Lip Augmentation: How to Get Full, Pouty Lips Like Angelina Jolie

Author: Dr. Edwin C. Pound, III M.D.  - Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon - Atlanta, GA
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Everyone wants lips like Angelina Jolie. Her full, pouty lips are the dream of every woman. Surprisingly, lips like Angelina's are fairly easy to obtain through injections, implants, or lip roll-out procedures. These procedures may add more volume to the lips as well as help contour the shape for a more aesthetic look. Most of these procedures can be done under local anesthesia in the time it takes for a lunch break.
There are a number of filler materials on the market today that are easily injectable and compatible with a patient's tissues. Most of these come in pre-packaged syringes. Most prominent of these injectables include Restylane and Juvederm. These products can be injected without anesthesia or with numbing cream applied to the lips. Most pre-packaged injectables last for six to nine months before being completely degraded by the patient's body. Risks are generally mild and include swelling and possible bruising. Cold compresses applied to the lips may decrease the likelihood of this happening.

One injectable that should be avoided is silicone. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous doctors still inject liquid silicone into the lips. Silicone is a permanent injectable. While results may look good initially, the silicone may migrate through the tissues or create scar tissue that can result in lumpy, uneven lips over time. This is very difficult to correct.

Another injectable material is fat. Everyone has a little fat they can spare. A small amount of fat can be removed from the abdominal area or hips under local anesthesia and then transferred to the lips. Fat tends to be very fragile material, however. If it does not settle in and develop a good blood supply, much of it will be re-absorbed. Since only 20 – 50% of transferred fat survives, doctors tend to over-correct. This means that the patient may have very large lips until the fat settles and the swelling subsides. Patients may be asked to eat only soft foods that don't require much chewing for several weeks afterwards.

Another source of tissue for implantation is skin from the patient or from a cadaver (Alloderm). Again, the patient's own tissue works best and has less chance of being re-absorbed over time, however, donating enough skin may be difficult unless this is being done in conjunction with another operation. Cadaver skin works well and is treated so as not to be rejected by the patient's tissues. It tends to last for a longer time than injectables, however, it is also more costly.

Most lip implants have not worked well in the past. The original lip implants were made of GorTex material. Scar tissue would tend to form around this foreign material resulting in firmness to the lips that was undesirable. The most recent innovation in lip implants is called PermaLip. This is a very soft silicone rubber implant that can be inserted under local anesthesia in the office. Results with this implant have been very impressive. While PermaLip is a permanent solution to lip fullness, it can also be removed easily if the patient so desires.

While injectables may give the lips more volume, they do little to create a pout to the lip itself. This can be done with a lip roll-out procedure. Most lip roll-out procedures are done in a surgical setting as they require incisions inside the lips to create the desired shape. Secondary touch-up procedures may also be necessary to fine tune the results. These can generally be done under local anesthesia in the office.