What is hyaluronic acid?

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring linear polysaccharide seen in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue, synovial fluid and other tissues. There is very low potential for allergic reactions with hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is seen in high concentrations in synovial fluid, the dermis of the skin, the vitreous humor of the eye, and in cartilage.

Juvaderm for beautiful bigger lips

The most important quality of hyaluronic acid is its hydrophilic ability – that is ability to bind water and is thus capable of maintaining adequate internal hydration, lubrication and moisture retention.

The natural half life of natural hyaluronic acid in the skin is 1 – 2 days. This makes it not suitable for soft tissue augmentation. However if it is chemically altered by cross linkage, it tends to persist and is more resistant to heat, mechanical stress and degradation by enzymes in the body.

The more crosslinked hyaluronic acid is, the longer it lasts in the body. Progressive crosslinking of the substance converts it from a liquid phase to a gel phase and subsequently to a solid phase, which makes it impossible to utilise in soft tissue filling.

In the case of Juvaderm, after conversion to a gel form, using a new patented technology known as hylacross technology the Juvaderm gel is resized to a mixture of random sized shapes to give it the property of smooth flow, thus making it easier and more controllable a gel to use.

Do you know it is possible to have bigger lips without surgery? Juvaderm (also known as Juvederm or Juviderm) is the answer to many women’s problems of thin, unattractive-looking lips. Although surgery (lip augmentation surgery to the lip with the patient’s own fat) is available, most people would rather not go through such an extreme step, which carries its own risks of surgery. The most suitable alternative to surgery, then, is lip augmentation with Juvaderm, which is a cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel meant for injection into tissues to enhance volume in the target site. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally-occurring substance present in normal skin, which gives volume and turgidity to the skin. The cross-linkage in the hyaluronic acid in Juvaderm is designed to allow the gel to last longer in the body at the site of injection, up to about 1 year. Upon injection into the skin, the hyaluronic acid increases the skin volume in two different ways, both by virtue of its injected volume, and by the fact that it absorbs water molecules, causing it to expand slightly.

Use Juvaderm To Achieve Angelina Jolie Lips

Juvaderm is normally administered under a local anesthetic block to allow for a comfortable painless procedure. The substance, which is supplied in a pre-filled 1ml syringe, is injected a retrograde manner usually from an entry near the corner of the lip. Injection into the substance of the lip will give it volume, and sometimes a small amount is injected into the lip margin to enhance the contours of the lip. The procedure may take up to one hour, depending on the degree of difficulty and the desired result. Because injection and molding of the injected Juvaderm gel in the lips to achieve the desired result may take time, one gets slightly more swollen lips at the end of the procedure. However the swelling will disappear fast (usually within hours to days), and upon review in about 5 days to one week after the Juvaderm injection procedure the desired result (sexier, more attractive, bigger lips) can be documented.

Lips before Juvaderm lip augmentation

Lips after Juvaderm lip augmentation

Injection of Juvaderm to get bigger lips is technically rather more difficult than the standard correction of creases and folds in the face such as the nasolabial fold, so you need to choose your Juvaderm doctor very carefully. Mistakes can sometimes occur in inexperienced hands, and there are instances of persons achieving bigger lips that may look more like a duck’s lips than Angelina Jolie’s lips if the Juvaderm is injected using the wrong technic. Fortunately, however, the result though embarrassing is not permanent, as the Juvaderm will get reabsorbed harmlessly.

Problem is, they do not disappear on relaxation of the lips. The lip wrinkles are a permanent feature of her lips.

What causes these lip wrinkles? They form because of persistent repeated chronic contraction of the muscles of the lips or orbicularis oris in an effort to form a smaller aperture. This is done in order to afford a better grip on whatever is held between the lips – whether it is a sweet, a cigarette, a cigar or other similar object. The skin buckles with repeated or long term contractions of this muscle, and this results in tiny cracks or folds radiating out from the lip margin.

The disadvantage of these lip wrinkles is, of course, that they make you look older and more jaded. True, one can mask them temporarily with powder or make up, but few people ever forget how much more embarrassingly obvious the lip wrinkles become when makeup gets caked or wet.

How else, then, can one treat lip wrinkles? One can use small doses of botox in an attempt to relax the orbicularis oris. This occasionally works, the wrinkles lighten, and the effect can last up to 4 months. An overdose of botox of course may cause the lips to become totally slack and unable to close properly.

