Lips that look like your lips, only better
A lip flip is four to six units of toxin above the upper lip. It takes ten minutes and adds no volume. Lip filler is hyaluronic acid gel placed over 30 to 45 minutes, followed by a swollen week and a result you’ll judge at day 14. At Skinovatio Lincoln Park both are done by our nurse practitioners, and your consult starts by determining which one suits your goals.
$800
to start
At a glance
Lip filler and lip flip- Appointment
- Lip flip 10 minutes, filler 30 to 45 minutes with numbing
- Downtime
- Filler: swelling and bruising for about a week. Lip flip: none
- First results
- Filler immediately, lip flip at about a week
- Full results
- Both at two weeks
- Sessions
- One visit, with a two-week check for filler
- Cost
- From $800. About $200 per payment across 4 with Afterpay or Klarna.
What to expect
What the appointment is like
Your consult starts with a mirror. We’ll ask you to smile, relax, and say “eee,” which quickly shows whether a flip or filler is the better fit. Then we’ll name the product, write down the volume, and take photos.
Consult
Smile, relax, and say eee. Together we’ll decide on flip or filler, name the product, write down the volume, and take photos.
Numbing
Topical cream for 15 to 20 minutes for filler. No numbing needed for a flip.
Treatment
Filler: needle or cannula along the border and into the body of the lip, in the amount your provider recommends. Flip: four to six tiny injections above the lip line.
Before you leave
We’ll give you ice and written aftercare, and book your two-week check for filler.
Your results
A predictable timeline
Filler shows immediately and refines by two weeks. Duration by product, from the manufacturers: Restylane Kysse “up to 1 year,” Juvederm Volbella XC and Ultra XC “up to 1 year with optimal treatment.” The Silk trial reported 58.8 percent responders at week 24. Lips move constantly and metabolize filler faster than any other site, so plan on 6 to 12 months, with a top-up when it fades. Individual results vary.
Day 0
Filler: swollen, uneven, and bigger than the final result. Flip: tiny bumps for 20 minutes, then nothing yet.
Days 2 to 4
Filler swelling drops fast, and bruising may show.
Week 1
The flip effect appears, and any filler bruising is yellowing out.
Day 14
We’ll check both together and refine filler if needed. Your flip is at full effect.
Months 2 to 5
The flip wears off.
Months 6 to 12
Filler fades. Book a top-up when you notice it fading.
What it costs
Clear pricing, planned by the visit
For filler, four things shape your cost: product, full versus half syringe, needle versus cannula, and whether the two-week touch-up is included. For a flip, it’s the toxin units, and a flip is often a few units added to a toxin visit you were already having. You’ll find the syringe price on the price card at the top of this page. We don’t run half-syringe offers. Your plan lists the volume you need, in writing.
- Lip flip versus filler
- Full or half syringe
- Which product
- Whether the two-week touch-up is included
At Skinovatio Lincoln Park
Lip filler and lip flip
$800
to start
- Restylane Silk
- $800 per syringe
- Consultation
- $50
- With Afterpay or Klarna
- About $200 × 4 payments
One syringe of Restylane Silk is the usual first visit at $800. Lip filler isn’t listed on its own on the Lincoln Park booking menu, so book it under the filler product. A lip flip is a few units of toxin added to a toxin visit.
Book your Lip filler and lip flip appointmentSimilar purpose, different options
Lip filler or something else?
It comes down to two questions: is your lip thin at rest or only when you smile, and is your concern the lip itself or the lines around it?
| What we’d suggest | Why | |
|---|---|---|
| Fine at rest, vanishes on the smile | Lip flip | Muscle, not volume. The most affordable option, and it wears off on its own |
| Thin at rest | Filler | Only filler adds volume |
| Both | Flip and filler together | Common, and the flip shows more of the new volume |
| Vertical lines with fine lips | Restylane Silk in the lines, or Morpheus8 with the small tip | Silk is approved for perioral lines. Deep etched lines need resurfacing |
| Thin lips plus a small chin | Filler in both, on the dermal fillers page | A weak chin makes lips read thinner in profile |
Fine at rest, vanishes on the smile
- What we’d suggest
- Lip flip
- Why
- Muscle, not volume. The most affordable option, and it wears off on its own
Thin at rest
- What we’d suggest
- Filler
- Why
- Only filler adds volume
Both
- What we’d suggest
- Flip and filler together
- Why
- Common, and the flip shows more of the new volume
Vertical lines with fine lips
- What we’d suggest
- Restylane Silk in the lines, or Morpheus8 with the small tip
- Why
- Silk is approved for perioral lines. Deep etched lines need resurfacing
Thin lips plus a small chin
- What we’d suggest
- Filler in both, on the dermal fillers page
- Why
- A weak chin makes lips read thinner in profile
A surgical lip lift shortens the space between nose and lip permanently. It’s not on our menu, but we’ll let you know if it’s the better option for a long upper lip.
Is it right for me?
