By Your Fren Nancy

What is a Lip Lift?

If you’re tired of overlining your lips like me, you might have heard about a surgical procedure called the “lip lift”. Sometimes, the answer to fuller looking lips isn’t always fillers. There's also the “lip flip” that uses neuromodulators to create the illusion of a fuller top lip by temporarily paralyzing the muscles of the upper lip. But in recent years, the lip lift has been gaining a lot of traction all over social media. 

 

What is a lip lift?

A lip lift is an in-office surgical procedure that shortens the space between the nose and the top of the lip, known as the “philtrum.” You may not realize it, but the shorter the distance between your nose and top of your lip can make a HUGE difference to the overall balance of your face. I noticed that when I overline my lips a little higher closer to my nose, it gives my face an overall “lifted” look. Everyone’s face is different and if you’re curious to see if you’re a good candidate for this procedure, look up doctors in your area specializing in lip lifts. 

See the example of the side by side comparison.

 

Check out this great article from Allure for key takeaways.

Written by JOLENE EDGAR and EMILY REKSTIS

 

 

According to this article by Healthline, they have further broken down the different types of lip lifts:

Written by Grace Gallagher

 

Direct lip lift

A direct lip lift, sometimes called a gullwing lip lift, creates a more defined lip border.

A thin strip of skin is removed just above the upper lip, and the skin is pulled upwards, creating the illusion of a more pronounced vermillion (the pink part of the lips).

This procedure typically leaves behind a scar on the upper lip area.

Subnasal bullhorn

The subnasal bullhorn is one of the more common lip lift procedures.

A surgeon will make an incision that’s typically hidden along the base of the nose where it’s less visible. The incision is often made in the shape of a bullhorn and the center, right, and left of the lip are all pulled up toward the nose.

Central lip lift

A central lip lift is similar to a subnasal bullhorn lift. It shortens the space between the nose and the lips by an incision at the lower nose.

Corner lip lift

A corner lip lift is sometimes called a “grin lift” because it gives the face a more smiley appearance.

It’s done by making two small incisions at both corners of the mouth and removing a small amount of skin. Some people will get this in tandem with another lip lift to give fuller lips.

It’s an option for people who feel they have downturned lips.

Italian lip lift

An Italian lip lift requires two incisions below each nostril, and other than that detail, it’s very similar to the bullhorn. It typically doesn’t involve a noticeable scar.

 

Links to both articles again, here:

https://www.allure.com/story/lip-lift-plastic-surgery-procedure

https://www.healthline.com/health/lip-lift#types