Nip This Tuck That

Lip Augmentation and Enhancement can be done to achieve fuller, more aesthetically shaped lips with fillers or lip implants depending on your desires and the existing size/shape of your lips. There are ideally shaped lips that are full, plump and perfectly proportioned as outlined in my new book on beauty and aesthetics “What’s Your Number…the palmer code.”

Lip Augmentation… Lip Enhancement… If you are looking to Enhance the size and shape of your lips with Procedures or Surgery you should first understand what makes aesthetically beautiful, full, plump lips.

lip chin groove illustrated

Ideally proportioned Lips

Men and women’s lips are aesthetically very similar. Both look the best when they’re lips are full and plump. This gives the mouth and entire lower face a soft, balanced and attractive appearance. Fuller lips are perceived as soft and gentle-in stark contrast to the thin or asymmetric lips that exude a sense of being stern, mean or untrustworthy.

As I mention in my book, ‘What’s Your Number…the palmer code”, ideal lips have a certain size and shape. On profile, the lips should have a gentle S-shaped curve between the lips and chin-with a 4mm depression existing between these two structures. The illustration, on the left, shows this relationship. Although, the nose and chin typically set the strength of your profile, Lip Augmentation does have the ability to add balance to this area. Enhancing the size and shape of the lips may aesthetically improve the entire lower 1/3 of the face.

In the same illustration, the arrow indicates the 4mm groove that should exist between the lips and the chin on profile. Lip Augmentation/Enhancement/Enlargement Surgery may help achieve a better balanced more aesthetic profile.

In the illustration on the right, imaginary vertical lines drawn down from the inner colored portion of the eyes delineate the overall size of the lips. The upper lip should be no more than 75% the size of the lower lip as illustrated by the horizontal lines in the same illustration. This assures that there is an overall pout to the lips-no matter how plump or full they are. In my opinion, this aesthetic ratio should not be violated because if it is, the lips look out unbalanced and of proportion making the entire mouth appear oddly shaped.

As we age, it’s common to loose mass in the lips and even in the bones, of the face, giving the illusion that the upper lip, or more precisely the space between the upper lip and the nasal tip, has become elongated. This makes the lower face look aged and stern which is not attractive or aesthetically pleasing. The sole purpose of Lip Augmentation, Lip Enhancement or Lip Enlargement Procedures is to add volume and mass to the lips that otherwise appear to small and thin. However, if done improperly…the lips can be distorted, contorted and mis-shapen. Sadly, we’ve all seen celebrity photos of that very thing portrayed in magazines or on TV.

Ideally shaped lips have other characteristics according to the “Palmer Beauty Principles” , which I developed. These should be the cornerstone for planning Lip Augmentation and Enhancement Procedures or Surgery. If these Aesthetic principles are violated, the lips may appear to large, distorted or out of balance with the your face.

Once you understand these points, you are ready to compare your lips to ideally shaped, beautiful lips…some pictures of which are included below.

Beautiful Lips

If you don’t have perfectly shaped lips-don’t despair. There are several methods to augment and create fuller lips. These can be organized into two types of Lip Augmentation Procedures, ones using injectable filler materials and those requiring a surgical procedure to Enhance the size and shape of the Lips. Let’s look at each of these Lip Augmentation Methods:

1. Fillers.

Juvederm Ultra and Restylane are what we currently use to fill the borders of the lips. These injections are done as an office treatment and take about 10-15 minutes. Most often a topical numbing cream is applied to the lips prior to the treatment. The plumping effects last about 4-6 months.

2. Lip Implants

There are several types of material that are currently available as lip implants. Alloderm, solid Silicone and a saline filled implant that has an outer gortex-like shell. Although the latter two are permanent, I believe they each have significant drawbacks including the ability to move after being placed within the lips. For that reason, I prefer to use Alloderm as an implant. Alloderm being softer than the other two lip implants can be placed just under the red portion of the outer lips. Alloderm is placed below that layer and above the lip muscle through a small incision in each corner of the mouth. This allows all of the augmentation to remain in the front of the lips and mouth where it is needed the most…unlike the other two implants that cause lip augmentation in a 360 degree manner, including the portion of your lips that’s on the inside your mouth. Alloderm lasts about 7 years and can be re-done at that time.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
“What’s Your Number..the palmer code.”

***pictures are of models and are included for educational purposes only. No claim is made that these models are patients of Dr Francis Palmer, nor that they have had any plastic and cosmetic surgery treatments or procedures.

Plastic Surgery Blog “Tip of the day”: the Cheeks make the face appear young, old, male, female, attractive or less so. In a word, WOW…Cheeks have more influence over how attractive you are than any other facial feature…not the eyes or nose as is widely believed.

As a Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon for over 20 years, I have spent my career making people, from teachers to royalty and heads of state, more attractive. I have learned that the Cheeks are the most aesthetically important facial feature in defining just how attractive you really are. A fact that unfortunately seems lost on many patients and surgeons alike in the field of aesthetic plastic and cosmetic surgery as witnessed by the wide, swollen, sometimes mis-shapen faces we see on TV and the tabloids stories of celebrity plastic surgery.

