Leslie Ash Lip Fillers – What happened to Leslie Ash?

Let’s face it there are a lot of celebrities out there that give this industry a bad name. The problem is that we can all too easily spot those that have ‘over done it’ but not the individuals that have maintained their looks subtlety and enhanced rather than disfigured themselves.

Disasters of over-plumped lips are regularly splashed over the pages of our magazines with the likes of Liz Hurley, Melanie Griffith, Meg Ryan, and even Kylie Minogue all looking rather strange now. But how can a treatment that when done well looks fantastic, go so horribly wrong? It makes me wonder about the Doctor administering the treatment to these individuals. Are they just concerned with taking their patient’s money rather than acting in their best interest? There have been a few times I’ve had to refuse a patient a treatment they’ve requested as I’ve felt it was unnecessary and would be detrimental to their appearance. Some people unfortunately seem to lose sight of how they look.

My patients often worry about having lip enhancement because of what happened to poor old Leslie Ash, whose disastrous allergic reaction to silicone lip implants in 2002 have made the headlines ever since.

I always explain that the permanent filler she chose to have (God knows why) is rarely used now due to the complications associated with it. I only use ultra-fine, non-permanent, Hyaluronic acid based products such as Juvederm to hydrate and gently plump the surface of the lips. Small amounts are used to create a natural result rather than give a big-lipped, WAG look. These products are very safe & can also easily be dissolved if ever needed. The procedure only takes ten minutes, can last up to six months and they have very little risk of allergic reaction.

I’m a fan of the minimalist look; most women just want a ‘natural, sensuous’ appearance. Trout pouts tend to occur when filler is injected into the very edge of the lips, giving a stiff, protruding effect. We normally inject the product into lips, avoiding the edges where it can form a ridge. The Hyaluronic Acid Filler then acts like scaffolding to support and lift the lip from the inside.

A recent study indicated that women with slightly plumper lips looked years younger than their thin-lipped peers. Hardly surprising as our lips, like the rest of our face, suffer from the effects of ageing. The lips lose volume in the same way as the rest of the face. However, the ageing process is accelerated by the fact that the mouth is constantly moving when you talk and eat, and so the constant puckering and creasing causes the skin to age more quickly and for deeper lines to develop.

The skin around the lips, which acts as the support structure around the mouth, also ages as the amount of collagen and elastic decreases. Smoking exacerbates the problem by damaging collagen, reducing volume and increasing wrinkles. The lips are also very exposed to sunlight as they’re hard to protect which means they are prone to a lot of UV damage. Depressing isn’t it?

My advice to anyone would be to never have permanent filler in the temptation that it lasts longer. If there is a problem, it lasts forever as is almost impossible to get it out. Also, as you age, the lips naturally become smaller. Permanently large lips on a 70 year old can look very odd.