Word of Mouth

With age, lips naturally start to thin. Now there are a number of options for keeping that youthful pout. 

Words by Lucy Ewen

TEMPORARY DERMAL FILLERS are quite literally changing the face of New Zealand. Well, the lips anyway. A recent study put a full pout at the top of the “what’s most sexy about a woman?” list. But if you weren’t born with a mouth like Angelina Jolie’s or Scarlett Johansson’s (and want one), you have three options: make-up; over-the-counter lip-plumpers; or a cosmetic filler, a choice that’s shown a huge rise in popularity in recent years.

Of the fillers, the newest of the appearance medicines is Juvéderm, a second-generation non-surgical cosmetic option designed to soften lines and plump lips. From the manufacturers of Botox, Juvéderm has enjoyed big success in Europe. Now available at appearance-medicine clinics here, it is non-surgical and non-permanent. It’s also relatively painless and natural in appearance and ingredients.

Dr Teresa Cattin, a top New Zealand cosmetic physician and the owner of Auckland’s FaceWorks, says the magical ingredient in Juvéderm is hyaluronic acid, a natural substance in the body that decreases with age. Actually a complex sugar that absorbs water from cell tissue, it expands like a sponge to fill in gaps and push out wrinkles. Therapeutic and aesthetic uses for hyaluronic acid have been developing since the 1930s. Other forms such as Hylaform and Restylane are also popular non-allergenic treatments that give good results. The hyaluronic acid found in Hylaform, Restylane and Juvéderm binds with collagen and elastin in the body, transporting essential nutrients to skin cells and supplementing existing hyaluronic acid levels.

Another option is collagen. Introduced in the United States in 1981, it was the second dermal filler to make it to market. Dr Kirshni Appanna of Jeunesse Clinic in Hamilton says that initially the collagen used was derived from bovine sources. This posed a problem since approximately three percent of the population is allergic to it. A human version of the fine filler has since been released but hyaluronic acid still poses less risk of allergic reaction. Juvéderm also claims reduced risk of swelling.

For this reason, Dr Cattin says collagen is becoming outdated. Hyaluronic acid fillers can penetrate deeper to combat more significant wrinkles and are longer lasting. Collagen is expected to last from six weeks to three months, while hyaluronic acid treatments last up to nine months.

Like many of her contemporaries, Dr Cattin is not a fan of overly swollen “juju lips”, pinning the success of cosmetic fillers on their application by the physician. It is her responsibility to steer patients in the right direction. “With a good treatment, you shouldn’t be able to tell it’s been done,” she says. For more mature women it is particularly important to keep lips proportionate to the face. Dermal fillers should enhance natural features without changing the profile.

An emerging trend in temporary non-surgical lip treatments is evident in a 2006 study by the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Between 1996 and 2006, non-surgical cosmetic medicine treatments increased by 446 percent while surgical cosmetic treatments increased by just 98 percent.

For keeping lips in good condition, Dr Cattin suggests wearing SPF sunscreen to protect them from UV rays. Just about all cosmetic brands offer excellent lip-maintenance products in terms of balms and exfoliants – usually sugar-based. Many also offer over-the-counter lip plumpers, most of them containing ingredients such as capsicum, ginger or menthol which stimulate blood flow to the lips making them appear and feel fuller. These are well worth a try but the effect is definitely temporary.

If you’re not a fan of injectables, or don’t like the feel of lip-plumpers, you can always create the pout you want with make-up. But since overdrawn lip lines rate high among beauty’s biggest blunders, it would be wise to remember the two prime rules: never exaggerate the lip line with pencil so much it looks obvious and avoid making that mistake in the first place by always using a liner that is an exact shade match for your lipstick.