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Lip filler may be one of the most popular aesthetic treatments, but achieving beautiful lips isn’t always just about treating the lips.
Your lips are one part of a larger facial structure. Chin projection, facial proportions, muscle movement, the area around the mouth, and even skin quality can all influence how your lips look.
At GFaceMD rather than focusing on one feature in isolation, we consider how each area works together to create overall facial harmony.
Before your next lip filler appointment, here are a few areas your provider may want you to consider.
1. Your Chin
You came in for your lips so why are we talking about your chin?
Because lip and chin projection are closely related when viewing the face in profile.
If the chin is recessed or under-projected, adding significant projection to the lips can sometimes make the imbalance between the two areas more noticeable. In the right patient, strategically placed chin filler can improve lower-face proportions and complement the lips.
Chin filler may be used to:
- Improve chin projection
- Add definition to the lower face
- Create greater balance between the lips and chin
- Enhance the profile
- Address certain asymmetries
This doesn’t mean everyone getting lip filler needs chin filler. It means the chin is worth evaluating when creating a balanced treatment plan.
2. The Area Around Your Mouth
Volume changes around the mouth, fine lines, skin quality, and facial movement can all affect how the lips appear.
Simply adding more filler to the lips may not address these concerns and in some cases, continually adding volume to the lips isn’t the most appropriate solution.
Your provider may instead recommend treating the perioral area, or the region surrounding the mouth, as part of your plan.
Depending on your anatomy and concerns, this could involve injectable treatments, skin treatments, or a combination approach.
3. Your Smile
How your lips look at rest is only half the story.
Your provider should also evaluate how your lips move when you smile, speak, and make facial expressions.
For example, some patients have an upper lip that turns inward or becomes less visible when they smile. In appropriate candidates, a lip flip using a small amount of neurotoxin may help create slightly more upper-lip show without adding additional filler volume.
Other patients may have significant gum show when smiling. If muscle activity is contributing, strategically placed neurotoxin may be considered to help reduce the elevation of the upper lip.
These treatments aren’t replacements for lip filler and address different concerns that can compliment filler.
4. Your Lower Face and Profile
Sometimes the goal isn’t simply “bigger lips.” It’s a more balanced profile.
When evaluating your lips, your provider may look at the relationship between your:
- Nose
- Lips
- Chin
- Jawline
- Cheeks
A subtle change to one feature can influence how another feature is perceived.
For example, improving chin projection may make the lips look more balanced in profile without needing to add as much volume to the lips themselves.
This is why we encourage patients to think in terms of facial balancing rather than treating individual features in isolation.
5. Existing Lip Filler
If you’ve had lip filler before, one of the most important things to evaluate may be what’s already there.
Hyaluronic acid filler can remain present longer than patients sometimes expect. Previous filler may also contribute to changes in the shape, borders, or proportions of the lips.
If your lips aren’t looking the way you’d like, the answer isn’t always to add more filler.
Your provider may recommend allowing additional time between treatments or, in appropriate cases, dissolving previous filler before creating a new treatment plan.
At GFaceMD, aesthetic ultrasound may also be incorporated into filler evaluation when clinically appropriate to provide additional information about previously placed filler beneath the skin.
6. Your Skin Quality
Lip filler adds volume and structure, but it isn’t designed to correct every concern around the mouth.
If your primary concern is fine lines, crepey skin, uneven texture, or overall skin quality, simply adding more filler may not provide the result you’re looking for.
Depending on your skin and goals, your treatment plan may incorporate treatments designed to improve skin quality and stimulate collagen.
By treating both structure and skin, we can take a more comprehensive approach to rejuvenating the area around the mouth.
Why We Look Beyond the Lips at GFaceMD
Aesthetic treatments shouldn’t be about chasing individual features.
They’re about understanding creating harmonious results that compliment your natural features.
Before recommending lip filler, your GFaceMD provider will provide a comprehensive assessment of your lip anatomy, chin projection, profile, facial movement, surrounding skin, previous filler, and overall facial proportions.
You may still leave with a plan for lip filler. Or we may identify another treatment that can complement your lips and help you achieve the result you’re actually looking for.
Thinking About Lip Filler?
Whether it’s your first lip filler treatment or you’re looking to refresh previous lip filler, a comprehensive facial assessment can help determine what will best complement your natural features.
Schedule a consultation at GFaceMD to create a personalized treatment plan based on your lips, facial anatomy, and aesthetic goals.
Individual results vary. Injectable treatments carry potential risks and may not be appropriate for everyone. Certain uses of botulinum toxin described above may be off-label. A consultation with a qualified medical provider is necessary to determine appropriate treatment.
