B - Points to Upper Lip

C - Dimple

1. Thinning of the lips, especially the upper lip. It can actually look like the upper lip is disappearing.

2. Flattening of the upper lip, so you lose the points (B) to the upper lip line.

3. Flattening and elongating of the area above your upper lip. You lose the vertical ridges (A) above your lip and the dimple (C) that's naturally found between the points of the upper lip.

I find that most patients would like fuller lips. The reasons vary, whether it's aging, genetics or just a desire to have a more youthful, sexier look. The most common fear is that they will look too large, unnatural or artificial like some famous movie stars we've all seen recently.

Lip augmentation can be done safely and leave you with a great, sexy and natural look. When performed correctly, keeping the natural lip anatomy in mind, no one can tell who has it and who doesn't.

Everyone looks better with fuller lips! A great, sexy look is to have fuller lips without crossing a natural line where you look fake or artificial. Today your options for lip augmentation are both surgical and non-surgical and there is a significant controversy in the medical community over which is best.

Surgical options, such as fat grafts and solid materials, are surgically implanted into the lips. Fat grafts have been known to be absorbed by your body and many patients who have had this could not see any difference six months later. If they did see a difference, frequently it was not the change they had hoped for. The solid material surgically implanted does fill out the lips, however controversy over it lasting more than 6-12 months does exist. Another controversy exists with the solid material also making the lips look unnatural and overly large, like they've been stuffed. Aside from looking stiff and less mobile, you can also lose the appearance of the natural anatomy of the upper lip, including the points of the upper lip.

Most patients, I find, are not willing to go through a surgical procedure for these kinds of variable results.

Non-surgical options are temporary and include injectable collagen, for example: Zyplast™, Dermologen™ and the newly available Cymetra™ . This is a quick in-office treatment with no downtime, where the collagen is injected with a very small needle. The lips can be plumped and you easily maintain a natural look by enhancing or re-creating the natural anatomy of the lips. This means besides enlarging the lips, you can enhance the points to the upper lip line and also re-create the philtral columns (the 2 vertical ridges above your upper lip). The collagen can also be specifically placed to soften or eliminate wrinkles including vertical lip lines.

An advantage of collagen is that it's injectable, which means placement can be extremely precise. With this precision, the natural anatomy can be enhanced or re-created, which is the key to keeping a natural look.

So lip augmentation can be done in ways that may look unnatural, but this does not have to be the case. With expertise and precision, a natural and sexy look can be easily accomplished.

• "I love the sexy fullness collagen is able to give me. My friends say I look great, but can't quite put their finger on what is different. I love it!"

• "I absolutely love the look that collagen has given me! Thanks to Dr. Kramer's help, I have the full, luscious lips that I have always longed for."

• "I used to have horrible lip lines and hated the way my lipstick ran. Collagen has given me the fullness that eliminated the lip lines and gives me beautiful and sexy lips."

• "I never realized you could lose the fullness in your lips. I'm so happy there is something I could do about it and that doesn't require surgery"