Lip Flip

The orbicularis oris is the ring of muscle around your mouth. When it contracts, it curls the upper lip inward and downward. Placing a very small amount of neuromodulator into the superficial fibres at the vermilion border weakens that specific curling action, so the lip rests slightly everted and more of the pink is visible.

Nothing is added. Your lip is not bigger — it is turned out. The change is genuinely subtle, on the order of a millimetre or two of extra show, and it is most noticeable when you smile or speak because that is when the muscle was pulling the lip under.

It works particularly well for people with a long upper lip, a lip that vanishes when they smile, or a gummy smile component. It does very little for someone who wants substantially fuller lips, and we will tell you that rather than take the booking.

These are frequently compared and they are not really alternatives — they solve different problems.

A lip flip is neuromodulator, uses 4-6 units, changes how the lip sits, lasts 6-10 weeks, and costs under $100 as an add-on. Lip filler is hyaluronic acid, adds actual volume and structure, lasts 9-12 months, and starts at $450 for 0.25cc. Per month of result, filler is usually the better value; per appointment, the flip is far cheaper to try.

The flip is a good first step if you are curious and risk-averse: it is inexpensive, it wears off quickly, and it tells you whether more upper-lip show is actually what you wanted. Plenty of our patients start there and move to filler; plenty stay with the flip indefinitely.

The two combine well. A flip alongside filler improves upper-lip show without needing extra volume to achieve it, which is often how we keep a result looking restrained.

Lip flips bill per unit at $16 standard and $14.40/unit for members. A typical 4-6 units is $64-$96 of product, and the $375 visit minimum applies if you book it on its own.

That structure means the flip is dramatically better value as an add-on. If you are already in for forehead and frown lines, adding a flip costs under $100. Booking a trip across the city for a flip by itself costs $225 and is rarely worth the journey.

The main trade-off is duration. A lip flip lasts 6-10 weeks — considerably shorter than neuromodulator elsewhere, because the perioral muscle is small, constantly active, and receives a tiny dose. Maintaining one year-round means roughly six appointments.

Because the orbicularis oris is involved in speech and oral competence, over-dosing produces real functional side effects: difficulty pronouncing plosive sounds like P and B, trouble with straws, and awkwardness whistling or drinking from a bottle. These are dose-dependent and temporary, and they are the reason we stay at the low end of the range and treat the border precisely rather than deeper into the muscle body.

If you sing, play a wind instrument, or speak professionally, tell us before we inject. We would either dose lower or advise against it entirely.

At 4–6 units and $16 a unit, a lip flip added to another treatment is $64–$96. Booked alone, our standalone lower-face neuromodulator minimum is $225, so the flip is at its best economically when it rides along with a Botox appointment you were already having.

Run the arithmetic per month of result before you decide. A flip costs under $100 as an add-on but lasts 6–10 weeks, so maintaining it year-round is roughly six appointments. A 0.5cc syringe of filler is $600 and holds 9–12 months. The flip is the cheapest way to try a change; filler is usually the better value over a year.

The flip is genuinely the right answer for one specific complaint: an upper lip that vanishes when you smile because the muscle pulls it inward. If that is your issue, no amount of filler fixes it as elegantly.