Hyaluronic Acid Injection (Lips: Juvederm VOLIFT)

Treatment details: Hyaluronic Acid Injection (Lips: Juvederm VOLIFT)

Lips look different immediately after injection than they do a month later, and the one month photograph is the one worth judging. Directly after treatment the tissue is swollen from needle trauma and from the water the gel draws in, so patients often see more volume on the day than they finish with. What remains at one month is the structural part: a defined vermilion border and body through the middle of the lip where it had thinned. VOLIFT was chosen because it resists spreading, which matters when the aim is shape rather than softness. If this patient wants further projection, adding at this point is safer than overfilling in a single session.

Lips swell more than any other injection site, and for two to three days the result can look larger and less even than the finished shape. Bruising is common because the area is well supplied with vessels. Lumps that can be felt through the lip often settle within weeks but may need massage or dissolving with hyaluronidase. Blocked blood flow is rare but serious and shows as severe pain, blanching or dusky colour change that needs immediate treatment. Cold sores can be triggered in patients who carry the virus. Asymmetry, a border that looks too defined, and migration of product above the lip line are possible. The effect fades over about a year.