Lip fillers: How to avoid the trout pout

How to get the best lips with lip filler?

• Build up slowly using low volumes over multiple treatments.
• Upper to lower lip ratio of 1:1.60 ensures your lips look natural.
• Be clear on your lip goals - plump, hydrated, volumised, defined? Know what you have in mind.
• Hyaluronic acid based fillers can be dissolved. Choose these.
• Only allow medically-qualified practitioners to fill your lips, like those on Glowday​

Want to find out more? Here’s how to avoid the pout when going for a lip enhancement procedure.

Build up lip filler until you reach the desired look

Rather than going all out in your first appointment, it’s better to have a series of lip filler treatments - with a small amount of filler injected each time - until you’ve built up the desired plumpness. Whilst you can have hyaluronic acid lip fillers dissolved if you don’t like how they look (that’s the beauty of hyaluronic acid), it’s obviously best to avoid it - this can also be very painful.

During the lip filler procedure, your practitioner should also show you the progress of the lip injections, so you can make sure they’re not exceeding the desired size.

Get the right amount of lip filler

When it comes to fillers, we’re dealing with very small quantities of product, so it’s easy to think you need more than you actually do. For an understated look, one syringe (equivalent to about 1ml) of filler is usually enough for one treatment. Yep, it really is that little! If you tell your practitioner that you’re after a subtle plump, they’ll know how much your lips need.

Different types of lip fillers - including the popular brands Restylane and Juvéderm - can also deliver different results. Restylane, for example, is great for giving the lips definition, whereas Juvéderm is typically used for focusing on plumpness. The important thing is that the lip filler you have injected is thin and malleable, to keep things looking as natural as possible. Again, your practitioner will choose the best type of filler to fit your lip goals. Where can you find your perfect practitioner? On Glowday, of course!

Be aware of lip proportions

Another thing to keep in mind for natural lip fillers is proportion. Here’s how the theory goes: to keep the lips balanced, the top lip should be smaller than the bottom lip, and there’s even a specific upper to lower lip ratio of 1:1.6 for ideal, natural-looking lips - this is called the golden ratio. If the upper and lower lips have the same fullness, or if this ratio is too out of whack, lips could risk looking ‘overdone’ and could cross the line into trout pout territory - no, thanks!

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Be savvy about lip filler placement

Depending on the look you’re after, your practitioner will either focus the majority of the lip filler injections directly into the lips, or into the perimeter of the lips - called the vermillion borders. Where exactly the filler is placed will depend on your practitioner’s technique and the desired outcome. But, generally, injecting filler straight into the lips will create a fuller, plumper look, whereas focusing on the vermillion borders will give more definition and shape to the lips’ outline.

It’s important to note that, although treating the vermillion borders can give a more subtle, natural look, the corners of the mouth shouldn’t be injected because this can lead to the dreaded trout pout. Instead, the lips should taper at the corners.

So, for slight lip enhancement without anything too pouty, you might want the emphasis of the filler to be on the borders - though, this isn’t to say that injecting straight into the lips will necessarily result in duck lips! Speak to your practitioner about the look you want and they’ll be able to tell you if your expectations are achievable, taking things like your face shape into account.

Know the beauty of hyaluronic acid lip fillers

Hyaluronic acid is the substance of choice when it comes to lip filler treatments for lots of reasons. This acid is found naturally in the skin, meaning it’s a familiar substance that’s well-received by the body - so, it’s a low-risk filler. Another reassuring benefit, as mentioned earlier, is that hyaluronic acid can be dissolved - very handy for when lip fillers go wrong! The enzyme hyaluronidase can be injected into the lips, undoing the filler effects. So, if you find that your lip filler results are on the trout pout side, they can be removed - phew!

Make sure your practitioner is medically qualified

Perhaps the biggest key to making sure that any aesthetic treatment results in the look you’re after, is making sure you choose an experienced, medically qualified practitioner. It’s not always easy to know who you can trust, so make sure you spend time researching potential practitioners, checking their qualifications, reviews and before and after photos to know what you’re getting yourself into. This will give you a good indication of whether the aesthetician’s work matches the look you’re going for. If all their clients are pictured with oversized lips, they might not be the one for you.

A medically qualified practitioner (like the ones you'll be able to book with on Glowday) is also essential for making sure that the treatment is safe. Someone who lacks the right training, qualifications and experience can greatly increase the chance that you’ll run into trouble during the treatment - so, it’s medically qualified all the way!

Trout pouts, duck lips, or any other kind of animal lips for that matter - they’re probably not how we want ours to look. So, you’re hopefully now clued-up on how to avoid them. If you’re looking into lip augmentation, make sure to check out our lip filler treatment guide for more info and read these 10 things to know before having lip fillers to get prepared!

If you are ready to find yourself an incredible, medically-qualified practitioner, you can find them on Glowday.

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