Palo Alto Office
105 Addison Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 327-3232
Monday–Thursday: 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Los Gatos Office
326 Village Ln
Los Gatos, CA 95030
(408) 402-3220
Monday–Thursday: 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Lip Lift
At L&P Aesthetics, an upper lip lift is a subtle yet transformative procedure that can help San Francisco Bay Area patients look and feel more youthful. During the aging process, tissues around the mouth begin to droop, and this lengthening can make a person look tired and heavy. Drs. David Lieberman, Sachin Parikh, and Steven Curti see many patients in the Bay Area who have been using dermal fillers such as Juvederm® or Restylane® for lip augmentation and shaping, but a lip lift at our Palo Alto office can be a longer-lasting option.
If you want to know more about a lip lift in the Bay Area, schedule a consultation with one of the exceptional facial plastic surgeons at our Los Gatos or Palo Alto offices by calling us at (650) 327-3232 or contacting us online.
Lip Lift
Before & After Photos
Revision Facelift, Neck Lift, Brow Lift & Lower Bleph
She entrusted us with her face and we feel privileged for that honor. She underwent a revision facelift using our signature L&P technique- modified deep plane technique with deep neck contouring, lower lid... Read More
L&P Facelift & Neck Lift For Full Transformation
Lip Lift for Woman from Fremont
Case #70
L&P Signature Facelift & Neck Lift For Woman From San Carlos
Signature Facelift and Neck Lift for Lovely Woman
Simply Refreshed Post L&P Signature Facelift
Bone structure, environmental exposures, genetics, and other factors can cause some patients’ faces to change much earlier than others. For this reason, we see rejuvenation patients... Read More
Keep in mind that each patient is unique and your results may vary.
A lip lift is designed to address issues related to the mid to lower facial regions, yet it is a surgical procedure often overlooked by patients and surgeons alike. Our board-certified surgeons focus exclusively on the face and understand the subtle intricacies of the facial bones and structure. They strive to produce natural-looking results with minimal downtime for every patient and every procedure that they perform.
What Is a Lip Lift?
A subnasal lip lift, also called a modified bullhorn procedure, involves lifting the tissue below the nose and above the upper lip to restore a balance between the upper and lower lips. Drs. Lieberman, Parikh, and Curti make a single bullhorn-shaped excision beneath the nostrils and close the wound by lifting the right, central, and/or left portions of the upper lip. Once healed, the incision is usually hidden by the natural creases in the skin and is sometimes virtually invisible.
Meet Our Surgeons
Get to know our world-class, board-certified facial plastic surgeons, known for the precision of their work and consistently satisfied patients.
Why Get a Lip Lift?
During the normal aging process, the perioral area often begins to change in size and shape. For most people, youthful-looking lips are balanced and full, so it is important to find a surgeon who not only understands how size, shape, symmetry, proportion, and balance affect the lips, but a surgeon who listens to your personal concerns and desired outcomes.
According to research done over thousands of years, an aesthetically pleasing face has a specific symmetry and balance between the lower and upper lips. The upper lip describes the tissues below the nostrils and the entire top lip. The lower lip describes the bottom lip as well as the skin that extends to the tip of one’s chin.
Generally speaking, a youthful lower face has a lower lip that is twice the height as the upper lip. As we age and the bone structure around the mouth thins, the cutaneous portion (skin-bearing portion of the lip) elongates and leads to a disproportion of this natural ratio.
In addition to the elongation of the cutaneous lip, people tend to lose volume in the vermillion area (red and pink parts of the lip), which then diminish the lips’ contours. The skin-bearing portions of the upper and lower lips can develop vertical lines (lipstick lines) from repeated actions of the muscles. In combination, these changes give a less than desirable appearance to the perioral area, and a lip lift is a procedure our surgeons use to address them.
Lip Lift vs. Lip Filler
It may be difficult to know whether you should choose a lip lift or lip augmentation with fillers. Here is a comparison.
| Lip Lift | Lip Filler | |
|---|---|---|
| How it’s done | Surgery | Injections |
| Improvements | Reduces distance between upper lip and nose Exposes more of the lip vermillion Reduces vertical lip lines | Adds volume and definition to top and bottom lips Improves symmetry Reduces vertical lip lines |
| Recovery | 7 to 10 days | None |
| Results last | Indefinitely | 6 to 12 months |
Good Candidates for a Lip Lift
A person in good health and over the age of 18 is generally a good candidate for a lip lift. While there are a variety of reasons to consider a lip lift, the most common reasons are either an elongation of the upper lip or flattening of the top lip. For both concerns, a lip lift can help restore the natural symmetry and youthful balance a person once experienced. For photos of lip lifts performed by our facial plastic surgeons, visit our photo gallery.
Reasons to Get a Lip Lift
There are many reasons to consider getting a lip lift, and for each person, the outcome will be different. Some issues a lip lift can address are:
- Additional lip volume without repeated dermal filler treatments
- More definition of the “lipstick” lines
- More pronounced “pout”
- Shortening of the skin above the lip for more visibility of the teeth
Lip Lift Procedure and Recovery
A lip lift is most usually performed in approximately one hour on an outpatient basis. At L&P Aesthetics, we perform lip lift surgery with the patient under either local anesthesia or light sedation, depending on what is best for each person.
It is recommended that you have someone drive you home from the procedure, as most patients experience mild to moderate discomfort, and the effects of the sedation will most likely still be present by the time you are discharged.
Typically, Drs. Lieberman, Parikh, and Curti do not see any bruising in patients after a lip lift, but often patients will need to wear bandages for at least 24 hours after the procedure.
In four to six days, our office staff will schedule a follow-up appointment, and usually in a week to 10 days, a patient will feel comfortable enough to return to his or her usual activities. To help conceal any visible wounds, make-up can be applied to the incision usually sometime between 10 to 14 days post-op.
To see what you can expect for aftercare after your lip lift, check out this video for step-by-step instructions.
Results of a Lip Lift
Drs. Lieberman, Parikh, and Curti are known for achieving natural results, and with a lip lift, their goal is to provide subtle yet transformative results. Achieving a natural appearance depends on the surgeon’s aesthetic understanding of the size, shape, symmetry, proportion, and balance of the lips, as well as his or her surgical skill.
While individual results vary, some results that a patient can expect are:
- Shortening of the lip length between the nose and mouth
- Improved balance, symmetry, and proportions between the upper and lower face
- Increased visibility of the upper teeth
- Increased sensuality of the mouth
- Shortening of the perceived length of the lower midface
- Turning the “cupid’s bow” upward (lip eversion)
- Increasing volume of the pink and white lip
- Improvement of lipstick bleed lines and wrinkles
- Subtle improvement in the corners of the mouth
- Decreased need for fillers
- Looking younger overall, especially in the lower and mid-face regions
If you’d like to know what a lip lift can do for you, give us a call at (650) 327-3232 or contact us online.
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