The treatment of choice is the injection of Juvaderm (also called Juvederm) in very fine lines under the lip wrinkle. Done in skilled hands the effect is instantaneous and amazing. The lip wrinkle is filled up and disappears. This effect lasts anywhere between 9 months to a year. However they can come back earlier if the person persists in actions that caused the wrinkles in the first place. Thus chronic cigarette smokers have a problem here. So, also, apparently, do ladies of the night.

While Juvaderm is most popular for the correction of nasolabial folds, it is less well known that this cosmetic filler can also function very well as a lip injection. Lip injections are gels used to create bigger lips, which look very sexy if the lip injection is used correctly. Obviously since this is technically a more difficult task than nasolabial fold correction, one has to seek out esthetic doctors with much more experience and have a better artistic bent. After all, we are now in the world of esthetics and beauty. Many people can become good lip injection technicians, but only some can become actual artists in their work.

Juvaderm lip injection for beautiful bigger lips

The juvaderm lip injection technic is utilised on persons whose lips are too thin for comfort or whose lips will look more beautiful with some extra volume. As usual, the process begins with an initial consultation with your esthetic doctor to assess your need and readiness for Juvaderm, as well as your expectations. Your general health will be assessed as well to ensure that there are no complications, such as may come on if your general health is bad, or if you have bleeding tendencies, for example. The lip filler is preferably injected under local anesthetic block, as a certain degree of manipulation of the injection is necessary, and patient comfort is of paramount importance. Local anesthethic blocks are given to the infraorbital nerves for the upper lip, and the mental nerves in the lower lip.

Juvaderm lip injections for sexier bigger lips

Whether the upper or lower lip or both are injected with the Juvaderm lip injection filler depends on the ultimate desired result. Some persons may look better with both lips enlarged, while others may need just that extra bit of pout in the cupids bow in the upper lip. Also, one has to decide if one is seeking an increased volume in the lip, or increased definition of the border of the lip. The decision is made by both the esthetic doctor and the patient. Injection of the Juvaderm lip filler is in a linear fashion, with massage and manipulation of the injected material to ensure the best cosmetic result.

After the desired result is achieved, the patient goes home. Post operative swelling reduces within one to two weeks. Follow-up is needed to reassess the effect of the injection, with topping up of the Juvaderm lip injection if necessary.

Unfortunately, much as we would like to tout Juvaderm (or more correctly known as Juvederm by Allergan) as the answer to the above, we have to be realistic. Juvaderm is a filler, not an antigravity agent. Thus we need to know that Juvaderm will play a very useful role in eliminating the earlier nasolabial folds which are not too deep (let your doctor see you to determine if you fall into this category). When the effects of gravity become too severe, it is time for a facelift, or if things are not too severe yet, one can use what are commonly known as threadlifts, where the overhanging skin is lifted up against gravity by a thread running under the skin).

Back to Juvaderm. Scientifically, this product is described as a crosslinked hyaluronic acid that comes in the form of a smooth clear gel. Hyaluronic acid is a substance that occurs naturally in the skin that helps to maintain the volume and hydration of the skin. The crosslinkage in the gel helps to slow down the natural breakdown of hyaluronic acid in the body so that the effect in the body lasts longer. Juvaderm is injected by a skilled doctor to your face under the skin at the site of wrinkles in order to lift up the skin in that area. Skin volume is thus restored and wrinkles and folds disappear.

This injection procedure does not take more than a half hour and you can easily have this done during your lunch break and go back to the office after the break, effectively making this a lunchtime procedure. Of course before the procedure is done the doctor will have to see you and take a careful history and examination of your face and the troubled areas. Just before the procedure the doctor may elect to give you some anesthetic to minimise or eliminate any discomfort of the injection. This is either done by application of anesthetic creams, or local injections of anesthetic. Rarely is the procedure done under general anesthesia.

After the procedure you may be given painkillers to reduce any residual pains, or some medicine to reduce the minimal bruising which may occur as a result of the injection. Follow up is recommended a week after your Juvaderm filler injection to ensure the desired result is achieved.

After the injection procedure patients are advised to avoid the following
- strenuous exercise
- excessive exposure to the sun
- Alcohol consumption
Apparently exposure to these three factors may cause itching, swelling or redness at the injection sites.

Similarly persons who have had skin treatment such as lasers or chemical peels just before a scheduled Juvaderm injection or plan to have these treatments immediately after the injection are advised to avoid having these procedures too close together as they may cause an increased inflammation at the injection sites.

