LIP FLIP
Botox® and Dysport® are neuromodulators which are injected in small amounts around the lips to reduce muscle movement temporarily. The injection temporarily relaxes the muscles around your lip and causes the part of your upper lip that’s inside your mouth to “flip” upward and outward, giving your lip a fuller appearance.
When injected superficially over the upper lip muscle (orbicularis oris), the downward tension relaxes, and the lip can flip/curve back, rotating out slightly. The pink part of the lip is now more visible.
The lip flip will not add volume to your lips as lip fillers do. Instead, it can accentuate the results of your lip filler and also be used as a combination (duo) or as a touch up for existing lip filler patients.
- You want a slightly “poutier” mouth
- You want to experience a sight change before starting lip filler injection
- You want a temporary enhancement that will dissolve in roughly 4-6 weeks
- You would like to enhance or perk up your lips, but you don’t want to increase their size
- You want to treat the wrinkles above and/or directly underneath your lips also called “smoking likes”
The Lip Flip is short lived due to the movement of the mouth which enhances the metabolism of Botox®/Dysport®.
Prior to your lip flip, we will apply a numbing cream and most individuals describe the experience as pain free. You may feel a pinch or nothing. The whole process takes only a few minutes.
Lip augmentation, also known as lip filler, is done with hyaluronic acid dermal fillers.
Dermal Fillers, such as Restylane are thick, so when they are injected into the lips, they increase volume for about 4 to 6 months. Dermal Fillers are broken down and absorbed by the body over time.
Botox®/ Dysport® are neuromodulators, and they do not add volume or “fill”. Instead, they are medications used to reduce muscle movement temporarily. When injected superficially over the upper lip muscle (orbicularis oris), the downward tension relaxes, and the lip can flip/curve back, rotating out slightly.
Dermal Filler and Botox®/ Dysport® are different medial aesthetic tools, but the two are often used together in the lips and the whole face.
The lip flip and gummy smile injection stop your gums from showing when you smile
If you have a “gummy smile,” or your gums show when you smile, specialized injections may relax your lip elevator muscles so that less of your gums show when you smile. This involves injections with Botox®/ Dysport® to relax the lip elevator muscles (levator labii superioris alaeque nasi), which extend from the sides of the nose to the upper lips.
The lip flip allows more of your lip to show when you smile. Your muscles normally pull your upper lip tight when you grin, but a lip flip allows more of your lip to show when you are smiling.
Botox®/Dysport® relax the muscle temporarily, which means you may experience some or all of the following:
- Spitting, i.e. after brushing your teeth
- Whistling
- Eating with a spoon
- Drinking through a straw
- Rubbing your lips together, i.e. after applying lip balm
- Pronouncing certain words
If you sing, teach, talk, or lecture for a living, carefully weigh the risk of having temporarily impaired lip function against the benefit of a defined lip.
We offer Lip Flip and Lip Filler duo treatments for those who wish to have the following benefits:
- You want more lip volume
- You wish to smooth lips and accomplish a longer lasting improvement of the lines around your mouth
- You want to achieve a natural lip look without any “duck lip” concerns
- You have a pronounced lip asymmetry
- You want long-lasting lip augmentation (4 to 6 months)
- You are seeking dramatic reshaping due to asymmetry, and a volume increase for upper and lower lips due to volume loss while maturing
