Lips: From Alienisation to Normalisation

What ultrasound has taught us about filler placement, migration and lip anatomy

Lip augmentation has evolved rapidly, but not always in the direction of normal anatomy. Techniques designed to create projection, height and definition have contributed to increasingly standardised lip shapes, sometimes at the expense of individual anatomy and proportion.

Drawing on the latest ultrasound research, this presentation examines what actually happens to filler within the lips and how injection technique influences its distribution — exploring the relationship between filler, the orbicularis oris, labial arteries and glands, and how injection vector and depth relate to multilayer deposition, extension beyond anatomical boundaries, glandular changes, hypervascularity and migration.

These findings challenge established assumptions about lip augmentation, proposing a move from alienisation to normalisation — using ultrasound evidence to support more anatomically respectful, individualised and conservative lip augmentation.