Wrinkles on the upper lip – a tough but not intractable problem.
I need advice on wrinkles above my upper lip area; they are quite deep.
The upper lip area is one of the toughest to fix, but with a little patience and persistence, it will improve hugely. More on the upper lip area.
The three main issues are:
- Constant motion. A tiny amount of Botox/Dysport is helpful for this. It has to be done lightly and correctly, otherwise it will look odd, lopsided or worst case….. unable to purse the lips at all temporarily, which makes it hard to eat and drink from a straw. Experts only please. These drops help more with keeping the lines from getting worse and won’t take the existing ones away……..but are still important.
- Early and not too visible wrinkles. For these, often fillers just end up looking ducky, heavy or bumpy. In my opinion, a better choice is lasers like the Fraxel or the fractionated CO2 done at lighter or medium settings. It’s more permanent, respects your natural lip architecture and builds collagen. Many patients will need to do full-face though so there aren’t blending problems.
- Deep wrinkles. These seem to do best with the 3 pronged approach of a tiny bit a Botox/Dysport, fillers like Belotero, Restylane or Juvederm, and lasers. Many experts will thin the Restylane or Juvederm a little so it flows better into the lines to prevent bumps. The Botox/Dysport relaxes the muscles a little, the filler plumps the lines and the Fraxel or fractionated CO2 will resurface, blend and build collagen. More on these lasers.
Hope this helps, Dr. I
