Lindsay is a 39-year-old woman living in Dallas who got lip implants in August 2015. This is her story, as told to Melanie Rud, edited for length and clarity.
My lips were always extremely thin and one of the areas I was the most self-conscious about. I never wore lipstick because I didn’t want to call attention to them; instead, I tried every plumping gloss and serum out there. I looked into injectable filler, but I didn’t want something that would require continuous upkeep and repeated costs. I wanted a one-and-done solution. Plus a lot of the photos of filled lips that I was seeing didn’t look particularly natural. Even though I was self-conscious about my lips, I didn’t want people to look at me and think, She had her lips done. I wanted something that was permanent yet subtle, which is how I arrived at the decision to get lip implants.
This was August 2015, and there weren’t a lot of doctors in the Dallas–Fort Worth area performing the procedure at the time, so I found Dr. Christine Stiles [a board-certified plastic surgeon in Frisco, Texas]. She showed me silicone implants in three different sizes. I wanted to go with the largest ones, and she agreed that yes, even those would still look natural on me.
The surgery was done under local anesthesia and wasn’t painful; I just felt some pressure and tugging when Dr. Stiles put the implants in. I experienced a little bit of pain afterward but nothing that was unmanageable. The biggest side effects were absurd amounts of bruising and swelling. The swelling was truly ridiculous—it definitely elicited some stares. But everything subsided after about a month, which is when I could finally see the end result. I was so happy with how my lips looked. I felt an enormous amount of relief that I could put on makeup without my mind immediately focusing on and critiquing my lips. It was freeing to realize that my self-esteem was no longer wrapped up in my lips. And of course, I went out and bought every color lipstick possible.
Even though I notice a big difference, I still think that overall, it was a very subtle change. The implants really aren’t that noticeable when I have my lips together or am front-facing; you can see them more when I’m in profile. My upper lip is turned up a bit more, and I have a more defined Cupid’s bow. My lower lip is where there’s more volume, which makes for an overall poutier appearance that I think looks very youthful.
My friends and family were very supportive, and, after that initial swelling wore off, subtle was definitely the word of the day. People who don’t know me are always surprised when they find out that I have implants; they can tell only if they touch my lips with their finger, because then you can feel a little strip of silicone. The same goes for kissing—I always ask, but no one has ever said they can feel the implants when we kiss. While I could tell that there was something in my lips for the first few months, especially when I smiled or I ate (I was told this was because the implants were still settling), now I can’t feel them at all.
I paid $2,100 for the procedure and don’t believe the implants will ever have to be replaced. This isn’t something my surgeon mentioned or that I’ve read about. I did, however, decide to get a bullhorn lip lift [aka a subnasal lip lift, it involves removing the skin just below and to the sides of the nostrils] in September 2020. I wanted to reduce the distance between my nose and upper lip, and I really think the results of that surgery were more dramatic because I have lip implants. The two combined were an extremely impactful option and a way for me to permanently augment my lips that I’m very happy with.
