Is it safe to have the borders of your lips injected superficially? Are there veins or nerves in the superficial layer of lips?

Hi @Sheba1970! Superficial injections especially around the vermillion border are safe and give a beautiful result. I recommend seeking treatments from expert injectors who have the skill and experience to precisely inject fillers into treatment areas and avoid risks and complications. Best of luck, Dr. Nima!

I believe it is actually safer to inject the lips superficially than deeper. We often inject just below the mucosa to the lips to improve the shape. The vermilion border is another area that is often injected superficially.

The short answer to your question is that in experienced hands, fillers are used routinely to better define the vermilion border of lips (the line dividing the red lip and white lip), an approach that helps not only to define the lips, but provide some desirable lip pout, and smooth "bar code" (aka "smoker's" or "lipstick bleeding"  lines. Bruising tends to be minimal and coverable with makeup. Belotero Balance is my preferred filler for this purpose as it possesses little to no tendency to give rise to the unwanted bluish/gray Tyndall Effect when injected superifically, as needs to be done in this case. Make sure that you consult with a board certified aesthetic physician with experience and expertise with advanced uses and injection techniques for fillers. Be cautious when evaluating non-core physician, non-physician injectors, and medspas. Regarding the latter, in a recent survey conducted among the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery members, it was found that "the most common treatments associated with complications included fillers..." This survey further concluded that  "With the rising popularity of medical spas and possibly their increase scope of practice, stricter rules and regulations are necessary to protect aesthetic patients from harm." So, good luck and do your due diligence before agreeing to proceed. 

For this area a very fine filler such as Juvederm Volbella would be ideal.  It would be safe to inject in this area with the right filler.

If your concern is accidental injection into blood vessels, staying superficial or using a cannula is much safer than injecting blindly into the deeper tissue of the lips. However, superficial injections pose more risk aesthetically if not performed correctly. The choice of fillers matter. Thinner fillers like Restylane Silk, Volbella or Belotero are best for superficial injections. Juvederm and Restylane are also good for injecting superficially but you may see little balls form along the border if the injector is not very experienced. It can still happen even with expert injectors but less likely. There is a way to dissolve it if it comes out uneven but it is much better to get it right the first time. The bottom line is, for safety and for best results choose your injector carefully. An expert injector will know where, how and which product to use to give you the best results and avoid mishaps. 

Dear Sheba1970,
I typically use Juvederm for my lip sculpting. There are two main focuses of lip injections, adding volume and actually sculpting the shape. Both involve injecting the filler in different areas of the lips and patterns.
I would recommend finding a plastic surgeon to perform you lip injections. Most of my patients have results that last at least 6 months.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hello, and thank you for your question! There are veins and nerves in many different layer of the lips. Superficial injections in the lips, especially around the vermillion border, are generally very safe for injections and can create a beautiful appearance. As always, I recommend having a thorough exam and consultation with your injector prior to your procedure.
- Dr. Julie Shelley
Oklahoma City, OK

Good question. The lip borders, the vermillion border, is a relatively safe area unless the injection is extended laterally, in fact, this is the main area of volume loss with aging and where I usually inject because of the more common older population of my practice. A cannula works exceptionally well there. Make sure you see an expert injector in the area.