How Can I Increase The Width and Fullness Of My Lips?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m writing to inquire about medical or aesthetic options to improve the width and overall fullness of my lips. I naturally have relatively small lips and would like to understand what safe, effective treatments are available to achieve a wider and more balanced appearance. Could you please let me know: What procedures you offer for lip widening or enhancement (e.g., fillers, surgical options, or other techniques)? Whether these treatments primarily increase volume, width, or both How natural the results typically look Any risks, downtime, or long-term considerations

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your picture. The fundamental aesthetic lip issue is the mouth size or a lack of adequate horizontal lip width. Without more lip width you can’t have any vertical lip size increase without looking disproportionate.

To create more lip width, aka mouth widening, the vermilion around the mouth corners has to be advanced by removing skin and relocating the vermilion corner in to it. This creates fine line scars around the vermilion edges in so doing. There is a delicate balance between how much the mouh is widened and the resultant scars.

While scars are always a tradeoff for many aesthetic procedures, in any form of vermilion advancement that is always a significant consideration.

Dr. Barry Eppley