Knowing where to inject botox for lip flip is very important because the location determines how effective the injection will be. Even though it is the duty or work of the injector to know which areas to put the toxins, you should also have knowledge about that.
Women both young and old want to continue having fuller and beautiful lips even as they get old. One of the ways to achieve this is by using any of the lip augmentation options available, botox is one of them. You can either go for lip flip or lip filler; these two procedures are different even in the results they give. We will try to explain what botox and lip flip is, where to inject botox for lip flip, procedure and difference between lip filler and lip flip.
WHAT IS BOTOX
Botox or Botulinum Toxin Type A is gotten from a toxin that is found in a bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum. You should know that botox does not contain the bacteria itself, it uses just the toxin so it is safe. This toxin paralyzes any muscle it is injected into, the paralyzing property is its potency.
When botox is injected directly into a muscle, it makes this muscle weak and paralyze it fully. It will also block some specific nerves from sending signal to this muscle, this will prevent the muscle from moving (skinpharm.com). As the muscle cannot move because the nerves cannot send them signal, they relax naturally and allow wrinkles and lines to be reduced or minimized.
WHAT IS A LIP FLIP
A lip flip is a quick procedure (non-surgical) that involves injecting small amounts of botox into some muscles around the mouth. These muscles surrounds the mouth and are responsible for the movement the mouth makes.
As these muscles are relaxed, the lip flips or rolls upward naturally. This results to noticeable changes in your lips and also enhance the appearance of the curve in the middle of your lips. The look of the lip is pouty instead of the plumper lips that are gotten from other lip-related cosmetic procedures.
WHERE TO INJECT BOTOX FOR LIP FLIP
Before injecting botox for lip flip, it is important to know the areas to mark out for the injection. If the injection is placed into other areas, the toxin can paralyze other muscles in the face or even lead to other issues like lip discoloration. Knowing that there are difference between lip filler and lip flip, the injector must be well conversant in the different areas of the face for each procedure.
The areas to inject botox for lip flip are:
1. Center of the upper lip near the cupid’s bow. The cupid’s bow is that area of the lip where there is a curve that looks like a bow of cupid, this area is on the upper lip.
2. The corners of the mouth or the commissure. The commissure is where the upper lip meets with the lower lip.
3. Edges of the lips also known as the vermilion border. The vermilion border is a line above the colored portion of the lips that connects tissues of the lip to the rest of the face.
4. Philtral columns which is the elevated, vertical ridges that connects the bottom of the nose to the lips
5. Upper tubercles (these are the fleshy bumps located in the center of the upper lips) These places are targeted so that botox can relax the orbicularis ores, which is the group of muscles in the lips that surrounds the mouth. If the botox injections are meant to treat gummy smile the areas to be injected as well are:
- The area between the upper lip and the nose
- Each sides of the mouth
These injections will relax the lip elevator muscles and help reduce the appearance of gummy smile.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BOTOX LIP FLIP
A fuller looking lip is one of the many things that completes a woman’s appearance, others may be other areas of the face. If you must know, the lips are one of the places the opposite sex looks at. In fact, a study carried out by scientists at Manchester University, showed that having a full and pouty lips makes a woman more attractive and appealing. Women undergo lip augmentation procedure to maintain the fullness of the lips and to accentuate them.
Although there are so many lip augmentation procedures, there are some benefits associated with undergoing botox lip flip and some of them are:
1. Lip flip prevents the gums from being seen when you smile: Gummy smile is when your gums show anytime you smile, this can lead to embarrassment and insecurity especially if there is any dental issue. Lip flip will help to relax the elevator muscles so that much of your gums will not be seen.
2. It subtly defines the upper lip: Enhancing the upper lip is one of the things that lip flip does. It make your lips to look plumy and beautiful.
3. More of your lips will show when you smile: The muscles that pull the upper lip tight when you smile will be relaxed by lip flip procedure so that more of your lips will be seen as you smile.
4. Lip flip prevents vertical lines from forming above the upper lip: The more we age, the more wrinkles and lines appear on our faces including the upper lip. Lip flip can reduce how these lines form on the upper lip.
WHAT DOES THE LIP FLIP PROCEDURE LOOK LIKE
Knowing about the procedure will help you to remove the fear of needle, it will also help you to know what to expect. The time needed to get lip flip is around 30 minutes. Before getting the procedure, there are some things you will avoid. Some of these things are:
i. Blood thinning medications: Some medications can narrow the blood vessels and cause more bleeding. Even if the whole procedure will not cause you to bleed but there will be light bleeding from the bruises. So, if you take blood thinning medications, you may not be able to control the amount of blood that will come out from the bruises.
ii. Alcohol: Taking alcohol before getting lip flip can cause the lips to swell afterwards. So, it is best to avoid alcohol till you have fully recovered. On the day of the appointment, there is no need for your skin to be numbed as only small amounts of injections are needed for lip flip. The needles used have are as tiny as the size of three strands of hair so you will only feel a little pinch.
About 4 to 6 units of botox are needed for lip flip and 2 to 8 units are needed to treat gummy smile. After getting the injections, you can go back to your daily activities. You may notice slight side effects that wear out with days. The full results may be seen in about 2 or 3 weeks. After getting lip flip procedure, you will have to avoid some activities that can cause infection and increase the chances of the botox moving to other areas in the face. Some of these activities are:
- Smoking
- Rubbing or touching the lips
- Lying or sleeping down on the face.
SIDE EFFECTS OF BOTOX FOR LIP FLIP
Side effects of using botox for lip flip procedure are minimal and they wear off after some time. Some of these effects are:
- Bruising
- Redness around the injected areas
- Swelling of the lips
According to Skin Pharm, excess injection of botox can cause side effects like
- Dropping of one side of the mouth
- Difficulty in forming certain words
- Drooling while talking
ARE THE RESULTS PERMANENT
You can start to see effects of the injection after 24 to 48 hours but full results are seen after about 2 or 3 weeks. However, you should know that the results are only for sometime, they are not permanent. Lip flip can only last for 3 to 4 months. With time, the body will produce new neurotransmitters that will reverse the botox and cause the injection to wear off naturally. This is why it is advised to practice good skin care routines and eat healthy foods as well so as to support the botox.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LIP FILLER AND LIP FLIP
There are differences between these procedures, they may sound like they are similar but they are not. Let us look at some ways to differentiate both.
1. Different substances: One of the major difference between both is the substance which is being injected. While lip flip uses botox, lip filler uses a gel-like, natural body like substance that contains hyaluronic acid.
2. The procedure: Numbing cream must be rubbed on the targeted areas by the doctor before injecting lip fillers so as to reduce pain, also a cannula is used to inject hyaluronic acid into the skin. In the case of lip flip, no numbing cream is used and a needle is used for the injection.
3. Results: It will take few weeks for the effects of lip flip procedure to be noticed, the results will last for 3 to 4 months. The effects of lip fillers can be seen immediately after the procedure, the full effects can last for about 6 to 12 months.
4. Purpose of the procedure: Lip fillers will restore the volume of the lips, make it softer and hydrated because of the hyaluronic acid while lip flip makes the lips to appear larger and the upper lip is more defined in shape.
CONCLUSION
Lip flip is done to accentuate the upper lips and make the lips to look more plumy. This procedure involves injecting small amounts of botox in specific areas. Knowing these areas will help to maximize the effects and results of the botox. Lip flip is different from lip filler from their results, procedures and substances for the injection. You can combine both procedures if you want.