Different Types of Lip Lift Techniques
Having full lips is one connotation of youth, beauty, and sex appeal, which is why, not surprisingly, so many people in the public eye feel the need to have them enhanced. One of the most common cosmetic procedures that are performed today is a lip lift or lip augmentation. Kylie Jenner wasn’t the first celebrity to suddenly appear with brand-new lips, even if she was the first to get millions of young girls trying to imitate them. Angelina Jolie, Scarlet Johansen, Julia Roberts, Kerry Washington, Megan Fox, not to mention a slew of supermodels, all have particularly pouty and sexy lips. Lip lift procedures can be performed using both surgical and non-surgical methods.
What is a Lip Lift?
When you hear the term lip lifting, it generally refers to an upper lip lift. An upper lip lift is a surgical procedure that is used to elevate the upper lip to create a fuller poutier upper lip and to decrease the amount of distance between the lip and the nose.
Dr. Jacono regularly performs lip lifts and he considers it to be one of his favorite procedures to perform. The operation can be tailored to elevate different sections of the lip along the central cupid’s bow to make them shapelier. When patients have a long distance between the nose and the upper lip it draws away from the beauty of the upper face, cheeks, and eyes. For this reason, there are younger patients who have longer upper lips that benefit immensely from this surgery. When performed on older patients, this lifts the visual perspective of the face and can trick the eye into thinking an entire facelift has been done. This subtle alteration makes people look years younger and rejuvenated.
Dr. Andrew Jacono is a Fellowship-trained, dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon who specializes in procedures of the face and neck. He is considered to be one of the top facial surgeons in the world and is a pioneer in lip lift procedures.
Lip Lifting Techniques New York
Lip Lifts – Plump Lips – Lip Augmentation – Lip Enhancement – Upper Lip Lift
There are many different techniques that can be used to perform a lip lift. Which technique Dr. Jacono uses will be determined based on each patient and their lip rejuvenation goals. Below is a list of lip lifting techniques and what each involves.
Gull-Wing Lift: A Gull Wing Lift removes a strip of skin above the border of your upper lip. The cut-out is M-shaped to advance the border of your upper lip. The incision is made where the pink part of your upper lip meets the skin of your top lip. This lip lift leaves a more visible scar and as a result, I rarely do this procedure. It is most effective in patients who are older and have fair thin skin. Its real utility is to advance the border of the lip that flattens more significantly with age. I would never do this surgery on a patient less than 60 years old.
Bullhorn Lip Lift: During this procedure, an incision in the shape of a bullhorn is made just beneath your nose. A tiny strip of skin and tissue is removed, the muscle tightened, and the upper lip is raised to its new position.Your scar is virtually undetectable as it is hidden in the curves of your nose. This procedure can also be customized to elevate the central lip or corners of the lip. I determine what position to place the lip by having the patient lift the upper lip with their fingers to a position where they like it, paying attention to how much the teeth show.
Italian Lip Lift: The Italian lip lift is an alternative to a Bullhorn lip lift. For those who need less of a lift, the incisions can be modified and consist of two separate incisions that are hidden beneath each nostril. This has a smaller incision than the Bullhorn lip lift. Skin is removed and the right and then the left lip are each separately lifted by closing the wound and reducing the distance between the lip and nose.
V to Y Lip Lift: A v-y lip lift is technique is used to add volume to the lips that are thin. The incision is made within the mucosa of the lip in the shape of a V. The mucosa is then lifted to add the volume desired and then the incision is closed in the shape of a Y. This is why it is called a V to Y Lip Lift.
SMAS Lip Lift: The SMAS lip lift is only performed in conjunction with a facelift procedure as makes use of the SMAS (Superficial Musculo Aponeurotic System) tissue fibers to create more volume in the lips. During the facelift procedure, the SMAS is harvested and then trimmed to size and inserted into the lip. The SMAS is then shaped and to form fuller, plumper lips.
Corner Lip Lift: Corner lip lifts are for people who have lips that are naturally downturned at the corners, making them look sad or discouraged. They can also improve grooves at the corner of the mouth that drift down towards the chin, often referred to as a drool groove. The incisions are made at the outer corner where the upper and lower lips meet. A small triangular area of skin is removed so that the lips turn up slightly in a more youthful manner. If the grooves are deep and prominent, surgery may not provide 100 percent correction, but there is a major improvement.
Candidates for Lip Lifts
Men or women who are in generally good health and want to augment the appearance of their lips may be a good candidate for a lip lift procedure. The best way to determine if you are a good candidate or not is to have an in-person consultation with Dr. Jacono to discuss your situation and determine if a lip lift or any other procedure will help to meet your surgical goals.
Lip lifts procedures are good for patients of any age who want to:
- Add volume to flat or thin lips
- Reduce the distance between the nose and upper lip
- Fix unbalanced lips
- Reduce the appearance of always frowning
- Shorten lips that appear to long
Lip Lift Consultation
To learn more about lip lift procedures or to schedule your consultation with Dr. Jacono, please contact his New York City office at 212-570-2500 or in Long Island, call his Great Neck location at 516-773-4646 to speak to a patient care specialist. You may also fill out an online consultation form to see if this procedure is right for you.
