07 Jul The magic of beautiful lips – and my framing method of lip injections.

Posted at 12:22h in Minimally invasive by muggenthaler

A friendly smiling mouth, full and gracefully curved lips… these are exactly the features that make every face appear more attractive and youthful. So it’s no wonder that so many women want to have their lips enhanced. Volume certainly plays an important role here, but the shape of the lips is also crucial for a harmonious overall look.

However, simply “injecting lips” with the infamous inflatable boat results is definitely a thing of the past. In addition to optimal volume, the right curve, the interplay of contours and the harmonious proportions of the upper and lower lip are decisive for the attractiveness of the lips. As an aesthetic facial surgeon, I recognize which aspects make up the perfection of a lip. With the FRAMING technique, my special type of lip injection, I am able to design the ideal lip for every face.

The myth of beautiful lips – as old as mankind

It is really not necessary to think too much about the theoretical meaning of beautiful lips. It is far too obvious how important good looks, attractive faces and beautiful, prominent lips have always been for people.

In general, we place the chronological beginning of human culture on certain developments in which people began to represent themselves. It is of course interesting to note the importance attached to individual parts of the human body in the earliest and oldest surviving records from this period. These were obviously signs of female fertility, a rather round and feminine body, full breasts and …. full lips too!

Overview of the different methods for lip correction

Surgical lip correction

As there are now excellent non-invasive options for lip enhancement, surgical methods play only a very minor role. However, they still deserve a mention, as there is no way around them in certain cases.

As a facial surgeon, I also deal with the surgical correction of cleft lips and palates. Anatomically correct restoration, including the shape of the lips, plays a particularly important role in these treatments. Probably no other field of plastic surgery pays as much attention to the smallest details of lip anatomy and aesthetics as this type of surgery.

Some techniques for enhancing the shape of the lips originate from lip and palate surgery. For example, lifting of the central lip through a so-called BULL HORN excision under the nasal entrance or direct lifting of the lip-RED-WEISS border through skin excisions. As these methods always leave scars, even if they can be very inconspicuous, the advantages and disadvantages must be weighed up very carefully. Overall, apart from congenital malformations and injury-related scars, there are very few indications for surgical aesthetic lip correction today.

The development of the filler

Liquid silicone was first used for lip augmentation in the 1960s. The treatments were hardly painful and the results were overwhelming… until, unfortunately, the disadvantages came to light a few years later. The liquid silicone had the unpleasant property of “wandering”. It spread across the corners of her mouth, down her cheeks and towards her chin. In some cases, however, it also triggered connective tissue reactions, so-called “granulomas”, which not only appeared as unsightly hardening and swelling, but could also cause pain. After only a few years, injections with liquid silicone were therefore banned in most countries, but continued to be carried out for many years.

Since one of the main reasons for lip treatment has always been augmentation, the corresponding implant materials were called FILLERs

Collagen for lip augmentation

Since the 1980s, collagen has established itself as the treatment of choice for wrinkle correction and lip augmentation. The disadvantage, however, was the animal origin of the bovine skin, which is why some patients had to struggle with allergic reactions. Another disadvantage: the short shelf life.

Lip correction with autologous fat

It is not known exactly when autologous fat began to be used as an implant material for lip augmentation. The method only really became known about 20 years ago, but has not been able to establish itself because there are too many disadvantages.

Polylactic acid, acrylates, alginates and hydroxylappatite have also been used as fillers in the past, but have not proven to be effective on the lips and should not be used here under any circumstances.

Hyaluronic acid filler – the breakthrough in lip enhancement

Nowadays, when we talk about “lip injections”, we usually mean lip injections with hyaluronic acid. Hyaluron has established itself as the filler of choice over the last 25 years and is far superior to its predecessors in most criteria. Together with botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid has virtually revolutionized the entire field of aesthetic medicine. It has become possible, without great effort and with very little risk, to make faces look not only more wrinkle-free, but also genuinely younger.

Hyaluronic acid is an essential component of the human body. It binds water and thus provides more volume. As the hyaluronic acid used is produced synthetically and is extremely well accepted by the body, side effects are particularly rare. The increased water content also leads to an improvement in metabolic processes in the skin.

We have also been using hyaluronic acid fillers in our clinic for 25 years. As a facial surgeon, I see hyaluronic acid as much more than just a filler – it is a valuable tool for shaping and sculpting.

From simply “pumping up your lips” to styling

The uncritical “pumping up” of the lips sometimes comes across as somewhat vulgar. The results are then derogatorily referred to as “balloon tires” or “inflatable boats”. Yes, of course there really is something to it. If I simply add volume in an uncontrolled manner, the result can only be a contourless balloon.

But what actually makes lips beautiful? Volume certainly plays a major role, but only triggers key stimuli at best. With beautiful lips, it is not only the absolute volume but also the right curve, the interplay of contours and the special proportions that make them attractive.

The FRAMING technique according to Dr. Muggenthaler

Creating beautiful lips is a craft. Art, because only a precise vision of aesthetics shows the right way – and craftsmanship, because the appropriate materials must be used sensibly to achieve the desired goal. Beautiful lips are like the facade of a building. Especially when harmoniously curved shapes are to be created, it is all the more important that the scaffolding is stable and that all building materials fulfill their special function well. It requires solid beams for support, but then also lighter connecting elements and fillers for the surfaces.

At our clinic in Gutach, we only use hyaluronic acid fillers from the GALDERMA product range for lip injections. The product “RESTYLANE CLASSIC” in particular, which has been tried and tested for 25 years, provides us with an extremely durable, stable and safe filler. RESTYLANE CLASSIC is ideal for building up the “framework” of the lips. In the first treatment step, the lip-red-white border is stabilized and the areas of maximum projection are highlighted.

We use the product RESTYLANE KYSSE to add volume to the lip itself. It can be molded very easily and conveys a particularly natural feel. Small wrinkles above the lips (pleated wrinkles) can be optimally corrected by superficial injections with RESTYLANE FINE TOUCH.

To restore smoothness and suppleness to the red of the lips, we use the RESTYLANE VITAL skin booster, which is evenly distributed under the surface.

Immediately after the treatment, the result looks pretty good. A special cream and an aloe vera cooling pad are used to reduce swelling.

The diverse treatment options of hyaluronic filler:

If it turns out that the shape and volume are not yet perfect, it can be reworked after a few days with little effort. In general, the results of a lip correction last about 6 months, but deviations upwards and downwards are also possible.