After 20 years of lecturing and teaching other surgeons about lip lifting, the word has finally gotten out and more and more people are aware that longer lips look older and more masculine. Lip lifting is the answer for most people, but, there isn’t a one size fits all lip lift! Let’s look at the different types:
Bullhorn or Modified Bullhorn Lip Lift. This procedure is done with a small incision under or partially inside the nose. The deeper tissues are then lifted as is the skin of the upper lip. By customizing the procedure we can focus on lifting the entire lip, rolling the lip out, lifting the sides of the lip, or lifting the center of the lip. The details matter a lot to get a natural result. Some doctors speak about “undermining the skin”, but that is rarely needed and results in less lip lift with a shorter lifespan for the results.
Italian Lip Lift. Here, we place our stitches around the nostrils only, but not in the center of the lip. This is great for people who have a very upturned nose or who mostly have problems on the sides. The two small incisions we make are typically very hard to find!
Vermilion Border Lip Lift. In this case the stitches are placed along the junction of the red lip with the skin-color part of the lip. This is particularly helpful when the sides of your lips are thin or roll downward but the central area looks good. Dissolvable stitches are used, and the results are both dramatic and well-hidden so people won’t know why you now look so good.
Sweetheart, Banner, or Corner Lift. As with the vermilion border lift, the sweetheart lift necessitates that stitches be along the red border of the sides of the lip. But here, the goal is specifically to rotate the corner up. Have you heard of “RBF, resting b*ch face”? It’s a not-nice term for looking angry even when you are not. Sometimes that is from downturned corners of the mouth, and the sweetheart lift may be the answer.
Lip lifts come in many varieties. We’ve been doing lip lifts longer than almost anyone else and have the experience and knowledge to get each person the results they need, with the right approach. You can trust your face to TSC!
