25 Jun 2024 | by Dr. Leonard Miller
As a Board-Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, my job is to create or restore harmony to your face. Ideally, all facial features should be in proportion to one another. While most people find it easy to recognize when the nose, for example, is not quite right, many don’t realize that the lips can play a huge role in creating a more youthful countenance. Thanks to social media, we have all seen images of lips that are way overdone. This is not what I do. My goal is to increase the volume in your lips in such a way that it is completely natural looking. I want others to tell you how great you look without knowing that you’ve done anything unless you choose to tell them. For this reason, my Boston area patients tend to find that the cost of a lip augmentation is worth the money.
How Expensive is a Lip Augmentation with Fillers?
I make it a point to be extremely up front with my patients as to the cost of any given procedure. This includes not only the actual bill, but also:
- What is the recovery time?
- Will I need multiple treatments?
- Are the results long-lasting?
- Does the procedure deliver on rejuvenation?
A lip augmentation with fillers in Boston will cost anywhere from $500 - $1,000 depending on which type and the amount of filler or fillers that we need to deliver to your goals. Every set of lips is completely unique as is every face so your best friend’s lip augmentation may not be right for you. This is a procedure that delivers a lot of bang for the buck. There is very little downtime and depending on how your body metabolizes filler, the results can last anywhere from 6 months to a year. Most importantly, even a slight change in the volume and shape of your lips can deliver dramatic rejuvenation. And when you look more youthful, you feel more confident, energized and excited about life.
Natural Looking Lip Augmentation is Possible
The trend among many younger patients in the last few years has been to over volumize the lips so that they appear almost alien. This has resulted in many patients feeling anxious about getting a lip augmentation with fillers. I understand, but when you see an experienced plastic surgeon such as myself, a natural looking lip augmentation is not only possible, it is the only result that I deliver.
First, I never over inflate the lips. The key is to match the upper and lower lip so I am always working within the confines of your native lip structure. We do not want a “duck lip” nor should the top lip ever overlap the bottom lip. Second, your lips must be proportional to the rest of your mid-face, particularly the prominence of your nose and chin. My job is to assess the projection of your mid and lower face, and create a set of lips that balance out the two.
Ideal Candidate for Lip Augmentation
The best candidate for a lip augmentation with fillers is any man or woman in good overall health who is bothered by lips that are too small, or who has lost volume in their lips with age. The latter happens to everyone with time as the skin and tissues lose their youthful, plumping collagen and elastin with every birthday starting around age 25. This is why a lip augmentation can be great for all ages. There are very few restrictions in terms of who can have the procedure, but if you are prone to cold sores, I will have you pre-treat with an anti-viral medication beforehand, just to be safe.
Lip Augmentation Procedure
Like any filler procedure, I perform a lip augmentation in the office. Since the lips are sensitive, my staff will take the appropriate steps to make the procedure as comfortable as possible, numbing the area with a topical anesthetic cream and ice. But this is a procedure with a certain degree of discomfort during the injections themselves. It doesn’t last, however, and most patients find the results are worth it.
If the edge of your lip, or vermilion border, is flat or you’ve lost good definition around your lips with age, I will address this with heavier weight filler that provides structure. The pad of your lips requires a different, more plumping filler. Most older patients, and some younger ones, will also have vertical lines between the lip and the nose. Often referred to as “smokers” lines, these can be present in patients who’ve never even held a cigarette. They also require very precise injections as just a little too much can make the whole area look worse. Addressing these vertical lines with exemplary results is one of my areas of expertise. Furthermore, it is only by improving the entire area, not just the lips themselves, that we can achieve the natural-looking “wow” result that we both want.
To find out more about a lip augmentation with fillers, or any other surgical or non-surgical procedure with Dr. Leonard Miller at the Boston Center for Plastic Surgery, contact us today or call (617) 402-2768 to schedule a consultation at his Boston or Brookline offices.
