The Best Lip Plumper + How to Get Luscious Lips in Minutes
Are your lips dry, dull or chapped?
Maybe they look fine and you want to naturally improve their size?
Either way this is the post for you…
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about lip plumpers including how they work, how to use them properly, which ones work the best, what side effects to look out for and other tips and tricks to enhance your lip volume.
Let’s jump in:
More…
How do Lip Plumpers Work?
I probably don’t need to tell you
Your lips are a central and very important cosmetic feature on your face because from a scientific standpoint they stand out due to the changes in skin texture and color of the surrounding skin.
Study after study has shown that the appearance of the lips is a very important factor for determining the aesthetic perception of the female face.
With this in mind it’s easy to understand why you would want to spend some time trying to improve the cosmetic value of your lips!
We also know that your lips tend to become more flat and more thin as you age (or as you damage your skin from photo-damage).
This has lead many people (and even scientists) to start developing products designed to enhance the size and appearance of the lips.
The end result is a product known as “lip plumpers”.
These products help to improve the size of the lips, the texture and the softness.
Basically they make your lips look bigger, more full, more plump and softer.
But how do these products actually work?
Because the skin of the lips is different from the surrounding tissues it is much more susceptible to damage – especially from the elements.
Your lips therefore tend to dry out, become chapped and even lose their color or luster faster than other areas of your face.
These small and subtle changes can actually be blunted or stopped by using certain ingredients or compounds.
These compounds help to restore moisture directly to your lips which in turns help them retain their plumpness and color.
Ingredients which have been shown in clinical studies to have this effect on your lips include niacin, emollients, hyaluronic acid, human growth factors, marine filling spheres and tripeptide growth factors.
Basically any product that contains any (or all) of those ingredients WILL help to improve your lip volume.
Cosmetic Lip Plumpers vs Injectable Lip Plumpers
When we talk about lip plumpers there are basically two categories to discuss.
The first is the lip plumpers that are topical such as glosses, creams and gels (this article focuses mostly on these types).
The second type of lip plumpers include the injectables which often contain hyaluronic acid.
We won’t focus on the injectables much in this guide simply because they tend to be much more expensive than glosses and gels and they tend to carry with them risks that gels do not have.
The average cost for lip injections ranges from about $500 to $2,000 per injection and even these injections do not last forever (your body eventually “eats” up the hyaluronic acid).
In addition because they are injectables they carry with them a small risk of infection.
Injectables are very nice, however, for those people who aren’t concerned about money or for those who have a hard time remembering to apply gels/creams and glosses on a daily basis (in order for lip plumpers to work you must be consistent!).
Another added benefit to the injectables is that they provide almost IMMEDIATE results whereas the plumpers listed here may take several weeks to kick in completely.
Regardless of which route you choose just make sure that you pick the route that you are most comfortable with.
I’ve included a list of pros and cons of using lip plumpers and why they are my preferred route:
PROS
- Cheap (around $20 to $40 per product)
- Non invasive
- Well tolerated with few side effects
- Easy to apply
- More natural ingredients
- More choices and options for products
- No down time or swelling (compared to some injectables)
CONS
- Must apply them daily (sometimes up to 3x per day) to see results
- Results fade if you stop using the product (also true with other lip plumpers)
- Some people may react with hives/rashes due to ingredients
The Best Lip Plumper Products
If you’re still ready to jump in then I’ve provided what I consider to be some of the best lip plumpers on the market based on their ingredient list and their reviews.
Each of the lip plumpers listed below also include scientifically studied results which have been shown to work in most people.
The key to choosing the right lip plumper is to find one that works for YOUR body and this may take some trial and error – so don’t be afraid to jump into one and give it a try for a few weeks.
If it doesn’t work then changes are high that one of the others will.
#1. Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip Plumper
First on the list of high quality lip plumpers is the Just Kissed lip plumper by Jane Iredale.
