Question: Can an actress like Angelina Jolie have a lip treatment that looks natural and is permanent?
Answer: I don’t think that Angelina Jolie has had lip augmentation. I have seen photos of her at a young age and she had very full lips. Voluptuous lips are definitely the trend today and have been in vogue for some time. Luckily, there are a number of enhancement alternatives available to people who weren’t fortunate enough to be born with full lips.
Some of these options are as follows:
Surgical elevation of the lip line.
Surgical placement of enhancement material such as Alloderm.
Free fat transfer.
The use of fillers, such as Juvederm XC, Zyplast collagen), and Hylaform.
None of these procedures are considered permanent in nature, except for surgical elevation of the lip line. However, this method results in a permanent scar of the lip line that may be aesthetically unappealing. The surgical placement of a graft material, such as Alloderm, in the lips diminishes within 8-12 months and is a relatively expensive procedure. Free fat transfer is an option that has a longer rate of sustainability and for some people has proven to be permanent. It is however, an involved procedure in which fat is harvested from a small area in the belly or buttocks and then injected into the lips. The procedure takes any where from 1½ to 2 hours and can be quite costly. Also, the lips require over injection so that some of the fat will remain and not be absorbed, therefore the lips can look distorted for weeks after the procedure. I believe that the injectable products are a fast and economical method of lip enhancement and my personal experience has been best with the Juvederm XC product.
It is a relatively painless technique that takes less than ½ an hour, requires very little if any recovery time and the results will last around 8-12 months. There are no guarantees that the aforementioned procedures will last indefinitely, including the free fat injections. That is why I recommend a straight forward method such as Juvederm XC injections. As always, it is important to find a physician with significant experience and training in the use of these products.
