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How Do I Achieve a Plump Pout?

S. Reynolds
S. Reynolds

Many women want to have a plump pout, which is another way to say "pouty lips." The easiest way for one to get plump lips is to use a non-surgical method like makeup or temporary enhancements. These methods do not last forever, but they do effectively enlarge the lips for a period of hours, weeks, or months. Other options, like injections or surgery, can provide longer term results, but may have a higher risk of side effects.

Pouting creams enlarge the lips for a few hours. The creams contain agents that increase blood flow to the lips, which causes them to swell. Most of these products look like ordinary lip glosses; some contain pigments, but others are simply clear and go on like gloss with a wand. Lip plumping glosses can be worn under lipstick or alone.

A woman applying lipstick.
A woman applying lipstick.

These products often contain ingredients like glitter or mica to reflect light, since shiny lips appear bigger. Along with light-reflecting micro particles, lip plumping glosses may contain cinnamon or another irritating substance like capsacin. These substances irritate the lips and brings blood to the surface of the skin, making them appear plumper. This effect only lasts a few hours, and the lips return to their normal proportions shortly after the gloss is removed.

Lip injections may give the appearance of a plump pout for a few months.
Lip injections may give the appearance of a plump pout for a few months.

Besides lip glosses, lip plumping patches can temporarily make the lips bigger and give a plump pout. Strips can be placed around the mouth to smooth out wrinkles formed by age or smoking. Ingredients that hydrate the lips and skin can reduce the appearance of wrinkles, although the results only last a few hours.

Lip injections can give the appearance of a plump pout for a few months. The injections contain fat or synthetic chemicals that enhance the lips. Enlarging lips using injections is almost always performed at a doctor's office or with a licensed aesthetician. Injections carry some risks, including the lips could become itchy, unnaturally swollen, or lumpy.

Shimmer lipsticks are crème or shiny lipsticks that contain particles that reflect light, such as mica.
Shimmer lipsticks are crème or shiny lipsticks that contain particles that reflect light, such as mica.

Surgery is the most invasive way to get a plump pout. The most common surgical method for achieving this look is fat transfer, as physicians remove a small amount of the patient's own fat and transfer it to the lips. Fat can also come from a cadaver, but it carries more risk of rejection. This procedure carries some risk of infection, but it is a permanent way to get bigger lips.

A lip lift is a newer procedure that enlarges the lips and changes their overall shape. Tiny incisions are made around the lips and nose to literally lift the lips up higher and increase their prominence. No substances are injected into the lips. This type of procedure may be used by older women who have sagging or wrinkling lips.

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    • A woman applying lipstick.
      By: bst2012
      A woman applying lipstick.
    • Lip injections may give the appearance of a plump pout for a few months.
      By: Delphimages
      Lip injections may give the appearance of a plump pout for a few months.
    • Shimmer lipsticks are crème or shiny lipsticks that contain particles that reflect light, such as mica.
      By: vvoe
      Shimmer lipsticks are crème or shiny lipsticks that contain particles that reflect light, such as mica.