Persons who are taking blood thinners such as aspirin, plavix and ticlid or warfarin may need to stop their medications for about a week before the procedure to minimise the risk of persistent bleeding after injections.

Patients who have a history of severe allergies, or a history of allergy to gram-positive bacterial proteins, are not advised to have Juvaderm injections.

One of the most difficult things to quote with any degree of accuracy. Costs are always a factor to be considered in cases of elective surgical procedures, this being a situation where one can take it or leave it, since it does not involve a matter of life-or-death. To those people where looks can make or break a career, the life-or-death scenario obviously applies.

Prices of injectable fillers vary with the country and the brand the doctor uses. The volume of filler needed plays also a part in the cost, since the volume needed for filling up 2 nasolabial folds differs from that needed to pump up some hollowed cheeks or minor depressed scars in the leg, for example.

The doctor. The cost for the doctor depends on his surgical skills (and how he values his own skills), experience and reputation, the geographical area he is practising in, and the competition. The speciality of the doctor will also determine the price he charges. Thus whether the doctor is a general practitioner with an interest in esthetics, a dermatologist, an actual recognised esthetic doctor, a surgeon, a plastic surgeon, or a gyne with an interest in esthetics will play a great role in how much he quotes.

Before Lip Augmentation

After Lip Augmentation

The actual procedure. That is, the degree of difficulty. Obviously a simple raising of a depressed scar remains that, relatively simple. Much more complicated and difficult and requiring greater skills and thus costing more would be lip augmentation (enlargement of lips, possibly to make one look more like Angelina Jolie).

The costs can be so great that some doctors arrange with financial institutions to offer a payment plan for the interested to make it easy for the patient to decide.

Other costs (some of which may not be relevant, depending on the extent of the procedure, and whether the patient wants things to be done under general anesthesia) may include:

Hospital or surgical facility costs (operating room, ward charges)
Anesthetic fees
Cost of medication
Post-surgery garments
Medical tests

One must always remember, most health insurance plans do not cover cosmetic surgery or their complications, no matter how much you feel that this was important to your ultimate health.

In the end, one of the most important considerations, no matter what the cost, is whether you feel comfortable with the doctor who will be treating you with your Juvaderm filler.

What does a doctor look for when deciding on choice of fillers?

-Whether the filler lasts a short time or longer
-whether there are side effects
-whether there are allergy reactions
-whether the filler result looks and feels natural
-whether the filler is easy to inject

Juvaderm lips

Your doctor will be in the best position to advise you regarding the filler he uses, and whether it is appropriate for the desired effect. A point to note is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to manually remove the filler after injection. Sometimes, no matter how good or pleasing the result of the injection, you may change your mind after the injection of the filler, and may request the doctor for a change. It is in anticipation of situations like this that sometimes influence the doctor to inject a type of filler that does not last too long in your body, and is reabsorbed within a few months, so that your face/shape/wrinkles returns to square one for your next foray into making yourself look better.

Certain other considerations have to be looked at in the choice of fillers. Is it natural or biodegradable in the body? Does the body react to it? Are there side effects that may come on such as formation of inflamed bumps or allergic reactions to the filler? The longer-lasting non-hyaluronic acid based fillers, or the collagen-based fillers, may have a higher chance of causing inflammatory granulomas, or allergic reactions. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in the body, so the chances of the body reacting to it is very rare. Injectable hyaluronic acid fillers come in two forms, the non cross-linked variety which can last 1 – 3 months, and the cross-linked variety such as Juvaderm (or more correctly,Juvederm by Allergan) which is formulated to last up to 1 year, and is FDA-approved.

Juvaderm Injections

Your Own Fat: In theory, a very ideal source of filler material. After all, it is your own, and there definitely is no problem of allergy. However the problems anticipated are
1. whether you have spare fat,
2. whether the process of fat suction/removal to get fat cells for processing before injection is associated with the dangers of liposuction such as bleeding, pain, embolism, and distortion of body structure,
3. whether the achieved state of correction of your wrinkles or folds will stay long, and
4. whether the certain reabsorption of fat in your received area is going to be smooth or will it leave irregular lumpy leftovers.

See your doctor before you make any decision. He will be able to advise you as to the best course of action, whether you should use a particular brand such as Juvaderm for your naso-labial folds, or otherwise.