David M. Shafer, MD, of Shafer Plastic Surgery in NYC, says the most popular treatment in NYC is Botox, followed up closely by lip injections. “Over the last year, however, lip injections have increased significantly. For Botox and lips,” Shafer explains, “the treatments are fast, effective, and yield essentially no downtime.” That’s New York for you, instant gratification.
“Also,” he adds, “many celebrities have been open about having lip injections this past year, so patients feel more comfortable coming in for the treatments. There has been an explosion of selfies and social media postings, and, I think, people want to look their best online and in pictures.”
The facts:
“For lip rejuvenation, usually one to two syringes is plenty to achieve a nice result. In our practice, syringes are $1000 each,” Shafer says. A typical patient will have one syringe of Juvéderm® Ultra to help plump the lips and one syringe of Juvéderm® Volbella for fine tuning and to fill any wrinkles around the mouth. It takes 15 to 30 minutes in the office.
“Most of the time, I’m applying numbing cream and then holding some ice after the injection. The actual injections are just a few minutes. There is essentially no downtime. Perhaps a little swelling the first night but most people have injections during the day and head right back to work or school. There is a small chance of tiny bruising and we have a laser which can help to quick fade any bruising.”
