Enhancing your lips

The irony is, while Angelina may have been under some negative speculation, women all over the world were booking appointments with plastic surgeons to have their lips plumped up so they too could have similar “bee-stung” lips.

There are now so many options out there to try and get that perfect pout that it can get confusing when deciding which is the one for you. Afterall, those lips are right there for all to see so obviously finding a way to bring out the best in them shouldn’t be a decision you take lightly. Lip augmentation surgery is always going to be the most expensive and risky option and non-surgical methods may not have the fastest effect, so the first decision to be made is...

Opting for surgical augmentation could get costly, especially with repeat appointments if the procedure you have gone for is temporary. You may need to take time away from work or your usual schedule to have the surgery done and allow for recovery time.

If you decide that invasive methods are not the one for you, you need to find a lip plumping serum that you can trust and make sure you give it the time to work its magic. If your lips are already a shape you are happy with but maybe just need a bit of a boost in volume, then it would be worth looking into serums before considering surgery. It may just save you a pretty penny!

So, how common is lip augmentation surgery now?

In the USA alone, over 2.5 million women had some kind of surgical procedure done to enhance their lips last year. When the rise in popularity for bigger lips started to peak, collagen fillers were the most common method. At the time, it was seen as the most safe and cost-effective way to give women the pout they desired. It works by injecting collagen into the layers of the lips to provide a firmer structure and replenish the natural collagen in the skin.

Lip implants are also available and involve placing an implant under the skin to reinforce either ageing or acute drooping in the skin on the lips. They can be synthetic or natural (surgeons would usually take tissue from another area on the body, commonly the inner thigh) and would be inserted via two incisions at the sides of the lips.

These days, more common methods to enhance the lips are dissolvable fillers such as hyaluronic acid fillers. They work temporarily and similar to collagen fillers, the hyaluronic acid merges with the skin but provides moisture and hydration and prevents the area from drying out which could cause many problems down the line or with repeat visits.

A lip lift is again less common but growing in popularity due to its permanent nature and easy procedure. It involves minor surgery to move the top part of the lip and reduce the space in between the mouth and the nose. The top lip will end up fuller and larger, but by pulling the mouth up it can pull the smile down, so sometimes the corners of the mouth need lifting too to balance this out.

The answer thankfully is yes! There are now fantastic options to give your lips a boost without the risk or cost of surgery. XLips Instant Lip Plumping Balm is a new and innovative serum that can give almost instant results and can have lasting effects if use is continued regularly. By boosting collagen in the lips and encouraging blood flow, it helps to smooth out wrinkles in the tops layers of the skin and still manages to moisturise your lips and keep them looking plump and volumized all at the same time.

Lip plumping serums can give you that instant boost before applying gloss or lip stick getting ready for a night out, by working the blood flow, there is usually a tingly sensation, either heating or cooling and that just means the serum is working and doing its job. Other serums require a little more patience and application to see the best results. With continued use, larger firmer and smoother lips should be visible without giving you that over-sized and over-injected look.

Finding a lip plumper that works for you means trying and testing some of the products out there, but it is definitely an inexpensive way of deciding how to get those fuller lips before embarking on any surgical adventures. After all, there are always risks...

So, with all these options out there for surgical procedures, lip fillers and augmentations, knowing the downsides, the risks and the side-effects is important before diving into any decision lip first.

Not everyone has a spare wad of cash lying around to present to a surgeon in hopes of walking away with fuller lips and sometimes these surgeries and procedures can be costly! In the UK, lip injections or dermal fillers can cost anywhere from £200 - £2000 and like everything in this world, you get what you pay for. So, cutting costs on surgery can mean you won’t end up with what you pictured and may not be happy with the end result.

Most lip fillers last under a year, usually around 6 months. This means you have to find that cash again to get them topped up if you decide it is a look you want to keep up with, some people lack confidence as fillers diminish and it leads to a never ending and expensive cycle, you will have heard of cosmetic surgery addiction. If you want the longer lasting effects, then you have to cough up more money to get the fillers that will last you upward of a year, such as calcium hydroxyapatite injections. But with this will of course come at a greater risk.

