’t 1820.  The Feminist Movement doesn’t restrict you to Intellectual Sexiness.  You can be pretty AND smart.  I am (and modest)!   Let’s face it ladies… men like tits and ass.  But they also like what I’ll refer to as DSL (Damn Sexy Lips… or if you want to be crass—D*ck Sucking Lips).  More importantly, it will make YOU feel sexy.  In case you don’t remember why I love my lip augmentation, you can read about it in The Halo Effect.  You want your husband/boyfriend to pay for this?  You mention this part.  “Imagine the Possibilities.” 

My Before…

People always request pictures of how I looked before.  I have a few of my photo’s from when I was in my early 20’s (that don’t have Pabst Blue Ribbon in them).  As you can see I had a nice lip line to begin with.  Symmetrical.  Nice Shape.  Full.  21 (ish).  The top is pretty flat, and thins a lot when I smile.  To me, my face looks out of proportion: big eyes, big nose… small lips… over tweezed eyebrows (hey, I didn’t always have such perfect style!)  I’d like to thank my dog, Nila, for posing.  Pitbull Love.

…After

From Girl-Next-Door to Diva.  See how my nose looks more balanced?

                                   If that face doesn’t scream “I

                               need Botox”  I don’t know what

                                 does!

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. 

Audrey Hepburn

Tags: aging, anti-aging, attractiveness, Audrey Hepburn, balance, beauty, collagen, duck, ducky lips, ducky mouth, face, Filler, frown, juvederm, lip, lip augmentation, lip injection, mouth, personal experience, pout, pouty, proportion, restiline, restyline, smile, symmetry, trout pout