Put simply, when you are weighing up lip blush against dermal fillers in Australia it is colour as opposed to volume. For a semi-permanent way to put some tone and definition back into your lips and make them look fresh, lip blush will serve you better. But if you are after fullness or more projection and shape, then you need the volume that only a lip dermal filler can put there.
In a word, yes. More helpfully though, one sees many an Australian putting these two treatments head to head as though they were interchangeable, which they are not. Evander Anderson would tell you that going into a clinic with the notion that either option gets you to the same end is a recipe for parting with extra cash and copping downtime for no reason, without the result you were after.
Then there are the practicalities in Australia: the climate and sun, what a practitioner has been trained to do, any history of cold sores and how disciplined one is with aftercare. The rules on cosmetic injectables are something to bear in mind, as are the advertising and prescribing controls; before making a booking it does not hurt to have a read of the Therapeutic Goods Administration guidance on therapeutic goods and the like.
What You Will Find
They are both for the lips so they are often put in the same basket but they go about it in entirely different ways. One puts product in the tissue to alter its form and volume, the other is all about skin pigment. It is easy to be taken in by that. People will book for lip blush in the expectation of larger lips, or for fillers because their lip border is indistinct and the colour has gone. For more needle type insights, consider the technique involved.
Quick Comparison
For the five minutes you might have to spare between a work shift, school run or trying to find parking in Fremantle post 10 am, here is the table.
| Feature | Lip Blush | Lip Dermal Fillers |
|---|---|---|
| What It Is | Cosmetic tattoo or semi-permanent makeup for the lips | An injectable, typically hyaluronic acid, for enhancement |
| The Result | Better symmetry, border definition and lip colour | More structure, volume and projection |
| Bigger lips? | An optical trick, nothing more | Yes, there is actual volume added to the tissue |
| How Long | Some 1–3 years if the skin and pigment hold up and you are not in the sun too much | 6–12 months on average, give or take, according to the product and your metabolism |
| Upkeep | A touch-up once healed and from time to time to refresh | You will need to come back as the filler goes |
| Downtime | While healing the lips are dry and tight, colour is at its strongest | Bruising and swelling for the first few days |
| Cost (Australia) | Anywhere from AUD 400 to well over 1,000 | Per 1 mL syringe you are looking at AUD 450–900+ |
| Who it is for | Those with pale or uneven lips and soft borders who do not want to put in the effort | Fuller lips, to correct flatness or age-related loss of shape |
On Lip Blush
A service in Australia will see a cosmetic tattoo device used to implant pigment. A good practitioner will not go for the hard line of an old-school tattoo but a natural wash of colour to match your undertone and how much maintenance you care for. I had my epiphany as to why it is popular while having a word with some at the clinic during an odd interlude helping out at a barbershop and skin clinic. Most of their clientele did not want to be “done”. They just wanted to put an end to looking washed out from a WA summer at the beach or a windy day on the boat, or whatever has left them as flat as a pancake.
In truth, lip blush will even out the lips and put some life back into the vermilion border that age or the sun has taken. By way of contrast and sharper edges it can give a false sense of fullness that is quite convincing in the flesh and in photographs. But do not mistake it for a way to get plumpness, in which case a fight with fillers is not on equal terms. A cosmetic tattoo cannot add volume.
Fillers and Shape
Clinics in Australia will use hyaluronic acid to provide the hydration, shape and volume. This is what is called for when the asymmetry is structural and needs correcting, or if one wants a top lip with more of a profile. There is an obvious advantage in that one can see a change in short order. But the rub is that the outcome is at the mercy of anatomy, what product is put in and with what skill by the injector, not to mention some restraint. Put in too much filler or place it poorly and there is no good follow-up for lips that end up puffy, uneven or overdone for the duration.
The Realities of Fillers
Do it right with a TGA-approved dermal filler and you have lip volume, balance and contour to show for it. In a practical sense, fillers will put more definition on the cupid’s bow and give the impression of better hydration than a lip blush ever could, while taking the edge off any age-related flattening.
Then again, longevity is not solely down to the product. It has to do with metabolism and movement and how subtle or rough the original treatment was. Some would have a syringe act as a permanent fix. The reality is closer to maintaining a weatherboard on the coast than laying a concrete slab.