As people strive to look their very best, I believe that an aesthetic analysis of their cheeks should be the first priority when looking to make any face more attractive. For women, the cheeks should be full and round to give the face a soft, feminine and youthful appearance. For men, the Cheeks should be more narrow adding angularity and a more ruggedly handsome, chiseled look to the face.

Ideal female Cheeks

Ideal male Cheeksarrow shows a more narrow cheek shape.

These principles are discussed in greater detail in my new book defining beauty “What’s Your Number…the palmer code.”

Now that we have defined the proper cheek shape for men and women, let’s take a look at ways that you may be able to achieve the ideal shaped cheek.

1. Cheek Implants are a permanent way to alter the shape of your cheeks in a precise and consistent manner. One word of caution “do not try to use implants that are too large and over power your face as these will make the face appear odd and mis-shapen.” Cheek Implantation must use subtle but aesthetically correct shaped implants in order to achieve balance and harmony with your other facial features. These can be done alone or in concert with a Face Lift when loose skin and tissues are an issue.

2. Fillers like Radiesse and Perlane can be used to shape the Cheeks….the procedure is performed as an office treatment and takes just a few minutes. Perlane seems to last about 9 months and Radiesse 12 months, after which it must be repeated. The good news is that using these shaping fillers, any cheek can be made more attractive as the injections can be modified to fit any shape, size and configuration of cheeks. I have to remind you however, that there’s no inherent magic in these fillers and if they are injected in the wrong amount or in the wrong place, the cheeks can and will appear deformed…and will remain so for many months unless something is done to get rid of the material. All of this can be avoided by knowing what shape your cheeks should be and avoiding injections that don’t seem likely to give you that shape.

***these fillers can also be used to shape the chin, jawline and even the nose (Rhinoplasty).

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
“What’s Your Number..the palmer code.”

Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery “Tip of the Day” from Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr Francis Palmer.

The Wall Street Journal had a story about Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery today….Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants is now the most popular plastic surgery procedure or at least it was in 2009. This is from data collected by one of the three organizations of surgeons who perform plastic and/or cosmetic surgery procedures like Breast Enhancement/Augmentation , Face Lifts and the like.

Liposuction was dethroned as the most popular, most commonly performed, plastic surgery procedure and was actually down about 17% from the previous year. The article also noted, which we have discussed here numerous times in the past, the increasing trend towards less invasive procedures. This was my motivation behind creating our minimum incision Face Lift the “Palmer Celebrity Face Lift” which was featured on ABC’s hit TV show “The View”. Botox and fillers like Restylane, Radiesse and Perlane remained popular.

Rhinoplasty was mentioned only in passing but according to my calculations, of published data from all three surgical groups who perform plastic and cosmetic surgery, remains the top or one of the top plastic surgery procedures performed year after year.

It is true that Breast Augmentation is popular and Silicone Breast Implants have gained popularity since the FDA lifted their restrictions some time back. I have seen two sets of patients that are interested in Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants. The first group are young women who have small breasts and would like the size and or shape improved. Silicone Breast Implants are available for women 22 years of age or older. Younger women would need to use Saline Breast Implants.

The second group of women interested in Breast Augmentation are those who have had children, or are older and wish to regain a more aesthetic breast size and shape using Breast Implants. These women may also need some form of Breast Lift along with the Breast Implants. I believe that all Breast Implants should be placed below the muscle which offers an additional layer of tissue above the Breast Implant.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
“What’s Your Number..the palmer code.”

Some of the World’s Best Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeons will be interviewed in an upcoming magazine article…I’m honored to be included and will share the link when it becomes available. My interview is this afternoon and I’ll mention the all important aesthetic aspect of plastic and cosmetic surgery here in Beverly Hills and the rest of the world.
Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
“What’s Your Number..the palmer code.”

Yoanna House from Next Top Model denies face plastic and cosmetic surgery but admits to Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants.

did she nip and tuck?

Photo Credits: Simmons, Countess/Getty Full article:

The photo in the black dress reportedly from 2004 compared to the one where she’s in the red dress shows an increased bust from the admitted Breast Augmentation and Breast Implants. Her face looks about the same but seems aged a bit, which of course is normal after children and 6 years time. The only question I have is the right side of her face appears to have less jowling (seen in 2004) than 6 years later…hmmm. This may indicate some type of facelift procedure, but only she knows for certain.

What’s her “Face Number”? In 2004 photo, her Palmer Code Face Number is 97 and in the 2010 photo it’s a 90 out of 100 possible points…her “Number” went down 7 points since 2004 no matter what she’s done.
Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
“What’s Your Number..the palmer code.”

Updates on facelift series, cheek implants and Rhinoplasty were lost with the switch over to our new servers. I will get these back up as soon as possible.

Dr Francis Palmer

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