DERMAL LIP FILLERS

If you are bothered by the appearance of thin, lined or asymmetrical lips, lip filler injections can address your concerns and help you feel more confident in your smile. Specific changes that a skilled cosmetic doctor can make through lip enhancement and contouring include:

• Restore volume to thin or ageing lips
• Smooth vertical lip lines
• Improve symmetry between the upper and lower lip
• Refine the shape of thin or flat lips
• Achieving a more sensual look
• Providing more balance to facial features

Couture Lips™ is Essence Medical’s Natural, Age-Appropriate Approach to Lip Enhancement. Read more here.

Lip filler injections can be used to improve the definition of the lip line (vermilion border), where the lip turns from red to white, as well as the overall shape and size of the lips giving the lips a natural and subtle boost.

Filler can also effectively define the cupid bow – the two ridges just above the middle part of your upper lip.

The lower lip tends to have more volume than the upper lip, so it may not be necessary to treat it. However, you should discuss your requirements and expectations for your lip treatment with Dr Bong at your initial consultation.

Soft tissue (hyaluronic acid) fillers are the most popular non-surgical option, offering temporary lip enhancement at an affordable cost.
Benefits of soft tissue fillers:

• Treatments take only 15 minutes
  A skilled cosmetic doctor can adjust the amount of filler used to achieve results with precision
• Little to no downtime is needed
• Instant results
  Results can last 4-12 months
• Side effects are typically mild and resolved after only a few days

The rising demand for non-surgical cosmetic procedures has increased the number of people administering lip fillers and other treatments at incredibly low prices. Whilst this might sound like good news for you. Unfortunately, it is far from it.

Non-surgical cosmetic procedures are costly for excellent reasons. The expense involved in using quality products, providing exceptional service and meeting the necessary safety requirements is significant. To meet these costs, quality practitioners have to set their prices accordingly.

To offer ‘cheap fillers, ‘ shoddy practitioners are unlikely to invest in any of the above. When offering cheap treatments, the cost of provision must be minimal to profit.

Practitioners who do not invest in research, training, the environment they work in, care standards, and protection should things go wrong are an accident waiting to happen. In addition, there are risks involved in non-surgical cosmetic procedures, and without the necessary safeguards in place, side effects and complications are more likely to occur.

Some cut-rate injectors operate by doing work at or below cost in the hope that you’ll stay on later at full price. But others curb their losses by overly diluting the products, minimising their effect and possibly increasing your odds of infection. In addition, fillers can be contaminated when taken out of their native syringes.

Some unscrupulous practitioners save half-used syringes of filler from injecting into the same patient (or worse, another patient!) at a later date. However, reputable doctors consider filler a single-use item and charge accordingly. In addition, recapped leftover filler can degenerate over time, making it harder to inject or possibly causing lumps at the site.

Bargain-basement injections can signal inexperienced practitioners looking for practice. That is yet another reason so many practitioners can undersell. Those injections often are not done by cosmetic doctors but by people with less training.

While less pervasive than unapproved imports, imitations are also on the rise. What is in these products is anyone’s guess. However, authorised tests have shown that some fake products do not contain any active ingredients. At the same time, some were found to contain too high a concentration of the active ingredients, making them highly dangerous. Furthermore, these fake products may have been made in an environment which lacks sterility, quality and safety assurance.

Cheap (and fake) dermal fillers are freely available online, often from China, where there are no manufacturing standards. Purchasing cosmetic products from outside the UK may be illegal. The only way for an injector to know that a product is authentic and approved by the UK health authority (MHRA) is to order it directly from the manufacturer or an authorised distributor. These imports faceless government scrutiny than those that have met the strict requirements of MHRA.

Anything imported illegally and bypassing the authorised supply chain means we have no idea how it was handled, transported, or stored. And when improperly kept, the products can degrade and lose their efficacy.

The most important decision you will make when considering lip enhancement is who will perform your procedure. 90% of the success of lip injections with soft tissue fillers depends on who is doing them. The remaining 10% is dependent on the product. Think of it this way: Would you blame the scissors or your stylist if you got a bad haircut?

At Essence Medical, your consultation and treatment will be carried out personally by Dr Bong. He is widely recognised as one of Europe’s top cosmetic doctors, having trained doctors/nurses from over 100 countries.

Dr Bong has a natural talent for understanding the shape and structure of the lips and the face. He prides himself in his innovative approach to advanced non-surgical facial treatments. He is well known for his unique methods of achieving beautiful yet natural results with minimal pain and downtime. Such is his passion for delivering natural and age-appropriate results for his patients. Dr Bong has developed – and trademarked – numerous advanced techniques which have earned him an international reputation.

Dr Bong’s impressive credentials, meticulous attention to detail and deep understanding of the intricacies of facial features mean you are in the safest hands.

Lip contouring and enhancement with soft tissue fillers are a quick and easy procedure which typically lasts about 20 minutes.

Most patients are surprised that lip injections by Dr Bong are not painful at all – because of the effects of the local anaesthetic AND because Dr Bong knows all the tricks and secrets of injecting the least uncomfortably.

Good injecting skills are a big part of a more comfortable treatment experience. A highly skilled injector can also do a lot to prevent tenderness and bruising after lip injections.

