Do you long for plump, youthful lips? Are you bothered by your naturally thin lips that appear even smaller when you smile? Do you feel that your lips are getting thinner or have developed annoying wrinkles and lines around them as you’ve aged?
If you said yes to any of the above questions, there are non-invasive lip augmentation treatment options to help you get the defined, voluminous lips you want. These treatments can also be beneficial if you have asymmetrical lips due to aging or an injury.
At our Newport Beach medspa, we are proud to offer the newest FDA-approved lip filler, Juvéderm® Volbella®, to our treatment list. Volbella gives the perfect amount of volume to the lips while diminishing fine lines around the mouth. The result: a youthful, perfectly plump pout.
What Can Volbella Achieve?
- Subtle and buildable enhancement for your lip volume and contours
- Attractive definition for the outline of your lips
- Smoothed lines, including smoker’s lines, around the mouth for more youthful contours
- An accentuated “cupid’s bow” dip in the middle of your upper lip
Benefits of Volbella Treatment
- The entire treatment process takes under an hour
- Minimal pain and downtime
- Immediate results
Dr. Leary offers Volbella as well as a range of other options to freshen and rejuvenate your appearance. Contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.
What is Volbella?
Volbella is a nonsurgical lip augmentation injection designed to plump your pout and minimize the look of perioral lines (the fine lines around the mouth). This injectable formula is a new addition to the Juvéderm® injectable filler collection. It was used in Europe for a few years before being approved by the FDA in 2016 for use in adults over 21 years of age.
Prior to Volbella, perioral lines were difficult to treat because the dermal fillers amplified the skin around the mouth instead of simply smoothing the fine lines away. Volbella is specially formulated to diminish perioral lines without adding bulk to this delicate area.
What Is Volbella Made Of?
Volbella is a clear, smooth gel filler. It consists of hyaluronic acid that is formulated in a unique Vycross technology to enhance lips and diminish perioral lines.
What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced by our body to help maintain moisture, softness and structure in the skin, but it declines as we age. Fillers use hyaluronic acid to recreate youthful volume and promote hydration.
What Is Vycross Technology?
What makes Vycross technology unique is the way in which high-weight and low-weight hyaluronic acid molecules are linked together. Traditional fillers are solely made of high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid, making them thicker and more substantial. But Volbella consists of only 10 percent high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid and a majority 90 percent low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid.
Vycross technology improves the cross-linking ability of the different-sized molecules, giving the filler a lighter, silky, gel-like consistency. The lighter molecular weight of Volbella makes it more effective in treating perioral lines because it diminishes them without adding unwanted plumpness to the area. In addition, the smaller molecular structure of Volbella makes it less painful to inject into the tender skin of the lips and around the mouth.
This special formula makes the lips feel smooth and look more natural after treatment.
What to Expect During Your Volbella Treatment
Reviewing Your Goals
Before the treatment begins, we will review your goals and examine your mouth and lips. Please be very clear and specific about your areas of concern and what you hope to achieve with treatment. This helps us develop the right treatment plan for you. Also, be sure to let us know if you are allergic to lidocaine.
Marking the Treatment Area
The treatment area is cleaned, and a pen is used to mark where the injections will be made.
Are Volbella Injections Painful?
Volbella injections include a small amount of lidocaine, which numbs the area and reduces overall pain during the series of injections. However, the lips are very vascular, and the treatment can still be a little uncomfortable for some. If you are concerned about discomfort, please talk to us before your treatment, and a topical numbing agent can be applied to reduce pain further.
Volbella Injection Process
An ultra-fine needle is used to inject Volbella into the lips and around the mouth, following the plan mapped out before your treatment. After the first injection, we will pause to allow the lidocaine to take effect. Then we will continue with the remainder of the injections, massaging the injection sites along the way to ensure uniform distribution of the filler. Injections will continue until your optimal results are achieved.
The entire Volbella treatment takes less than an hour and requires no bandages or medication.
The Volbella Recovery Period
No Downtime
You can expect to return to your normal activities after your Volbella procedure. You can drive yourself home or wherever needed after treatment and continue on with your day.
Activity Restrictions for 24 Hours
While there is no downtime, we recommend that you avoid the following activities for the first 24 hours after your treatment:
- Vigorous exercise
- Wearing makeup
- Direct sun exposure
- Hot tubs and saunas
- Drinking from a straw
- Eating hot soup or drinking hot beverages
Potential Side Effects
As with any treatment, side effects are possible. Following your Volbella treatment, you may experience bruising, discoloration, itching, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness and redness around the injection area. Ice and over-the-counter pain medication are usually adequate to ease any symptoms you may experience.
You can put your mind at ease knowing that these side effects are temporary, usually lasting no more than a week, and they are a natural response to your body’s overall healing process.
Please contact our staff if you have any questions or concerns following your treatment.
How Long Does It Take for Juvéderm Volbella to Work?
You will notice immediate results after your Volbella treatment. Your lips will be fuller and the lines around your mouth will vanish, leaving you with a more youthful, beautiful smile.
How Long Do Volbella Results Last?
Volbella results may endure for up to one year, which is considerably longer than other injectable fillers that may dissipate within as little as three months after treatment. Longer-lasting results translates into less maintenance required to keep your new pout.