Results in Perspective
Most are not after a good photo for next Saturday when they make their choice; they are considering how they will look once healed and six months on, when the novelty is gone. Evander Anderson would say to consider the life of the treatment, not the first week. Cosmetic let-downs often come from being preoccupied with the chair-time result and ignoring the long haul of upkeep.
Longevity
With lip blush one might get 1 to 3 years out of it, but the figure is wide for cause. How quickly it fades is influenced by aftercare, smoking, skin turnover, exfoliants and the like. Out here in Australia, bright coastal conditions put a UV load on the lips which will dull the colour unless one is diligent with SPF post-healing.
Fillers tend to last 6 to 12 months if you are lucky, though some metabolise them quicker. You will be back for repeat treatment. On an annual basis, fillers can be the pricier option, particularly if a conservative approach is not your thing.
Common Errors
People make the mistake of regarding maintenance as something optional. A touch-up is in order with lip blush once healing is done, since the colour may have settled lighter or patchy. And with fillers a review is called for should the swelling of the first week have obscured the true shape.
Another is to layer on treatments without forethought. One can have both but timing is everything. To tattoo over lips that are not fully settled or still swollen is to invite a muddled result.
The Cost
One has to factor in more than the sticker price on the booking page. There are top-ups, review visits, time away from socialising and the odd correction for those who have been bargain hunting and found out why. Prices in Sydney, Melbourne or parts of Perth will be higher than in the regions, but cheap is not synonymous with value.
In Australia a clinic may put lip blush at between AUD 400 and 1,000+ depending on the artist and if the first touch-up is part of the package. Premium studios will want more for scar work or colour correction. Lip filler runs to about AUD 450-900+ for a 1 mL syringe in many places, more so in metro areas where the prescriber and injector structure commands it. Some require less than 1 mL for a hint of shape, others go for several and the numbers add up.
Over a couple of years lip blush is the cheaper way to go for definition. For fullness, fillers are the only answer despite the cost. When looking at before and afters online, make sure the result is not a combination of both, as clinics are wont to leave that unspoken.
Matters of Safety
Not the most glamorous subject but it is where you make head. The risks with a lip blush are not the same as with a filler and both warrant a proper screening rather than a consent form you are hurried through with a “You’ll be right.”
There is a good deal of regulation in Australia when it comes to cosmetic injectables and therapeutic goods, and one has to take note of the controls. The rules on advertising and prescribing have been put in hand over the last few years. Any practitioner worth his or her salt will set out the product for you, along with the risks, what alternatives there are, the downtime and the contingencies should matters go pear-shaped.
Common Risks To Be Aware Of
With lip blush there is the possibility of infection, an allergic reaction, cold sores in those with herpes simplex virus, colour that does not hold evenly or shifts, and some protracted irritation. You can also expect swelling at first; the lips may be considerably brighter than once they have fully healed. It is enough to unsettle someone who was after a hint of colour and finds he or she has woken up as though having put down a red marker.
Then there are the risks of lip filler: lumps, bruising, asymmetry, swelling, delayed inflammation and the odd case of the filler migrating. Put the filler in the wrong place and you risk tissue injury or vascular compromise, serious if uncommon. Injector skill is no mere luxury, this is not something to cut corners on.
Who Should Tread Carefully
Clinical advice would have you put off or forgo treatment if you are pregnant or nursing, have uncontrolled autoimmune problems, are on blood thinners, have had dental work of late, are given to keloid scarring or have an active cold sore. Those with cracked or sun-bleached lips are better served to put them in order before undergoing either procedure.
And a word to the beach-going Australian: do not make the mistake of putting in for either treatment just ahead of a surf weekend, a hot holiday or some long road trip through the bush. Between the heat and dust and the lack of decent aftercare, healing is not helped by dehydration and sun. Much like heading down the Gibb River Road with bald tyres and nothing but optimism.
Which Option Is Right For You
The “best” treatment is not the issue, it is a question of what fits your face, your way of life and your budget. What is right for an office worker in Melbourne with a good skincare regimen will not suit a man in the Pilbara who works under the harshest of suns. A competent practitioner will want to know your objectives in a proper consultation rather than simply put forward what he has on offer.
