Fuller lips are not just a temporary trend – they’re a proven, popular aesthetic that helps your face look more attractive as a whole. Not everyone is born with these full lips, however. And for the lucky ones who are, the aging process can slowly but surely take them away. Thankfully, there are some great lip filler options that can assist both those who’ve always wanted, and those who may be losing, plump lips. Juvederm Volbella is a leading lip filler — designed specifically for the lips, this injectable delivers proven, natural-looking, and long-lasting results. Let’s take a look and learn more.
Why Volbella Works for Fuller Lips
As a member of the Juvederm family, this filler shares many qualities with other products in the Juvederm line, including the presence of hyaluronic acid (HA). HA occurs naturally throughout the body and provides the face a full, youthful appearance. With its ability to attract and hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water, it also moisturizes and nourishes the skin from deep within underlying tissues. It’s not the fountain of youth, but perhaps the next best thing.
Note that Volbella does differ from other Juvederm products — it is uniquely formulated with a thin, silky consistency. This allows doctors to inject the treatment very close to the surface without fear of causing lumps. What you see, in turn, are results that can be customized to your preference. Volbella is very easy to work with. For example, if you want a slightly more dramatic lip enhancement, your medical specialist can deliver that effect just as easily as they can provide subtle plumping. Volbella’s special formulation makes it very flexible for different aesthetic goals.
The Potent Powers of HA
But what exactly is hyaluronic acid? Although it contains the word “acid,” HA does not exfoliate as other acids do. All human bodies produce HA to act as plumper, protector, healer, and natural moisturizer for the skin. It controls all water content of the skin to protect it from premature aging and maintain a youthful appearance.
Another way to look at it, would be to think of HA as a sponge that attracts and retains water wherever it is – provided you drink and eat enough water-rich foods to support its activities. If you have enough spare water circulating in your body, HA present in your skin will attract that water and lock it in place. In terms of biochemical structure, HA has a high molecular weight and does not enter skin cells. Therefore, it remains between cells, primarily within the dermis, to help regulate water movement and content.
The Importance of Cross-Linking
HA is safe, highly biocompatible, and very hydrophilic – meaning it interacts well with water. But to make HA useable for cosmetic treatments, it must be stabilized with cross-linked proteins.
Our bodies naturally degrade HA every day. Astonishingly, it lasts less than 24 hours within the skin, so that we must constantly produce more. It’s a continuous, ongoing process. This isn’t a problem when we’re younger, but as we age, the rate at which we synthesize HA naturally slows down. This leads to our faces losing their youthful volume. And the same is true of the lips, which become thinner, flatter, and essentially shapeless over time. Today’s cosmetic fillers can temporarily reverse these effects, but only when they’re formulated correctly.
Resistance to Degradation
The cross-linking process makes HA more resistant to degradation so it can remain intact at the treatment site. Many fillers will last around six months, but Volbella actually keeps going for up to 18 months. The difference in longevity is due to how its molecules are bonded together, or cross-linked. Tighter cross-linking means a higher percentage of HA molecules per mL within the gel that suspends them – and this in turn provides longer-lasting results.
Also, fillers can be made with HA molecules all cross-linked with the same molecular weights to create a single-consistency gel – thick, medium, or thin – or molecular weights in different patterns for a variable consistency. These different techniques ultimately give us a variety of fillers that behave individually, achieve different aesthetic goals, are used in different parts of the face, and last for varying lengths of time.
Describing Vycross Technology
Juvederm takes cross-linking HA molecules one step further than ever before, with its proprietary Vycross technology. This creates a formulation of 10% high and 90% low molecular weight to deliver a tight, efficient filler formula, more resistant to natural degradation than other fillers. The benefits of Vycross include:
- A very smooth gel that flows easily into lips
- Easy molding after injection
- Less swelling after treatment
- Faster recovery after treatment
- Very natural results
The matrix created by the Vycross process gives way to a silky consistency, that is not granular like many other fillers. This allows us your doctor to “massage” the injectable filler after treatment to ensure symmetry, proportion, and desired protrusion for your lips. In a study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
- 97% of subjects said they would use this filler again in the future
- 100% of the subjects and physicians stated they would recommend this filler to others
- 90% of participants reported feeling satisfied with their results nine months after treatment
Formulated Specifically for Lips
All of these attributes mentioned above give Volbella a slightly thinner and highly malleable consistency. It’s smooth consistency is ideal for your doctor to craft gentle, yet sexy results, and because it’s formulated specifically for lip enhancement, this filler takes a different approach when compared to its competitors. Rather than to merely increase volume, as many other fillers do, it also reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in and near the mouth. This provides a more comprehensive treatment for patients, and a better overall result.
