As we age, our lips tend to lose their fullness and become thinner and drier. This is due to a breakdown of collagen, the protein that gives lips a plump appearance. Just like other parts of our face, the delicate skin on our lips is exposed to daily aggressions from sunlight, drying wind, and excessive licking. These factors weaken the skin barrier, leading to dryness and a decreased ability to retain moisture. It’s important to understand these factors to effectively care for your lips and maintain their health and moisture.

If you’re looking to enhance thin lips, lip fillers can be a game-changer. They offer a long-term solution to plump up your lips, making them more prominent and full. But how much lip filler is needed? It depends on your lips.

If your lips are generally good-sized but have lost a bit of volume over time, a touch of volumising filler is what you need. On the other hand, if you want more definition, a little bit of filler along the lip border can work wonders.

It’s important to be cautious if you have a small mouth or very thin lips. Overdoing the filler can lead to a distorted appearance. It’s crucial to maintain the proportionality of your lips with the rest of your face for a natural and balanced look.

When it comes to maintaining healthy lips, skincare is key. Just like the rest of your skin, your lips deserve good cleansing, sunscreen protection, and proper hydration. These routine steps, although not the most thrilling, play a crucial role in keeping your lips in excellent condition.

If you’re seeking immediate solutions without resorting to lip fillers, there are other options worth exploring. Consider trying out these alternatives:

Stimulating lip glosses
These glosses contain ingredients like menthol, which gently irritate the delicate lip skin, leading to temporary swelling and reddening. While some may find the tingling sensation distracting, many people adore the plumping effect. However, it’s important to note that the results are short-lived, requiring frequent reapplication.

Home-use lip-plumping gels or lip rejuvenators
These gels often contain hyaluronic acid and work by penetrating the thin lip tissue, hydrating and plumping the lips. To see noticeable effects, it’s typically necessary to apply these gels multiple times a day for several weeks. Although they are noninvasive and user-friendly, patience is required for visible results.

In-clinic non-invasive lip-plumping treatments
Similar to home-use gels, in-clinic treatments also utilise noninvasive approaches to plump the lips. For example, the Perk device exfoliates the lips and saturates them with lip-plumping solutions. Following the treatment, you continue applying the solution multiple times a day. These treatments offer a definite lip boost, but the effects diminish over the next couple of days, making them ideal for short-term enhancement, such as for special events.
Taking care of your lips is a vital part of your overall skincare routine. By exploring these options, you can give your lips the attention they deserve while enjoying the results that suit your needs.

If you’re looking to enhance the appearance of your lips without actually changing their size, there are a few tricks you can try using makeup. Not only are these suggestions cost-effective, but they can also be combined with techniques that genuinely make your lips appear bigger:

Outline and fill: Start by outlining your lips with a lip liner, then fill in the area with your chosen lipstick shade. This technique helps define your lips and adds dimension.

Play with shades: Experiment with different lipstick shades to achieve the desired effect. For example, using a colour that is slightly darker than your natural lip colour can create a more impactful look.

Embrace gloss: Apply a clear gloss to your lips to make them reflect more light. Rather than coating your entire lip area, focus on adding a small amount of gloss to the center of your lips for a subtle yet noticeable effect.

Highlight your Cupid’s bow: Accentuate your upper lip by applying a touch of highlighter to your Cupid’s bow, which is the dip above your lip. This technique adds depth and draws attention to your lips.

By implementing these suggestions, you’ll be on your way to achieving fuller lips

If you’re searching for a natural and cost-effective way to enhance your lips, try exfoliating your lips with a simple homemade scrub of sugar and honey, or give them a gentle rub with a damp cloth. This exfoliation process increases circulation and adds a touch of fullness to your lips. Not only that, but it also provides a fresh and smooth base that reflects more light, making your lips appear more prominent.

As well as that, you could also try running an ice cube over your lips. Be cautious, though, and ensure the ice cube isn’t too cold (you don’t want it sticking to your delicate lips). Once it’s slightly slippery, glide it over your lips, giving them a rosy, flushed look, similar to the effect of chilly winds on your cheeks.

For a slightly less conventional approach, kissing stimulates and plumps up your lips, giving them a temporary but instant boost.

As you age, you may notice your top lip gradually becoming less prominent. Several factors contribute to this change, some more apparent than others.

Firstly, the natural process of aging results in thinner lips. Over time, collagen, the protein responsible for maintaining lip plumpness, breaks down due to environmental factors. Dryness also plays a role, as dehydrated lips struggle to retain their natural hyaluronic acid, leading to reduced volume.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that in most individuals, the top lip is naturally thinner than the bottom lip. Therefore, changes in the top lip tend to be more noticeable. However, it’s likely that the bottom lip is also experiencing the same thinning, albeit less evidently — at least for now.

Additionally, aging affects the size of our teeth. While they don’t physically shrink, everyday wear and tear can cause erosion, resulting in smaller teeth. Consequently, the diminishing support from your teeth puts less pressure on your lips, making them appear smaller. Maintaining good dental health can slow down this process of gradual attrition, and certain veneers can even enhance tooth volume, providing added support to your lips.

So, if you’re noticing a disappearing top lip, know that it’s a natural part of aging affected by factors such as collagen breakdown, dehydration, tooth size changes, and dental health.

Fixing a thin upper lip can be achieved visually with make-up or through physical means. Combining both approaches can yield even better results.

Physically, the primary method to enhance a thin upper lip is by injecting fillers to add volume. Non-invasive techniques, such as using plumping solutions or applying an ice cube, can also help achieve a fuller look.

If your upper lip appears thin while your lower lip looks fine, you might be tempted to only plump the upper lip. However, this can create an unbalanced appearance once the top lip matches the size of the lower lip. It’s advisable to plump both lips to maintain balance, aiming for a proportion of 1:1.6 between the upper and lower lips. This ratio, known as the golden ratio or divine proportion, is visually pleasing.

Remember to consult a qualified practitioner and discuss realistic expectations. Furthermore, when opting for lip fillers, it is recommended to choose temporary fillers based on hyaluronic acid.

As we age, our natural colours tend to fade. Our hair and eyebrows lose pigment, and the colour of our lips becomes less noticeable.

If you notice that your lips, and possibly your face, appear extremely pale, it is advisable to seek medical advice. Anaemia is the most common cause of such pallor, followed by heart disease or lung disease. Losing colour in these areas can be a symptom worth investigating further.