What are the best procedures for flat, thin lips? (Photos)

Question

I am a 41 year old woman. My lips have always been thin but as I age they are flatter/thinner and make me look old. Can fillers help lips like these? What are my best options?

Kally Papantoniou, MD, FAAD · Answer

For lips that have always been thin and have become a little flatter with age, hyaluronic acid filler is usually the most direct place to start. A conservative amount can restore definition and soft volume without making the lips look overfilled.

Sometimes a small amount of filler around the mouth can also be helpful if there has been loss of support in that area. A Botox lip flip can be a nice addition for certain patients, but it does not actually add volume, so I would not consider it a replacement for filler when thinness is the main concern. I would recommend starting conservatively and building gradually if needed rather than trying to make a dramatic change in one visit. A consultation with a board-certified dermatologist or experienced injector can help determine the right product and placement for a natural result.

Gary M. Horndeski, MD · Answer

I recommend an eccentric lip lift, not a bullhorn lip lift. This does 4 things: shortens the distance between your nose and upper lip, increase the mucosa of the upper lip, increases the incisor show and pulls up the corners. This takes 1 hour to perform under local anesthesia and costs $4,000.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Luis A. Mejia, MD · Answer

Around age 40, lips thin and flatten due to a combination of collagen depletion, bone resorption around the upper jaw, and the lengthening of the philtrum. Over-injecting naturally thin lips with too much filler can cause them to project forward artificially ("duck lips") rather than roll upward to display the pink mucosal skin. You should check with a plastic surgeon.
Dr. Luis Mejia.
Let's make it better

Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD · Answer

Yes, fillers can absolutely help with lips that are naturally thin or have become flatter and less defined with age. The goal isn't necessarily to create very large lips, but to restore some of the structure, definition, and subtle volume that may have been lost.

For your description, a conservative hyaluronic acid (HA) lip filler would generally be one of the best nonsurgical options. A small amount can be placed strategically to improve the lip border, add projection, and restore some central fullness while keeping the result natural.

Depending on your anatomy, other options may include:

HA lip filler: Best for adding subtle volume and improving lip definition. It is adjustable and temporary.
Lip flip with botulinum toxin: Can gently relax the muscles around the upper lip so that more of the lip rolls outward. This provides more of a shape change than true volume and is usually subtle.
Combination treatment: In some patients, a small amount of filler combined with a lip flip can provide better definition without making the lips look overfilled.
Lip lift: A surgical option that shortens the distance between the nose and upper lip and increases the amount of visible upper lip. This is more permanent but involves surgery and a scar.

At 41, I would generally favor restoring definition and proportion rather than simply adding a lot of volume. The best approach depends heavily on your natural lip anatomy, the amount of visible vermilion, the relationship between your upper and lower lips, and how much structural change has occurred with aging.

One important consideration is that lip filler is a medical procedure and can rarely cause complications such as vascular occlusion, tissue injury, infection, swelling, or asymmetry. For that reason, treatment should be performed by an experienced, appropriately trained medical professional who understands facial anatomy and the management of filler complications.

Nelson Lee Novick, MD · Answer

I have personally been using medium viscosity HA fillers for increasing volume in naturally thin lips or those that have thinned with aging. In the hands of an experienced, board certified cosmetic dermatologist filler injection expert, treatment takes about fifteen minutes to perform, with immediate results and typically little to no significant post-treatment downtime. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Yasemin Aydinli, MD · Answer

Yes, filler can help lips like yours, and for a flat, thin lip I find the Russian technique particularly suitable, because the product is placed vertically to lift and lengthen the height of the lip rather than pushing it forward. This gives shape and definition instead of simple volume, which is what your lips are missing. Filler is temporary, but in my own clinical experience, when good quality products are used and treatment is repeated three or four times at roughly yearly intervals, the lips never return to their original thinness, since a well chosen filler also stimulates collagen production over time. The right product and amount for you can only be decided by examination.

Zoran Potparic, MD · Answer

The most reliable and simple procedure in your case is lip augmentation with filler. Upper lip lift would be a procedure to consider as well; it will visually enlarge and shape your upper lip. Good luck.

Danielle Shanley, MD · Answer

Yes, fillers can absolutely help with lips that are naturally thin or have become flatter with age! The key is how the filler is placed and how much is used. You don't necessarily need a lot of volume to make a noticeable difference!

For lips like these, I'd consider a small amount of hyaluronic acid filler focused on restoring some of the lip's shape and definition rather than simply making the lips bigger. Your injector can also address the border and Cupid's bow and add subtle volume to the body of the lips. This can give the lips more structure and projection while still looking natural!

At 41, I'd also have the injector look at the area around the mouth. Sometimes treating the lips alone doesn't completely address the aging changes, and a small amount of filler in surrounding areas can help support the overall result.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

By far, your best option is lip augmentation using HA fillers.
It’s important that the treatment is conservative in order to not have a treated unnatural outcome.
It’s also important that the lower lip maintain its volume ratio to the upper lip. In paragraph over emphasizing upper lip volume can give a fake unnatural outcome.
Go consult with several providers and ask them to show you a lot of before and pictures of previous patients who had similar lip characteristics.
Lip filler treatments is an art and not everybody is good at doing these treatments. 
Provider selection is the most important variable.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD

What are the best procedures for flat, thin lips? (Photos)

Answers (9)

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