Surgery can also mean taking time out of work and planning well in advance as you don’t want to be mid healing at a big life event like a birthday party or wedding walking in with a swollen 'trout pout'.

Although most women just want to boost their lips to give them a sexier pout, it is more than likely to boost in confidence, especially if you were previously not happy with the natural shape of your lips. Lips come in all different shapes and sizes and whether we agree with it or not, they usually fit the size and shape of our face. It is of course up to anyone to do what they feel necessary to give themselves the boost and feel confident stepping out of the house, whether that be subtle lip injections or permanent fillers, but everyone should be aware of how unnatural their lips may end up looking if they go ahead with surgery.

While some people do end up with unnatural looking lips after surgery things can go wrong in other, more serious ways. If not done by a trained practitioner or if you are really, really unlucky, you could end up with lumpy or lopsided looking lips, if you get any bad vibes from your first visit to a clinic which performs lip surgery don’t take risks and look elsewhere. These days you can open any magazine or glance at most reality TV shows to see some botched effects of lip fillers or injections, so many celebrities have been there publicly it does make you wonder what chance us mere mortals have.

The skin on the lips is very sensitive, if you have ever woken up in winter with dry or cracked lips you know this very well. Putting surgical strain on such delicate areas will always lead to bruising and disproportionate looking skin on a temporary basis. Over-doing the fillers can mean that instead of just adding a little volume face on, they end up sticking too far out when looking at the face side on.

The more permanent the filler, the higher the risk. The issue with injections and fillers is they are mostly synthetic, this even applies to the anaesthesia used to numb the area before the procedure. When synthetic chemicals or bodies being implanted or injected into the body there is always a risk involved be it an allergic reaction or infection. Usually with allergies there is no way of knowing you will react until after the surgery or a test injection has taken place. Infections usually present themselves due to dehydration or possible neglect during after care. Bruising and swelling are normal, but it is important to look after any body part that has been through trauma of surgery to make sure you get the lips you lusted after in the first place!

Celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, make the lip plumping business look effortless and risk-free, but it is important to remember that day to day women may not have access to the best clinics around, the best aftercare and a team of makeup professional to work with them…. surely there has to be an easier way...

So, I’ve mentioned before that one of the main and most effective lip plumping technique is to increase blood flow to the lips. For temporary effects some people use various home remedies to get the best out of those smackers such as natural oils, sugar or honey. To get bigger lips naturally you may not get the results you would see from fillers, but they reduce the risk, time and money involved so it may be worth a go!

Cayenne pepper has been known to contain ingredients that help instantly boost lip size and mixed with Vaseline and essential oils in your favourite pot can provide you with a handy little lip balm you can carry everywhere and apply or reapply when you are out and about.

Peppermint and cinnamon are also popular for this immediate plumping effect and make the lips tingle when combined with essential oils to give you the perfect pout before a big night out. These home-made remedies are usually completely risk-free, and any signs of irritation can be easily reversed by washing off the balms and oils.

Making a sugar scrub using sugar and water and if desired a small amount of moisturiser, when applied and worked into the lips will exfoliate the skin and wake up the blood cells to give you a fresh, smooth and volumized look within minutes. The only real negative with this approach is the effects are not long lasting and it can be frustrating for anyone waiting to see more permanent results.

Natural remedies cost next to nothing, so there is never any harm in giving them a try to see how your lips react to them first before deciding if you want to go for a more long-term procedure. You may well see where the lips expand and how they start to look fuller so if you are still preparing for fillers, you will know where abouts your problem areas are ahead of time. The downside? It isn’t an exact science. Most would call these remedies in lip plumping old wives’ tales and for some people it may not work at all. In addition to this, where is the convenience of just being able to get up and leave the house with a pot of cayenne pepper or cinnamon in your handbag? And sure, everyone loves that festive smell of cinnamon, but it may soon get sickly having to wear it on your lips all day.

As the ingredients in the home remedies are naturally designed to irritate (if you have ever accidently inhaled cayenne pepper, your nose will be familiar with this!) they have the same effect on the skin of your lips. Ever felt that tingle from getting toothpaste on your lips? You would probably experience minor redness and a slight swelling. Well this is the exact reason these natural remedies work. Most testimonials will tell you they last minutes or have little to no effect past throwing on your coat and leaving the house.

