Enhanced, Full Lips are Becoming a Beauty Standard - By: Dave Stringham

During the past decade, the size and shape of lips has gained special attention and prominence in the sphere of cosmetic surgery. Enhanced, full, sensuous lips have become the accepted standard as a characteristic of beauty.

Great emphasis has been placed on the full lip in glamor and fashion magazines, which has influenced millions of women to achieve this look. Lip enhancement gained particular popularity in the late 1980's with the invention and availability of collagen.

Over the past decade plastic surgeons have looked for a variety of ways to achieve this look with products and methods that are both safe and long lasting. Today the most popular techniques include hylaforms, such as restylane and juvaderm, collagen, and fat injection.

Hylaforms are injectable substances made from hyaluronic acid, a substance that is naturally found in skin and other body tissues. The two most well known products are restylane and juvaderm. Since this is a natural occurring substance the body is very likely to accept this substance. Experience has shown that there are very few allergic reactions to the hylaforms.

Allergic reactions to the skin are so rare, a skin test is not typically required. The hylaforms come as a gel, which is injected, into the deep dermal layer of the skin. This puffs out the skin giving a smooth, fuller appearance.

In the lips, it is most commonly placed along the border between the red and white portion of the lips. The injection of restylane and juvaderm takes only about 15 minutes and patients can return to work or their daily routine. The hylaforms generally last between three to six months.

Collagen is the product, of all the commonly used injectables for lip augmentation, which has been around the longest. Collagen is also a naturally occurring substance. Collagen fibers are the building blocks of the skin and all other of the body's tissues. Collagen is an essential component of tissue strength and substance.

Injectable collagen is most commonly obtained from bovine tissue. Consequently, it does contain some structural differences from human collagen, thus making it occasionally susceptible to allergic reactions. About 3% of the population is allergic to bovine collagen.

Therefore a skin test is required for all patients who elect to undergo collagen injections. Plastic surgeons typically recommend that their patients undergo two skin tests over a six-week period of time. Collagen will typically last for two to four months following injection.

About the Author

Dave Stringham, the President of LookingYourBest.com writes about plastic surgery in Beverly Hills, California and plastic surgery procedures like beverly hills lip augmentation, tummy tuck, breast augmentation, face lift, liposuction, and nose job.

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