Maybe I wasn’t blessed with great lip genes, but I was blessed with a fulfilling sense of apathy when it came to what I looked like to everyone else – and as the story typically goes, then the pandemic happened.
Throughout lockdown, hours of staring at myself in a tiny box during meetings caught up to me. Whether it was out of vanity or boredom, I found myself increasingly convinced that my face needed some minor tweaking. Enter the Botox lip flip, the rising cosmetic procedure some women are trying in lieu of traditional lip fillers, that catapulted to social media infamy by compilations of people being unable to drink out of straws properly.
Obviously at GLAMOUR, we preach ‘your beauty, your rules,’ so if you want to go au natural, we are here for that, but if you want to try cosmetic treatments, we want to provide you with all the info you need. Before embarking on my lip flip before and after, I asked a board-certified dermatologist, plastic surgeon, and nurse practitioner about everything you need to know.
What is a lip flip?
“A lip flip procedure involves injecting a neuromodulator (like Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin) along the vermillion border of the upper lip to target the orbicularis oris muscle,” says board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, MD. “By relaxing this muscle, the lip rolls slightly upward and outward, showing more surface area of the upper lip. It usually consists of two tiny injections of approximately four units of Botox total, at the vermillion border at the Cupid’s bow.”
This prevents the top lip from curling inward when you smile. “The Botox or other toxins temporarily relax muscles around the lips,” explains plastic surgeon Andrew Peredo, MD. “As a result, your upper lip ‘flips’ upward and outward, making it look plumper.” The goal isn’t so much a massively inflated upper lip, but rather one that stays visible all the time and, in my case, doesn’t result in lipstick on your teeth.
Who is the best candidate for a lip flip?
Lip flips are a great choice for people who are looking for poutier definition but don’t want drastic change. “A good candidate would be someone who wants slightly fuller lips without committing to dermal fillers or someone with a gummy smile,” says Dr. Peredo. “Other candidates are those who want fuller-looking lips but do not want additional volume, or someone who wants to enhance lip shape without adding volume. Also, people whose upper lip seems to recede or disappear while talking or smiling.”
I decided to go to Nicole Frontera, an aesthetic nurse practitioner in New York who specializes in natural-looking injectables. We decided on a combination of both a flip and lip filler—more common than not—to add plumpness to my top lip and enhance my lip flip results even further. When it comes to presenting your doctor with a 15-second #lipfillercheck video to serve as the inspiration for your new pout, though, Frontera suggests leaving it at home.