While Southern California doesn’t experience a traditional winter that includes snow and freezing temperatures, cooler, dry air can still take a toll on our skin, and it can be painful. If your lips are currently chapped and dry, you know exactly what we mean.
Tired of endlessly reapplying lip balm and making sure you don’t lick your lips before stepping outside? We have a little known but effective solution that offers long-term relief for winter lips: Dermal fillers.
Dermal fillers could be the solution your lips need to stay supple and hydrated all winter long.
What Causes Dry Winter Lips?
During the winter, you may notice that the skin on your lips dries out before the skin on hands, face, and body. Unlike the rest of the skin on your body, lips do not contain oil glands and are, therefore, at higher risk of drying out and cracking. Habitual lip licking is also a culprit as your saliva can reduce the moisture in your lips even further. While it might seem tempting to lick your lips when they feel dry, it actually worsens the condition.
If your chapped lips during this season aren’t severe enough to warrant medical intervention, we recommend using a lip balm that is high in emollients and contains petrolatum to lock in moisture. Additionally, covering your lips with a light scarf when you step out can add a barrier of protection.
If these preventative measures are not enough to ensure you don’t deal with cracking lips, it may be time to try injectable hyaluronic acid fillers.
How Can Dermal Fillers Help?
Dermal fillers are traditionally used for cosmetic reasons like adding volume to cheeks, plumping lips, reducing undereye circles, and filling in lines and wrinkles. Our patients love the natural-looking results they can achieve with these quick, in-office treatments, but few are aware of their lip healing properties.
Some fillers like Juvederm, Restylane, and Belotero are composed of hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is a naturally occurring compound in the human body and works to attract and retain moisture in the skin. HA can retain over one thousand times its weight in water within a cell. This extraordinary ability to retain moisture makes HA the perfect solution for dry lips. When filler containing HA is injected into the lips, patients see a plumping effect with the added bonus of smooth, moisturized lips for six months to a year.
Because it doesn’t take much filler to deliver the right amount of moisture to the lips, patients do not need to worry about overly plumped lips and can decide just how big or small they want their results to be.
Why is Dr. Matt Hershcovitch Your Best Choice for Lip Fillers?
Dermal filler injections are quick, non-surgical procedures that in other offices are often delegated to nurses. Dr. Hershcovitch performs all dermal filler injections himself at his practice. As a board-certified plastic surgeon, his high level of training and understanding of facial anatomy help him create unmatched results that are natural-looking and work in harmony with the rest of your facial features.
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Hershcovitch to learn more about dermal fillers and get started today.