An added benefit of Volbella is that the micro-punctures made by the tiny needle stimulate natural collagen production wherever the injections are made. When injections are made in the lips, collagen production is stimulated, firming and plumping your pout. Thus, as time passes and Volbella is absorbed by the body, your lips will not immediately deflate. Instead, your lips will slowly return to their original size or remain a bit fuller due to the boost of collagen they received during the injection process.
Frequently Asked Questions About Volbella
Am I a Good Candidate for Volbella?
If you are over the age of 21 and interested in adding volume to your lips or smoothing lines around your mouth, you may be a candidate for Volbella. If you are on blood-thinning medication, talk to your provider to determine if Volbella is right for you. Patients should be overall healthy and have realistic expectations of what Volbella can achieve.
How Many Syringes of Volbella Do I Need for My Lips?
The number of syringes needed for your lip augmentation treatment will depend on the initial size of your lips and your goals for treatment. In general, most patients achieve ideal results from one to two syringes of Volbella.
At your consultation, we can determine the ideal number of syringes for your Volbella treatment.
How Much Does Volbella Lip Filler Cost?
According to 2020 statistics from the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons), the national average physician’s fee for Juvéderm treatments like Volbella was $684. In general, you can expect to pay about $400 to $600 per syringe.
During your consultation, we can provide you with the specific cost of your Volbella treatment.
Is Volbella Safe?
Volbella is considered extremely safe and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States in 2016 for safety and efficacy. This formula has gone through extensive testing and double-blind, third-party clinical trials to ensure its safety, and no significant risks or complications were reported.
In addition, Volbella received the Allure® Best of Beauty Breakthrough Award in 2017, meaning the magazine’s beauty editors, makeup artists, hairstylists and doctors found this treatment to be a safe and effective choice for lip enhancement.
What Lip Lines and Wrinkles Can Volbella Treat?
This smooth gel hyaluronic acid filler is ideal for treating the following fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth:
- Nasolabial folds (creases from the nostrils to the corners of the mouth, also known as “parentheses lines” or “smile lines”)
- Marionette lines (vertical creases from the corners of the mouth downward on the chin)
- Smoker’s lines (vertical lines above and below the lips)
Can Volbella Be Used Under the Eyes?
Yes, Volbella is also indicated for correcting under-eye hollows in adults over the age of 21. Volume loss under the eyes can create a tired, worn appearance even when patients feel rested and energized. Volbella corrects this volume loss to restore youthful volume under the eyes and in the tear troughs.
How Often Should I Get Volbella?
Because of the innovative cross-linking technology in Volbella, you only need to undergo treatment once every year or 18 months to maintain your results. Subsequent treatments will also be faster and don’t require as much Volbella filler to achieve ideal lip augmentation results, meaning they will also be more cost-effective.
How Can I Help Maintain My Volbella Results?
After your treatment, wearing sunscreen every day and reapplying as needed will help protect your results from the damaging UVA and UVB rays of the sun.
Avoiding smoking and alcohol can also help your results last longer. Tobacco and other nicotine-containing products constrict blood flow, which reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that make it to your lips (as well as your skin). This and the chemicals in tobacco can reduce the collagen and elastin in your lips and the skin around them. The physical act of smoking also creates wrinkles around the lips as the muscles used cause the skin to crease.
Alcohol dehydrates your body and skin while also elevating your blood pressure and thinning your blood, which prevents your lips and skin from getting the essential nutrients and water that keep them plump and youthful.
If quitting alcohol and nicotine is difficult, reducing your intake of these products can still improve the duration of your results compared to using them more often.
Is Volbella Better Than Restylane?
Both Volbella and Restylane are used for lip enhancement, and one is not necessarily better than the other. Each patient is unique, and Volbella might be better for one person’s needs while Restylane is better suited for the another’s. However, we prefer Volbella because of its long-lasting results of one year compared to Restylane’s six- to 12-month duration. Volbella is also less stiff than silk and tends to provide a softer look.
Can I Combine Other Aesthetic Treatments With My Lip Augmentation?
Yes, you are welcome to consider undergoing multiple cosmetic treatments at once for comprehensive rejuvenation and enhancement. If you’re interested in other injectable treatments, we offer BOTOX Cosmetic, Juvéderm XC and Juvéderm Voluma. For skin concerns, you can undergo chemical peels, PRP microneedling or Morpheus8 skin tightening. We also offer a wide variety of vein care treatment options.
Why Choose California Vein Specialists for My Volbella Treatment?
Not only are we experts in vein care, but we also specialize in aesthetic treatments. Understanding the way the veins in the body work goes hand in hand with how our bodies and skin age with time. We pride ourselves on creating the perfect amount of lip definition to enhance your appearance right here in our office. We strive to provide a natural look that is never overdone or disproportionate to your facial structure.
At our Newport Beach medspa, you are never just another name. Our talented team takes the time to get to know you and your individual needs. We will guide you through the various treatments we offer and help you determine which is best suited to help you achieve your goals.
Enhance Your Beauty With Volbella Lip Filler
Don’t let thin lips and deep wrinkles near your mouth take away from your self-confidence. If you want to learn more about Volbella or schedule a consultation to see if it is right for you, call us directly at 949-515-9377.
*Providing you with accurate medical information is one of our priorities. To ensure this, Dr. Leary reviews all the information posted on our website. Please get in touch with us today if you would like more information about any of the conditions we treat and the procedures we offer.