One of the reasons that this plumper is so effective is because it uses a lot of essential oils and natural products found primarily in plants.
It also contains natural vitamins which help to naturally hydrate and give volume to the lips.
Ingredients:
- Avocado oil
- Beeswax
- Jojoba seed oil
- Candelilla wax
- Sunflower seed oil
- Shea butter
- Ginger root oil
- Lemon peel oil
- Citrus peel oil
- Camellia sinensis (Green tea) extract
- Grape seed extract
- Cranberry fruit extract
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin C
Average rating:
This lip plumper works great with an average rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars.
This will work in about 70-80% of people.
The benefit to using this lip plumper is that it does NOT contain as many chemical compounds and inactive ingredients as other lip plumpers.
It’s also a more natural approach to plumping the lips with many botanical (plant) based ingredients.
#2. Grande LIPS Hydrating Lip Plumper
Grande lips works through a different mechanism when compared to other products because it contains a special ingredient known as sodium hyaluronate.
Sodium hyaluronate is a form of hyaluronic acid which is used primarily to help hold moisture and bring hydration back to the skin.
The sodium hyaluronate form is a special form which is much smaller and is better absorbed into the skin when compared to hyaluronic acid which means that it brings even more moisture to the area.
In addition this product contains both caffeine and Niacin which help to bring in blood flow and provide a plumpness to the skin.
You probably know about Niacin because if you take too much of it by mouth you may end up getting an extreme “flush”.
So imagine this happening to your lips but in a much smaller scale!
You’ve probably also experienced the rush you can get when consuming caffeine (both mentally and physically) so you can imagine this benefit on your lips as well.
The combination of hydration, moisture and blood flow all work together to plump your lips when using this combination.
Ingredients:
- Hyaluronic acid (In the Sodium hyaluronate which is a smaller version of hyaluronic acid which increases moisture absorption)
- Caffeine
- Niacin (Vitamin B3)
- Volulip
- Many other chemical compounds (Octyldodecanol, polybutene, silca dimethyl silylate, pentaerythrityl tetraisostearate, ethylhexyl palmitate, quaternium-90 bentonite, propylene carbonate, butylene glycol, saccharin, phenoxyethanol, hexylene glycol, sodium hyaluronate
Average rating:
Grande Lips has an average rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars.
This doesn’t mean it doesn’t work or that it’s a bad product, instead it means that it is less likely to work for all people.
It still works and works well (I’ve used it and it works for me!) but it seems that not everyone gets the same benefit.
It may take some trial and error to determine which lip plumper works well for you.
The good news is that lip plumpers (especially when compared to other cosmetic products) tend to be relatively cheap.
So it may take an investment of $40-50 total to figure out which one works for you.
One disadvantage to this lip plumper is that it does contain more chemical ingredients when compared to other products.
If you tend to be very sensitive to chemical ingredients then it may be a better option to start with a more natural product like the one listed above.
#3. Jouer Essential Lip Enhancer
Jouer essential lip enhancer is kind of a hybrid between the other two lip plumpers already listed here.
This product helps to promote lip plumpness with hydrating and natural ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, shea butter and jojoba seed oil but it also contains a special ingredient known as Maxi-lip.
Maxi-lip is designed to help promote the natural synthesis and creation of GAG’s or glycosaminoglycans.
These are special compounds which help absorb and hold water.
So the idea here is that these ingredients help your lips naturally retain water like the other products but in a slightly different way.
Essential lip enhancer helps your body naturally produce its own Hylauronic acid as opposed to directly providing it.
Ingredients:
- Maxi-Lip (Natural peptide chain which stimulates collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis)
- Shea butter
- Jojoba seed oil
- Beeswax
- Castor seed oil
- Hyaluronic acid
- Vitamin E
- Other chemical ingredients (Polybutene, hydrogenated polyisobutene, octyldodoecanol, polyethylene, ethylhexyl palmitate)
Average rating:
Jouer essential lip enhancer has an average rating of 4.1 stars out of 5.0.
