Treatment of Thin Lips

About the disease

Thin lips are very common. Some women want to make their lips look bigger in order to make them look more attractive. Usually genetic predisposition is the main factor which influences the appearance of lips. Lips can also become thinner and lose their plump look with age.

When woman ages, the collagen levels in her skin become lower due to gradual loss of elasticity of the skin. Collagen is a protein in connective tissues. It is considered to be the most abundant type of protein as it constitutes from 25% to 35% of protein content in the body. Collagen is translated as “glue” from Greek and it prevents the skin from developing wrinkles and lips from losing their plumpness.

A woman can notice that her lips became smaller in size and texture after 45-50 years of age. Hormonal balance of a woman also plays an important role with changes. If a woman has good level of estrogen and progesterone hormones, the age changes will not develop soon. Insufficient amounts of these hormones, on the other hand, adversely affect the overall health of a woman and hormonal therapy may be in place in such case. Some women have increased amounts of testosterone which can affect the appearance of lips and make them lose their softness. If there is too much of testorone, a woman can also develop hirsutism, which is excessive hair growth, above the lips.

Also, having normal or oily type of skin postpones the early ageing of the skin. Dry skin influences the overall state of epidermis and makes the process of wrinkle formation develop earlier. Also, dry skin can affect the lips as well making them look less plump.

Symptoms

• Thin lips
• Dryness
• Loss of plumpness
• Formation of crackles

Diagnosis

• If the woman experiences sudden hormonal changes, she may be observed by the endocrinologist to rule out the possibility of hormonal imbalance.
• The doctor will ask if there had been any changes in the mood, menstruation periods, libido and also proper functioning of whole body.
• A hormonal blood tests can be drawn to check the levels of estrogen/progesterone and also the levels of thyroid gland hormones.
• If thin lips are a congenital condition or if the woman is dissatisfied with the general appearance of her lips, then she can get a consultation at cosmetologist or plastic surgeon about possible solutions for her problem. These specialists will also check the eligibility for some cosmetic procedures to rule out the possibility of allergies or intolerance to some medications.

Treatment

• Cosmetic procedures such as injections are very popular in helping woman increase the size of the lips and make them look more appealing and beautiful from a physical perspective.
• Lip augmentation is a plastic surgery to increase the size of lips and to also make them look more appealing. 

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Sergey Pashchenko