Also available and can be used at home instead of visiting a clinic, is what seemed like a fleeting trend from a couple of years ago… the lip plumping device. These devices fit on or around the lips and use suction to enlarge the lips. While you can control them and how much suction to apply, they also come with risk of bruising and over-swelling. They promise to last hours at a time, which if you get it right is fantastic. But if you get it wrong, well that could be catastrophic if you were planning on a big night out, or maybe your wedding day?

So, the home remedies? With the lip plumping device, I wouldn’t have a clue where to start, I also bruise like a peach so I would definitely be that unlucky one that ends up with purple swelling just in time for my next day at the office! And if I happened to get lucky and experienced no bruising, I would be worried my now double sized pout would deflate just at the worst moment, revealing my natural and not so full lips in all their unfortunate glory. I imagine it doesn’t come without a bit of pain too, and yes some say “no pain no gain” but surely it doesn’t have to be that way.

With the natural mixtures of peppermint or cinnamon, I wouldn’t know how much to mix, I wouldn’t know how long to leave the product on my lips, I think at this point I’d rather trust the science and spend a bit of money on something I specifically designed to give me those big pouty lips every time I apply it.

This is why one of the easiest, purse friendly and convenient ways to achieve that plump pout is using a lip plumping serum. Lip plumping serums carry next to no risk as they usually contain natural ingredients and aren’t invasive. The XLips Instant Lip Plumping Balm contains biloba leaf extract, kiwi extract and Cucumis sativus (cucumber) amongst other natural ingredients. Being careful treat your lips as delicately as they are, the serum acts as a booster in minutes. It can be also be worn underneath your favourite shade of lip gloss, so you never have to make a decision between the two.

The lip serum has also been designed to give long-term results. And there is no limit to how much you can or should use. Applied nightly, you would start to see fuller results after a few weeks of use! It may not increase your lip size over-dramatically if that is the look you are after, miracles like that don’t happen overnight. However, it will smooth out wrinkles in the skin, and it will encourage the flow of blood and active collagen under the skin with absolutely no pain involved, so surely that must be worth a try, at least before opting for a more messy or drastic course of action?

My lips are somewhat full already, but they always feel a little flat. So, volume is what I look for in a lip plumper, I wouldn’t be looking to expand the size of them. That’s why I would choose a plumping balm every time. One of the biggest flaws we all have is impatience and that leads to improper care of our assets. Lips are no different! It is probably not even worthwhile trying to plump your lips if you aren’t keeping them in good condition in the first place AND in the long run.

Xlips EGF Intensive Care Lip Balm is also perfect for looking after your lips on a day to day basis. If you are just after the softness but not the tingle, then it is perfect.

So, what is the point in all of this? Where do we go from here?

Hopefully you now have an idea of your options when it comes to fuller lips.

1. Augmentation surgery is everywhere these days and so readily available, if a little out of reach for the majority of pockets, however, augmentation can go wrong and where there is risk there is doubt. Should doubt be something you carry with you in order to gain a little volume in your lips?

   
   



2. There are always ways to get bigger lips naturally, and it may be more kind to the bank account but not necessarily easier to make yourself using DIY home remedies. And I don’t know about you but smelling of cayenne pepper all day long isn’t my idea of the perfect natural way to a fuller pout!

   
   



3. The key is to be kind to your lips, find a lip plumper that works for you and incorporate it into your daily routine. Even if you are considering more drastic action it makes sense to try something non-invasive and non-permanent first as It is absolutely possible to gain fuller lips without surgery.

   
   

There are a thousand quotes about how a smile can change the world, but I’m all about the pout. And I don’t need it to change the world, I just need to feel confident and when I leave the house each day. Everyone has something about them that they wish they could change, wishing for curls when you have poker straight hair, wanting brown eyes instead of blue. And each person has the right to make their own choices about any adjustments to their face, whether it’s wanting loud and proud lips or a subtle change and some extra lift. The serum is always my number one go to for volumized lips. I definitely won’t be kissing it goodbye!