Lip & Dermal Fillers for Essex Fells, NJ

Two treatments that sound alike

People often arrive asking for “a little something for my lips” without knowing that Montville MedSpa & Pain Center offers two quite different ways to provide it. One adds substance to the lip itself; the other changes how the upper lip sits by relaxing the muscle around it.

• Lip filler is a hyaluronic acid gel placed inside the lip. It adds fullness and shape you can see straight away, restores volume lost with age and hydrates, since hyaluronic acid draws in water. Juvéderm Volbella XC gives the softest change, Juvéderm Ultra XC a bolder one, and Revanesse Versa plumps the lips and fine lines alike.
• A lip flip uses a small amount of Botox placed along the border of the upper lip. It relaxes the orbicularis oris, the muscle circling the mouth, so the upper lip rolls slightly outward and shows a little more of its pink. Nothing is added, and the change is deliberately subtle.

Matching the treatment to the goal

• You want fuller lips, or volume back that has thinned over the years. That is filler’s job; a lip flip does not meaningfully change size.
• You want definition without looking as if anything was added. A lip flip suits a subtle upper-lip change.
• Fine vertical lines above the lip bother you. Both can help: Volbella XC blurs lip lines, while a neurotoxin relaxes the lines that pursing and talking create.
• You cannot decide. Combining the two is common, and some people start with a flip and move to filler later.

What each visit involves

A lip flip takes only minutes, after a numbing cream. Expect mild redness or swelling that settles quickly, keep from pressing on your lips or pulling exaggerated faces for 24 hours, and give the muscle up to two weeks to relax fully. Until it wears off, drinking through a straw or saying certain words can feel slightly different.

A filler appointment starts with numbing cream left on for 15 to 30 minutes, and most modern fillers contain lidocaine too. The gel is placed, molded by hand and checked while you smile and talk. Lips swell readily, so the true result shows once that has gone down, and a follow-up one to two weeks later is the time for any refinement. If you get cold sores, say so beforehand, because a flare-up is a known risk.

Who treats you

Both treatments are given by Dr. Donna D’Alessio, MD, whose training covers facial anatomy and vascular safety, or by nurse practitioners Amy Natalicchio and Tanya Santoro, working to the standard she sets.

Essex Fells patients ask

Which lasts longer? Filler, as a rule. Hyaluronic acid fillers generally last 6 to 18 months, with lips at the quicker end, while a lip flip fades as any neurotoxin does once the muscle starts working again.

Can filler be undone? Yes. An enzyme called hyaluronidase dissolves hyaluronic acid gel if a correction is ever needed.

How far is Towaco? About ten miles by Bloomfield Avenue, Route 46 and Pine Brook Road, roughly 21 minutes without traffic.

Read lip flip or lip filler: which is better?, our lip filler aftercare guide, or the dermal fillers page.

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