Silicone Lip Injections

Silicone Lip Injection|Do They Really Work?

The use of liquid silicone used for lip enhancement as well as other facial procedures, has been in use in America for many years, since the late 1960s, in fact. However, while it is legal, it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. People seeking to have silicone lip injections will find themselves caught up in a sort of catch-22. Doctors can and do perform the procedure, but they are not allowed to tell anyone that they do the procedure. They can’t advertise or market the procedure. That is banned by the FDA in America.

Catch-22 for Doctors

Under FDA regulations, doctors can use any medical device and use any procedure they see fit, that they say is good for the patient, whether the FDA has approved it or not. This loophole is what allows silicone lip injections to be done in the United States.

Liquid Silicone Used to Treat Eyes

While not approved for cosmetic use, liquid injectable silicone does have FDA approval for treating detached retinas in the eye or for stopping hemorrhage or bleeding in the body. The procedure is meant to save a person’s eyesight. However, once corrected or healed, the silicone is supposed to be removed from the body, since the body cannot absorb the liquid silicone.

Do Silicone Lip Injections Work

The silicone injected into the lips does not plump up the lips like other collagens. It is not a collagen and cannot be broken down by the body. What silicone does is to trigger an allergic reaction, so to speak, which causes swelling and the buildup of phagocytes to fight the low grade infection. The phagocytes are the body’s natural response to foreign substances in the body. Their job is to engulf the foreign substance, in this case, the silicone, and move it to an area in the body where it can be excreted from the body.

Silicone oil cannot be broken down or excreted so it is encapsulated and left where it is injected, in other words, in the lips. This encapsulation is made up of collagen. This natural buildup of collagen continues to grow and keeps the silicone in place. However it does get hard and also grows scar tissue, which may need correction down the road.

Questions to Ask the Doctor

Prior to receiving the silicone lip injections ask the doctor for his credentials. Then ask if silicone lip injections are legal in the United States. His answer to this question should determine whether or not to proceed with the procedure. If he says “yes” the procedure is legal, then run for the hills. He is lying to you. If the doctor tells you the truth, then it is probably safe with a few more questions to proceed. Remember, the doctor can give you the treatment, but he is not allowed to market or to sell it and he is supposed to know that it technically is an illegal procedure in the USA.

Cost and Availability of Silicone Lip Injections
The best way to find out if a doctor will administer silicone lip injections is to make an appointment and then ask for them. Since they can’t advertise the fact that they may perform the procedure an actual visit is the only way to know for sure, unless you go by word of mouth from other patients. The same holds true for the cost. You won’t know until you ask. After finding out, it is best to visit several clinics in order to get a cost comparison.