Question: As I have gotten into my 50s, I have noticed that my lipstick bleeds into the little cracks around my lips. It looks really bad, and I would like to get a lip augmentation to help fix this problem. Would lip augmentation with Radiesse help fill in these little lines that make me look old and washed out?
Answer: I would highly encourage you not to get injections of Radiesse in the lips as I personally feel it is contraindicated in this region of the face. I have seen many patients when Radiesse was relatively new come to my office with bumps, irregularities, and even visible white spots from the injection of Radiesse. I have had to remove some small areas of Radiesse in patients like this and this is not easily done. I would, therefore, highly recommend that you stick with the hyaluronic acid-type fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm Ultra as these provide an extremely natural feel, do a wonderful job augmenting lips, and are extremely safe and theoretically reversible. I would also recommend that you seen an experienced injector since we have all seen bad lip augmentation jobs in the Hollywood actresses. We certainly do not want to create lips or end up having lips that are causing a negative impact on our overall appearance. When performed appropriately, lip augmentation can provide an extremely natural-looking fuller lip that is what my personal patients always desire.