The Lip Flip: More Top Lip, Without Any Filler

A lot of people want a little more top lip and do not want filler. They have seen the overfilled version of lips too many times, or they are simply not ready to have a gel placed in their face. For a good number of them, there is a much smaller option that most have never heard of: the lip flip.

It is one of my favourite treatments to offer precisely because of how little it does. No volume is added to the lip at all. A tiny amount of anti-wrinkle injection relaxes the ring of muscle around the mouth, the top lip rolls very slightly outward, and a bit more of the pink of the lip shows. That is the whole treatment. It is subtle, it is temporary, and it is one of the safest ways to change how your top lip looks.

What a lip flip actually is

Around your mouth is a circular muscle called the orbicularis oris. Among other things, it curls the lip inward — think of the shape your mouth makes when you purse it. In some people that muscle is a little overactive, and the effect is that the top lip tucks under, especially when you smile. Plenty of patients tell me their lip "disappears" in photographs, and this is usually why.

A lip flip is a very small dose of anti-wrinkle injection placed into the upper part of that muscle, just above the lip border. Relaxing it slightly lets the lip roll — flip — a fraction outward, so more of the pink surface is visible. Nothing is added and nothing is filled. You end up showing more of the lip you already have.

Why people choose it over filler

The honest reason most of my patients pick this is that they want to look like themselves. Filler is an excellent treatment and I use it every week, but it does a different job: it adds volume, and volume changes shape. The lip flip changes almost nothing except how much of your lip is on show.

It also suits people who are nervous. Because the effect is small and short-lived, it is a low-stakes way to find out whether you like having a slightly more prominent top lip at all. Several patients have had a lip flip first, decided they wanted more, and gone on to filler with a much clearer idea of what they were asking for. Others have had it, enjoyed it, and never needed anything else.

And it avoids the specific things people worry about with lips. There is no gel to migrate above the lip border, no risk of the overfilled look, and no need for dissolving if you change your mind — you simply stop, and it wears off. If filler safety is what is on your mind, I have written about that separately in is dermal filler safe and what that ridge above the lip really is.

Lip flip or lip filler? A straight comparison

• What it does. The flip reveals more of the existing lip. Filler adds volume and can reshape the lip, correct asymmetry and define the border.
• How big the change is. The flip is subtle — people notice your smile, not your lips. Filler can be subtle too, but it can also do considerably more.
• How long it lasts. The flip is measured in weeks; lip filler generally lasts several months to a year.
• Undoing it. The flip simply wears off. Hyaluronic filler can be actively dissolved.
• Cost. The flip is a single anti-wrinkle area at €400. Lip filler is a different treatment at a different price.

They are also not rivals — some patients have both, using filler for shape and a flip to stop the lip tucking under when they smile. That is a conversation for an assessment, not a price list, and my guide to lip filler in Dublin covers the filler half properly.

Who it suits, and who it does not

It works best when the problem is the lip curling inward rather than the lip being genuinely small — particularly if your top lip vanishes when you smile. It is also worth knowing that the same area, treated with a slightly different intent, is one of the ways I soften a smile that shows a lot of gum.

Where I will tell you it is the wrong treatment: if what you actually want is a visibly fuller lip. The flip cannot deliver that, and a doctor who lets you pay for it expecting filler results has set you up to be disappointed. It is also less predictable if you have a long upper lip, and I approach it carefully in anyone who sings, plays a wind instrument or relies on precise speech for a living — the muscle we are relaxing is one you use for those things. As with any anti-wrinkle injection, it is not suitable in pregnancy or while breastfeeding, or if you have a neuromuscular condition.

What to expect — dose, timing and how long it lasts

The dose is deliberately tiny. This is the area where restraint matters most in the whole face: a handful of units placed accurately does the job, and more is not better here — it is how you end up with the problems below. It takes a couple of minutes and most people describe it as a quick pinch.

You will start to notice the change within a few days, and the full effect is usually there by about two weeks. It then fades sooner than you might expect. The lips are small, mobile and constantly in use, so a lip flip typically lasts a matter of weeks rather than the three to four months you would get treating a frown line. Patients who love it tend to book it in as a regular small treatment; that shorter lifespan is exactly why it is such a low-risk thing to try once.

Afterwards, keep it simple: no rubbing or massaging the area, skip heavy exercise and saunas for the rest of the day, and stay upright for a few hours. You can wear lipstick again the next day.

When a lip flip goes wrong

Almost every bad lip flip is the same story: too much product. Over-relax that muscle and it stops doing its ordinary jobs. People find they cannot drink neatly from a straw, struggle to whistle, or notice that letters like "p" and "b" feel slightly off for a few weeks. Some get an uneven result if the two sides are dosed unequally.

None of it is permanent — this is a treatment that wears off, and the annoying effects wear off with it. But a few weeks of finding your own consonants awkward is a real cost for a cosmetic result, which is why I would rather under-treat you, review you, and add a touch more if you want it. That principle applies across the face, and I have set out why in why the "standard" dose is usually wrong.

What it costs at Amara

A lip flip is treated and priced as a single anti-wrinkle area: €400. If you are having it alongside other areas on the same day, it falls into our normal multi-area pricing — two areas €500, and €50 for each area after that.

It is also one of the advanced treatment areas rather than one of the classic three, which is worth bearing in mind when comparing quotes. Precision around the mouth matters more than it does in the forehead, and this is not an area to have treated by someone doing it occasionally.

Common questions

What is a lip flip, in one sentence?

A small anti-wrinkle injection that relaxes the muscle around the top lip so the lip rolls slightly outward and shows more of itself — with no filler and no added volume.

How many units does it take?

Very few — this is one of the smallest doses used anywhere in the face. The exact number depends on how strong your muscle is and how much movement you have, which is assessed in person rather than read off a chart.

How long before I see results, and how long do they last?

You will see a change within a few days and the full effect at around two weeks. It fades faster than other areas — weeks rather than months — because the lips are small and constantly moving.

Can I have a lip flip and lip filler together?

Yes, and some patients do — filler for shape and volume, the flip to stop the lip tucking under when they smile. Whether that combination suits you is an assessment question.

Will it make my lips bigger?

No. It reveals more of the lip you have. If you want genuinely fuller lips, filler is the treatment that does that, and I would tell you so rather than take payment for the wrong one.

Is it safe?

It is a small dose of a well-established treatment, and it wears off. The realistic risks are temporary and dose-related — a slightly awkward straw or whistle, or unevenness — which is exactly why the dose should be conservative and placed by someone who treats the area regularly. Results vary from person to person.

Related at Amara

• Anti-wrinkle injections
• Lip filler in Dublin: a doctor-led guide
• Anti-wrinkle injection areas: classic to advanced

About Dr Paul

I'm Dr Paul Munsanje — a medical doctor with over 17 years in aesthetic medicine, running a doctor-led clinic across Dublin, Warsaw and Marbella. My work is built on facial anatomy, precision and restraint: treating where it genuinely helps, and just as readily talking you out of what you don't need. This journal is where I write down honestly what I tell my patients.