Scenarios
Lip blush is for the person whose lips have lost their colour or who wants a neater border without any increase in size, or who is happy to forgo lipstick each day. I have found it has its appeal with men and women in the tourism or outdoor trades where wind and salt see off ordinary lip products in short order, and a healthy mouth is preferable to anything too cosmetic.
For a change in shape, to correct volume loss or get more show from the upper lip, then fillers are the more straightforward option. They provide a profile balance and fullness a tattoo cannot.
If it is colour and definition with little fuss you are after, go with lip blush. Where volume and contour are the objective, choose fillers. And if you are after a bit of both in the way of tone and moderate fullness, have your practitioner stage the two and time them accordingly.
A Few Notes on Technique
What is not made plain on most booking pages is how much technique has to do with the end result and the comfort of the client. While the client is looking at syringe size or a colour chart, the practitioner is aware that placement, depth and tools are what count.
In the case of lip blush the device set up will determine the trauma level, softness and saturation. With fillers the choice of cannula or needle will have bearing on precision and bruising, although anatomy and the training of the injector will dictate the best course.
Some questions to put to the tattoo artist:
how do they handle a client with a history of cold sores, do they foresee a second pass, what sort of saturation is the aim? Find out from an injector the kind of product they put in, their way of appraising vascular risk and how they would handle any swelling, bruising or migration. Put them on the spot for a plan should that be a problem.
And do not be content with same-day photographs to judge results; ask to see what has healed. There is a certain veracity to same-day lips that is misleading. The swelling will lend a treatment a drama and evenness it will not have when things return to normal.
Healing Without Drama
Do not think of aftercare as a chore. It is included in the cost of the treatment and the outcome of your healing, and more often than not it is what separates being “pretty happy” from wishing you had left well enough alone.
For those inclined to forget what was told them the moment they are out the door, make a note of the instructions or set a reminder. You will find many an unsatisfactory result is no great disaster, merely something preventable with a little less sloppiness.
What to Expect in Recovery
With lip blush there will be some flaking while the surface mends, as well as tenderness, dryness and a more pronounced colour at first. Do not pick at it or subject the area to heavy sun or heat and nothing too harsh. Should cold sores be a concern, have a word with your GP or the practitioner in advance as they may put you on a preventive course.
Fillers will leave you with their share of bruising and swelling for a few days. If told to, stay off the alcohol and avoid any strenuous exercise or heat and do not go pressing or massaging the area. You will not get your final read on the work when you first get up from the chair but once the swelling has gone down.
Frequently Asked Questions
The sort of questions one asks in the run up to a booking when trying to put marketing spin aside and use some common sense.
Is Lip Blush the better option over fillers?
There is no universal answer. For a semi-permanent makeup look and to define the lip and its colour, lip blush is superior. But for altering shape and volume, fillers are. To add fullness, you will generally be better off with fillers; if you want to put an end to looking washed out without increasing size, lip blush is the wiser choice.
How do they differ?
One is a cosmetic tattoo put into the lip tissue to put some tone and definition to the border. The other is a hyaluronic acid injectable under the skin to give structure and form. One alters the physical, the other your perception of colour.
Longevity of lip blush vis-a-vis fillers?
You can expect lip blush to hold up for 1 to 3 years before a complete refresh is in order, contingent on sun exposure and aftercare. A lip filler will last 6 to 12 months on average, but that is dependent on the product and your metabolism. Not a like for like comparison but lip blush tends to be longer lasting.
Will lip blush give me bigger lips?
Not in terms of actual volume, though the contrast in colour and a better defined border can give the appearance of a slight increase. For any enlargement to be of note, fillers are required.
Having had fillers, is lip blush still an option?
As a rule yes, provided the timing is right. Tattooing should not commence until the lips have fully settled and healed from the filler. Your practitioner will want to be sure of the overall suitability and that any residual swelling is gone. People only make the mistake of rushing this once.
A Bottom Line
When Australians come to decide between the two, the answer is plain: for colour go with lip blush, for fullness with fillers. Want both? See a qualified practitioner who is versed in anatomy and the regulations here in Australia and will stage it correctly.
Evander Anderson has a view on it that is useful if a bit dull: for all the hype, book what will address the problem at hand rather than what is in your feed. In the end the best outcome is one where you are not so tired or faded and you do not have cause to rue the invoice.