Most patients are surprised that lip injections by Dr Bong are not painful at all – because Dr Bong knows all the tricks and secrets of injecting the least uncomfortably. Lip filler treatment should be exciting, and you should not worry about discomfort and pain.

You will be surprised that neither numbing cream nor local anaesthetic injections are needed! We know this sounds too good to be accurate, but that is how skilled Dr Bong is.

Ask Dr Bong how he can minimise discomfort during a procedure – and you’ll likely find out that good injecting skills are a big part of a more comfortable treatment experience.

Immediately after the treatment, there may be slight redness, swelling, tenderness and an itching sensation in the treated area. This is a typical result of the injection. You can soothe the area by applying a cold compress or ice pack for a short time. If the discomfort continues or if other reactions occur, please get in touch with us.

The initial swelling after treatment should last 2-3 days but may last longer. Some patients experience swelling for about a week. This means that the result directly after the treatment should not be seen as the final result.

Avoid touching the treated area for 6 hours after the treatment.

After that the area can be gently washed with soap and water, and light make-up can be applied.

Until the initial swelling and redness have resolved, do not expose the treated area to intense heat (e.g. solarium and sunbathing) or extreme cold.

If you are taking Aspirin or any similar medication, be aware that these may increase the bruising and bleeding at the injection site.

One of the advantages of natural hyaluronic gel fillers is that the effects are long-lasting but not permanent. The results typically last 6-12 months. However, the exact length of time will depend on the structure of your lips, and other factors such as lifestyle, age and the degree of perfection demanded by the individual. Additional touch-up treatments can be performed any time after the initial treatment (this will incur additional cost).

Your consultation and treatment will be carried out personally by Dr Bong, an international expert in advanced soft tissue filler treatments. In his hands, bruising is uncommon. Due to his skills and the superior quality of the soft tissue filler we use, swelling is minimal.

The results are instant. After the treatment, the treated area may be slightly red and mildly swollen. However, you can resume normal activities, drive yourself home or return to work immediately after the treatment.

Before lip injections, Dr Bong needs to know if you have had cold sores recently or have experienced problems with cold sores in the past. This is because the cold sore virus typically lies dormant in the lips. However, by injecting the lips, the needle can stimulate the virus back into activity again, and as a result, cold sores can erupt at the injection sites.

Being prone to cold sores does not necessarily mean that the sores will automatically re-emerge after the lip injection treatment, but there is a risk that this might happen. This risk must be discussed thoroughly with the doctor during your initial consultation. If necessary, Dr Bong can issue a private prescription for some prophylactic antiviral medications for you.
It is important to remember that hyaluronic acid gel does not cause cold sores in its own right.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding are contraindications to treatment

Alcohol intake should be reduced at least 24 hours before treatment

Medications such as Aspirin may cause bruising, as will high doses of vitamin E

Treatment cannot be performed until ceasing Roaccutane medicines for six months

Sunbeds, waxing, electrolysis and laser should be avoided at least 48 hours before treatment

Pain sensitivity may be heightened at certain times (premenstrual or following excessive alcohol intake)

Bruising may be reduced by taking Arnica tablets two days before treatment

The risk of cold sores may be decreased by taking prophylactic antiviral medication

This treatment is unique to each individual, depending upon various factors. However, Dr Bong is one of only a few cosmetic doctors in Britain with the experience and skills to offer advanced lip contouring and enhancement techniques.

To get an exact costing, please schedule a consultation with Dr Bong for him to design a bespoke treatment approach and address any concerns that you have; however, as a guide, costs usually are around £300 for this treatment. This includes one syringe (1.0ml) of premium soft tissue filler. The consultation is entirely free of charge.

We accept cash or the following major credit and debit cards. We do not accept personal cheques.

If you are a new patient, a booking fee will be taken at the point of making your appointment.  Please read our full terms and conditions here.

We respect that your time is valuable, and we appreciate that you understand ours is too. Unfortunately, if appointments are cancelled or rescheduled at short notice, or if you do not attend an appointment, we cannot allocate your appointment slot to someone else; however, we still have overheads and staff salaries to pay. Please read our full terms and conditions here.

Please note for all patients, a £50 fee will be charged if you cancel or reschedule ANY appointment (including appointments which do not require an upfront deposit, such as a ‘check-up’ or review appointment) less than 48 hours before the appointment time. Patients who have pre-purchased a course of treatment will forfeit one of the treatments instead of paying this fee.

Late arrival to your appointment may result in reduced treatment time or the forfeiting of the appointment. We will endeavour to ensure that your appointment runs on time. However, for reasons beyond our control, we may need to cancel or postpone your appointment at short notice. In this unlikely event, we will try to contact you in advance. We do not offer compensation if we cancel or postpone your appointment.

Please read our full terms and conditions here.

To help our patients minimise the chance of losing their deposit or pre-paid treatments, we issue text reminders a minimum of 48 hours ahead of appointments. Patients should be aware that there may be reasons beyond our control, meaning that the text message does not reach them. Patients should diarise themselves when making follow-up appointments and not rely solely on the text message from the clinic as a reminder.