Restylane Silk
The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but your lips certainly have plenty to say about you, too. Think of the plush pouts of celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox — full, defined lips play up a youthful, sexy appearance. Even if you’re concerned about thinning lips or wrinkles around your mouth, you may have been hesitant to consider lip injectables. You’re thinking of the older products that were used in the past, which created the overstuffed “trout pout” that looks neither attractive nor natural.
Aesthetic medicine has come a long way since those days, and now there’s a new product that is the first and only FDA-approved treatment that’s designed specifically for lips and lines around the lips often referred to as “smoker’s lines.” Restylane Silk is a refined formulation that allows Dr. Tang to deliver highly precise lip shaping and line control, creating silky, smooth lips and smoothing away lines around the lips. Restylane has already been a successful as dermal filler, but Restylane Silk is a smooth gel version that was formulated specifically to restore your lips’ youthful definition and symmetry. It uses the safe, proven technology developed with Restylane, but reengineered with smaller, smoother particles to treat this delicate area of the face. It’s the preferred choice for patients who want a more subtle lip, and because of the smoother consistency, Restylane Silk is also the preferred filler for filling in fine lines in hard-to-reach areas without raising the surrounding skin. Keep reading to learn more about this exciting new innovation.
What does Restylane Silk treat?
Your lips are already extremely thin skin, and as you age, fat and collagen in the face deteriorates. This results in an overall loss of volume and more noticeable lines and wrinkles. It can be especially detrimental to the lips though, causing your mouth to lose volume and definition, and increasing the appearance of lines around the mouth. Restylane Silk helps to restore lip shape and definition while smoothing wrinkles and those dreaded smoker lines (think of those vertical lines that can appear above the upper lip). Instead of an artificial or overly plump look, Restylane Silk delivers a subtle but noticeable change. It can be used directly in the lips for augmentation, and/or in the skin around the mouth.
What kind of results can you get with Restylane Silk?
Though other fillers are used in the lips and mouth area, Restylane Silk is the first FDA-approved product that was specifically designed to treat these areas. In a clinical study of 221 patients, researchers found that 77% of those treated had fuller lips 2 months after the treatment, and 59% maintained those results 6 months after the treatment. The patients themselves were thrilled with the results—98% reported visible improvement within 14 days of injection, and 76% said their lip area was improved 6 months after the injection. Restylane Silk allows for considerable precision in injection, and Dr. Tang’s excellent knowledge of aesthetics can help determine what lip size and structure will be the most beautiful and natural-looking for your facial structure.
Is there any downtime with Restylane Silk?
With Restylane Silk, you can have the procedure and get right back to your busy day. The actual injection procedure generally takes no more than 30 minutes. Most patients only need one treatment, though in some cases a second one may be performed later. The most common side effects are swelling, tenderness, bruising, pain, and redness. These are generally mild and subside within a week. (It’s also worth noting that these side effects are common with any form of injectable lip enhancement.)
Is there any way I can minimize the risk of bruising?
One way to minimize bruising is to avoid certain OTC medications such as Aleve, Advil, Motrin, Naprosyn, or aspirin in the week prior to your treatment. That said, if you are taking any of these for a medical reason (for example, taking daily aspirin to reduce your risk of heart attack), check with your physician or with Dr. Tang before discontinuing the medication. Certain supplements such as fish oil, Vitamin E, gingko, ginger, and garlic can also increase the risk of bruising, so skipping these for one week prior to your treatment can be helpful.
Is there anyone who can’t get Restylane Silk?
Restylane Silk is not for people who have had bad allergies (in particular, allergies to drugs or to microorganisms called gram-positive bacteria). If you have any skin issues going on around your mouth — for example, sores, pimples, rashes, hives, cysts, or infections — you cannot have Restylane Silk injected until these have completely healed. Dr. Tang can help you determine if you are a good candidate for Restylane Silk.
If you are in San Jose or anywhere in the Bay Area and are curious about whether Restylane Silk could help give you a more youthful-looking mouth, call Rejuvé today to set up a consultation with Dr. Tang!