Like the other products listed here it tends to work well, but it really depends on the person.
One thing worth pointing out is that this is more of a cream/conditioner than a lip gloss when compared to the other products.
It also may need to be used 3x per day compared to twice per day with the other products.
When it comes to plumping up your lips you HAVE to be consistent with the application of whichever product you decide to use.
Symptoms Associated with Lip Plumpers
Should you be concerned about using lip plumpers?
Does improving the size and look of your lips come at a cost?
It may surprise you to know that these products are surprisingly well tolerated!
That means that most people who use them do not experience any negative side effects.
But, like anything, it really depends on the person.
Urticaria is a hives like reaction that occurs when the body comes into contact with certain chemicals or ingredients.
The good news is that this reaction is not very common and the treatment is to stop using the product which will cure the problem rapidly.
The only other negative side effect that you may experience is that you may not see your desired results!
This has less to do with the product and more to do with how you react to it.
Just realize that as long as you aren’t putting anything INSIDE of your lips or your skin the risk of any negative side effect is very low.
What are Lip Plumper Devices?
What about lip plumping devices? How do these compare to lip plumping products?
Lip plumping devices work by applying a suction cup like effect with a sustained pressure (and sometimes a vibratory component) which act to bring blood flow up to the surface of your lips and into the capillaries.
Your capillaries represent the endpoint between your arteries and veins and that is where your body exchanges oxygen.
The goal with these devices is to create a “swollen” or “plump” look in your lips that mimics what would occur if you had a bruise (without the discoloration!).
The idea is that you can control the amount of stimulation to the area without causing any negative reaction or bruising discoloration.
Most of the time they do work, but the benefits are VERY short lived.
If you choose this route be prepared to use your lip plumping device somewhat frequently because the results only last a few hours to days.
These devices may be good to use if you have a special event because they tend to work more quickly than topical products.
It’s also worth pointing out that topical products do not last forever either, they typically last weeks to months and in order to maintain your results you must continue with the product.
Other Tips to get Plump Lips
Is there anything else you can do to plump up your lips?
There are some other tips that you can take advantage of that may help you to improve your results.
Note though, that these things don’t necessarily plump your lips up by themselves but they can and should be done in addition to using a lip plumper!
The first thing you should do is HYDRATE.
By hydration I mean drinking plenty and plenty of water.
The “chapped” look that some lips get may be due to dehydration and poor nutrition status!
You can fight this appearance by drinking plenty of water.
Not only is water healthy for your body it is also amazing for your skin.
Sometimes just drinking 8 glasses of water each day is enough to clear up the skin and plump it up.
The second thing you should do is moisturize your lips with something like Vitamin E Oil.
You’ll notice that some of the lip plumping products above (at least 2 of them) ALSO contain Vitamin E.
But you can take it one step further by adding in high potency Vitamin E oil that you apply directly to your lips.
High concentrations of Vitamin E can help to moisturize the skin, reduce inflammation and may protect the skin from aging.
Using a Vitamin E oil like this one should do the trick.
The last thing you’ll want to do is avoid damaging your lips Avoid excessive sunlight!
Excessive sunlight can damage the skin on your lips and may also create the chapped appearance that everyone wants to avoid.
If you go out in the sun make sure to use a high quality sun block and make sure to use protection like a large brimmed hat!
Final Thoughts
Lip plumper products are an easy and effective way to give you plump and soft lips.
They can be used in combination with other facial products and they are VERY well tolerated.
These products usually provide results in as little as a few weeks and most people who use them have at least some improvement (up to 80% of people).
If you aren’t sure where to start then I usually recommend using a more natural and plant based formula which has fewer chemical ingredients.
But now I want to hear from you:
What is your lip regimen?
Have you tried any of the plumpers on this list?
What has your experience been?
Leave a comment below!
