Created on 13th July 2009
Dr Patrick Bowler, Medical Director of Court House Clinics and leading aesthetic doctor, gives us his view on lip enhancement - the good, the bad and the ugly...
I really don't think I can bear looking at yet another bad lip job on the TV. However interesting the programme, all I can see are bloated lips, out of all natural proportion which seem to move in a strange and uncontrollable way. Now you may think I have a phobia about full lips, what's wrong you say with luscious kissable type Angelina lips? Well I agree on her they look fantastic, but not very appealing on the average person.
There are two types of lip job. First young women, under 30, often want the full blown, stare at my lips, big pout. These look great in those with an inherited good lip line but big trouble in those with thin wide lips. The old saying about the fruitless task of trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear rings true. The duck bill appearance is very attractive to drakes but not men.
Secondly, as we mature the lips lose volume, becoming thin and lined often with a ‘bar code' top lip even in non-smokers. In these cases a subtle redefinition of the edge produces amazing results. Using hyaluronic acid products these benefits can last over a year.
Sadly, it is this age group that also produces the most dreadful looking lips. These are the ones that drive me crazy, even make me giggle and think what is going on here?
One of the main issues is inexperienced, inappropriate practitioners. Anyone can take up injecting fillers, which has led to cheap bad jobs being done in back rooms of dodgy salons or even kitchens. It takes experience to assess a face and know what will fit and enhance appearance. It's very easy to inject a load of filler and produce a disastrous result.
The other problem is that the women who have this treatment become accustomed to their look. Every day, several times a day, they will be staring in the mirror so naturally they forget what their lips looked like before. So they return to their inexperienced practitioner asking for more, they are not advised to leave it and come back in a few months time, instead it's pump and plump.
So please take my advice and see an experienced doctor or aesthetic nurse. Bad lip jobs are rarely down to the product used, more to the experience of the practitioner. Lip fillers have had a bad rap in the press thanks to the likes of Lesley Ash, who by her own admission realises that she did not do her research thoroughly. There is no excuse. Research, research and research, go by personal recommendation, ask your practitioner how long they have been doing the procedure, how many they have done. Listen to their advice: if they are saying less is more, trust them. Use associations like The British Association of Cosmetic Doctors to help locate a trained and qualified cosmetic doctor. Do not be tempted by promotions only by experience.
I want to be able to sit in my favourite café, sip my cappuccino without being startled by yet another pair of horrendous lips walking by...
CS&AM
Dr Patrick Bowler qualified in 1974 at The Royal London Hospital, entering General Practice in 1978 where he developed his interest in Dermatology. In 1998 he opened the Court House Clinic in Brentwood, Essex, specialising in non-surgical skin rejuvenation and now has clinics nationwide. Dr Bowler is the co-founder and fellow of The British Association of Cosmetic Doctors and was on the panels of advisors to the Health Care Commission as it sought to regulate the non-surgical cosmetic industry in 2005. In 1993 he co-founded Cosmeceuticals Ltd, which distributes professional skincare products and treatments.
