5 Simple Solutions for Really Small Lips

Author

Dr. Stephen Cosentino

You have really small lips. Like, really small and thin lips. You think about this every time you look in the mirror.

Rest assured, your lips are beautiful. And there are many, many people with full, round lips — think Scarlett Johanson or Angelina Jolie — who would prefer their lips look smaller or thinner.

But you have every right to want something else. If you’re set on making your lips look fuller, try any (or all) of these five simple solutions.

Simple Solutions for Really Small Lips

With the exception of #5, these small-lip solutions are inexpensive and noninvasive. (And #5 really isn’t that expensive or invasive.)

1. Apply Lipstick, Lip Gloss, or Lip Stain Outside Your Natural Lip Lines (Carefully)

The simplest solution to small lips: apply makeup, carefully.

The trick is to apply lip product — lipstick, gloss, stain, or lip liner — so that your lips appear wider and fuller than they really are. To get more technical, you want to edge past your vermilion border, or the line between your lip and your “regular” skin.

If your lips are uneven, apply more product to the thinner lip to achieve balance between your upper and bottom lips. Otherwise, you’ll just draw more attention to the existing imbalance.

2. Use Two-Tone Lip Shade

This is a modified version of #1. The goal is the same (to add volume to your lips using lip color) but the execution is a little different.

Here, you apply a darker shade within the vermilion border and a lighter shade beyond it. This creates a gradient effect that many believe looks more natural than simply “coloring outside the lines.”

3. Use High-Quality Lip Moisturizer Every Day

You should probably be doing this anyway. If you’re not, or your moisturizer is just your basic checkout-aisle lip balm, it’s time to up your game.

There’s a whole world of lip moisturizing products available now, so talk with your cosmetologist (or knowledgeable friends) if you’re stumped. Two key things to look for are SPF protection (SPF 15 is ideal) and hyaluronic acid as an active ingredient.

Both SPF protection and hyaluronic acid promote lip health and hydration, holding off fine lines and wrinkles that draw down volume and make your lips look old and tired.

4. Do Lip Exercises At Least 15 Minutes a Day

Yes, lip yoga is real, and yes, it may work for some people! Many lip yogis swear by it, anyway.

Be warned: You’ll look silly. But no one has to see you, as you can do lip yoga in the comfort of your own home, on your own time. Just be sure to do exercises that actually work (like in the video here) and to spend at least 15 minutes per day on them.

5. Try Hyaluronic Acid Lip Fillers

If all else fails, try injectable hyaluronic acid lip fillers. They’re the most affordable, effective, and reversible type of lip fillers. A typical lip filler treatment costs less than $1,000 and lasts longer than a year, but can easily be reversed sooner if you’re not happy with the results.

A word of caution: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Don’t buy discount lip fillers online and never try to inject them yourself. Always work with a licensed professional with proper dermal filler training.