A More Comfortable Experience
Smoother injections typically result in fewer side effects, such as bruising and inflammation, making this filler extremely well-tolerated. Volbella is also formulated to include lidocaine, a numbing agent used to moderate pain reactions both during and immediately after treatment. Lidocaine takes effect in just seconds but lasts less than 30 minutes – it numbs the pain during treatment, but wears off relatively quickly. Your mouth won’t feel distorted/numbed for the rest of the day. Note that adding this numbing agent does not reduce the efficacy of Volbella- quite the opposite, as it helps makes for a much more comfortable treatment experience for the patient.
Expect More Than Lip Volume
This injectable smooths away wrinkles and improves hydration as it plumps your lips, but it also addresses the overall lip shape. Believe it or not, there is mathematical science behind what are generally considered beautiful lips. More precisely, it’s the ratio of the upper lip to the bottom lip, which is ideally 1:2. Said differently, the ideal symmetry and lip volume ratio is generally considered to be, having an upper lip that is half as big as the lower lip. It’s generally agreed that the most appealing lips have have a surface area about 50% bigger than their natural size and occupy about 10% of the lower one-third of your face. Who knew the secrets of beautiful lips were so precise!
Precise Application
As a result of the precise formula of Volbella, it is much better suited to plumping the lips than many other fillers available on the market. For instance, a viscous filler with large molecules and a granular consistency is not ideal for injecting into lips because it can be felt under the thin lip skin. And on the flip side, an overly soft filler cannot deliver volume because it simply sinks into deep tissue planes, and failing to provide added visible volume. Volbella has been carefully formulated to be soft and smooth, while still delivering the long-lasting volume boost you desire.
Rapid Recovery Times
It’s expected that all cosmetic therapies have some sort of recovery periods, but Volbella defies expectations with virtually no recovery time necessary. Patients are able to get on with their day immediately after treatment, in virtually all cases. In fact, a majority of patients reported that they were able to attend social engagements on the very same day as therapy – and all subjects resumed normal activities within four to five days.
All patients are requested to follow some simple recovery guidelines. It’s recommend you avoid rubbing and touching your lips for 24 hours after treatment. In addition, avoid vigorous heat and exercising for 72 hours, and if your daily beauty routine includes lip exfoliation, put that on pause for two to three days.
Benefits of This Treatment
Although this injectable is long lasting, it’s not permanent. This makes it ideal for patients who are looking for subtle enhancements or aren’t sure yet if they’ll like how they look with plumper lips. An experienced doctor will consult with you to craft a plan that provides only the amount of filler you need but not a drop more. After living with the results for some time, if you choose to go with fuller results at a later time, you’re free to do so.
Rapid Sessions
Treatment sessions are quite fast – each session lasts between 30 minutes and an hour. This is great news for patients who have busy schedules, demanding jobs, and a busy family life. Lip treatment with Juvederm Volbella is quick enough to accommodate almost anyone.
Preparing for your treatment session is similarly easy. Your doctor will provide specific steps to follow, tailored to your needs, during your consultation, but in general it’s recommended that patients avoid supplements and medications that thin the blood for seven to 10 days, before treatment. This includes alcohol and vitamins E and K. Also, it’s also important to stay hydrated to support the effectiveness of HA. Also, be sure to wear sunscreen when you go outside – UV rays are known to degrade HA molecules.
Most Patients Can Have Volbella Treatment
Unlike surgery, most patients are great candidates for dermal fillers. To be a good candidate for Volbella, you should be in sound overall health with a desire to correct asymmetry or volume loss in the lips. Younger patients (over age 21) who simply want to add fullness to their lips, are also encouraged to consider this treatment.
Only a few patients may not be good candidates for Volbella treatment. For instance, those with fever blisters, cold sores, or sunburns should delay treatment. Also, patients recovering from viral or bacterial infections, as well as pregnant or nursing women, should delay treatment.
Conclusion
Juvederm Volbella is designed specifically for the lips – it plumps, hydrates, and smooths wrinkles in an almost effortless manner. Patients will enjoy long-lasting results and, because HA is a naturally-occurring substance, the silky smooth formula is easily accepted by the body. Licensed medical professionals can buy dermal fillers like Volbella at Health Supplies Plus, a leading online medical supplies portal.