This muscle relaxation can also help smooth vertical lines around the lips. Most patients notice the effects within a few days of treatment, with full results in about one week.
The lip flip can also have a wrinkle-reducing effect on your upper lip, smoothing vertical lip lines.
Botox is a nonsurgical procedure that's used to smooth wrinkles by temporarily relaxing muscles. It can be done around the mouth to reduce the appearance of smile lines. The effects of the procedure typically last about 3 to 6 months.
Lip Flip FAQs
This technique has been used to reduce the appearance a gummy smile and aging around the mouth including fine lines around the lips (marionette lines) and a thinning upper lip.
You can carefully eat or drink shortly after your lip flip procedure. However, take care not to eat any messy foods that may cause you to wipe your face or lips for at least three days. Avoid using drinking straws or smoking for at least three days. Puckering or contracting your lips may cause the Botox to migrate.
As with any surgical procedure, not everyone's smile is suitable for a lip flip – even those who may be good candidates for lip fillers. "The ideal patient is someone who has a hyperactive muscle around their mouth that causes their upper lip to turn in or pull up dramatically when they smile," Dr. Amalfi says.
About two to three days after a lip flip, patients will notice that their upper lip appears larger as the muscle relaxes. The maximum results are evident a week to 10 days after treatment. These are not drastic results, but they are noticeable to patients, especially when comparing pre- and post-treatment photographs.
You likely will be happy with the Botox lip flip if:
You feel your upper lip looks invisible when you smile. You want fuller-looking lips but do not want additional volume. You want a more temporary treatment (3-4 months)
The most effective and longest lasting treatment to turn back the clock around the mouth is the use of a fractional CO2 laser. In the hand of a skilled physician with an aesthetic sense, this laser works effectively to smooth out wrinkles and reduce lines.
Ultherapy can give significant tightening and lifting in this area – one treatment with results noticeable within three months in most everyone treated. RF devices have become much more sophisticated and do significant tightening in this area — the Venus Legacy, the EndyMed 3Deep, and others work very well here.
Botox works by relaxing the muscles around the mouth, but it cannot soften the deep folds in the nasolabial area. In this case, a volume-adding injectable like dermal fillers is often the better choice because it can fill the deep wrinkles and smoothen the skin.
If you already have a decent amount of volume in your lips but would like to alter the shape, a lip flip might be the better choice. If you want added volume and longer-lasting results, then lip fillers may be what you're looking for.
While both procedures cause the upper lip to 'kick' out more, the results of lip lift surgery differs from lip flick injections in that the injections relax the muscles around the upper lip, while surgery shortens the distance between the upper lip and the nose (philtrum).
Wrinkles on the sides of the mouth can be caused by many factors, including age, gender, genetics, sun exposure, smoking, and even a person's beauty regimen. Among them, the simple skin aging process is one of the main and inevitable causes of the formation of wrinkles around the mouth.
Like other types of facial wrinkles, marionette lines are caused by natural collagen losses that occur with age. Collagen itself is a protein that naturally plumps up your skin. Gravity also plays a role in sagging skin around the chin, making marionette lines more noticeable.
Nasolabial folds are the indentation lines on either side of the mouth that extend from the edge of the nose to the mouth's outer corners. They become more prominent when people smile. These folds also tend to deepen with age.
One of the best treatments for wrinkles around the mouth is night cream formulated with retinol, as it works alongside the skin's natural production of collagen. No7 Pure Retinol Night Cream helps to visibly smooth the appearance of wrinkles around the mouth and face in just two weeks.
The lines around the lips are often caused by the repetitive movement of muscles and Botox relaxes muscles. Injections of Botox by a trained healthcare professional in small amounts can significantly reduce the appearance of lip lines by preventing or reducing the movement of the muscles.
Just as with traditional facial Botox, lip flip results take time. While some patients see the results in as early as three to four days, you'll get the full lip flip look 10 to 12 days after your injections.
With lip flips, your lips only appear plumper. The actual volume of your lips doesn't increase. Instead, it gets rearranged to make your lips look full and natural. During a dermal filler, your lips are injected with a substance made from hyaluronic acid, which creates a structured and hydrated appearance in your lips.
Doesn't address the lower lip.
While the lip flip can create the illusion of fuller lips overall, BOTOX is not injected into the lower lip during this procedure.
The upper lip's skin and the nose's base are very closely linked. As such, if a plastic surgeon doesn't have the appropriate skills or experience, a lip lift can distort the appearance of the nose, particularly the base and the nostrils. However, this only occurs when a lip lift is done poorly.