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t
Filler: it’s for adults over 21 (RHA 3 says 22) with a specific goal in mind. We don’t inject during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with a bleeding disorder, with a cold sore or infection on the lip that day, or with a history of severe allergies or allergy to lidocaine. Cold sores matter more here than anywhere else on the face: lip injection can reactivate herpes simplex, so if you’ve had them before, tell us, because an antiviral beforehand is often recommended.
A good fit for
- Thin, uneven, or deflated lips (filler)
- A lip that looks fine at rest but thin in a smile (lip flip)
- Anyone wanting to try fullness before committing to filler
- Adults over 21 comfortable with about a week of swelling
Not recommended
- During pregnancy or breastfeeding, or with a bleeding disorder
- Singers, wind and brass players (lip flip weakens lip control)
- An active cold sore. We’ll reschedule you
- A lidocaine allergy or history of severe allergies
The risk that matters most in lips is vascular occlusion. It’s rare, but we keep hyaluronidase on hand and only ever use dissolvable HA gel in the lips.
In detail
What lip filler and a lip flip can treat
Lip filler and a lip flip treat two different concerns.
The upper lip has good fullness at rest but curls under when you smile, showing more of your top teeth. That’s caused by muscle, not a lack of volume. A lip flip relaxes the upper edge of the orbicularis oris so the lip rolls slightly outward. It doesn’t add volume. It shows more of the lip you already have.
This is when little of the lip shows at rest, the border looks flat or undefined, or your top lip doesn’t match the bottom. That’s a volume concern, and only filler adds volume. On the Lincoln Park menu that’s Restylane Silk, which is FDA-approved for lip augmentation and lines around the mouth in adults over 21, per the FDA’s approval summary, or RHA 2, which is approved for wrinkles and folds and is off-label in the lip. We’ll explain which one we recommend and why before treatment.
Sometimes one side is smaller, or one side moves more. We place a little more product on the smaller side, and a unit or two of toxin can calm the side that moves more. Sometimes it takes both.
Restylane Silk is approved for the fine lines above the lip as well as the lip itself. Deep smoker’s lines need a line product plus toxin, and in some cases Morpheus8 with the small tip is the better choice.
How it works
Filler: crosslinked hyaluronic acid binds water and holds space in the lip, adding volume and definition on the day, then breaks down over months. It can be dissolved early with hyaluronidase. Every HA product on our shelf carries lidocaine.
Lip flip: a small dose of toxin partially relaxes the upper orbicularis oris along the vermilion border, so the lip rolls out and more pink shows at rest and in a smile. It’s off-label for every toxin, since the approved cosmetic uses are the glabella, crow’s feet, forehead and, for Botox Cosmetic only, neck bands. A prospective study of 17 women given 4 units of Botox measured a modest but significant increase in upper lip height at 15 days, with no change in lip volume, per Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In other words, a flip doesn’t make lips bigger.
Afterwards
Downtime and aftercare
Here’s what to expect after filler. Day 0: swelling starts within minutes and peaks over 24 to 48 hours. Your lips may look uneven, possibly bruised, and much bigger than planned, which is expected at this stage. Days 2 to 4: swelling drops quickly, and bruising may show. A tinted lip balm can help cover it. Days 5 to 14: any leftover firmness and small bumps soften. In the Restylane Silk trial, lip swelling lasted a mean of 7.3 days and bruising a mean of 8.4 days, per the FDA summary. Judge the result at two weeks, not two days.
Aftercare for filler is simple: ice in short intervals, and keep your head raised the first night. Typical advice is to hold off on lipstick for 12 to 24 hours, on kissing, straws, hot drinks or hard exercise for about a day, and on dental work or facials over the lips for two weeks, and your provider will confirm the timing. Avoid pressing on any lumps, and wear an SPF lip balm outdoors.
Lip flip: no downtime. You might see tiny bumps for 20 minutes, and the occasional pinpoint bruise.
Why here
Why Lincoln Park
We’re on Lincoln Avenue just north of Wrightwood, a block up from the Apollo Theater. Take the Brown Line to Diversey, then head south on Lincoln, or the Red, Brown or Purple Line to Fullerton, then head north. The 11 Lincoln bus stops on the block. There are meters on Lincoln, free spots on the side streets west of Clark if you check the cleaning signs, or the Lincoln Common garage a few blocks south.
Lips are our most-booked filler area, and the usual first visit is a flip or filler, with a top-up somewhere between month 6 and month 12. If you’re planning around a wedding, aim for filler four to six weeks out and a flip two to three weeks out. We don’t do either in the final two weeks. Swelling is most visible in the first few days, so many people book filler late in the week. Injections are by our nurse practitioner.
Questions
Common questions, answered
Typically 6 to 12 months, product and dose dependent. Manufacturers say up to a year for Kysse, Volbella XC and Ultra XC. The Restylane Silk trial reported 58.8 percent responders at week 24. Lips move all day, so filler there tends to fade first. Individual results vary.
If your lips look fine at rest but thin when you smile, a flip is a good choice. If they’re thin at rest, filler. Many people do both. If you’re unsure, a flip is a good place to start: it costs less, adds no volume, and wears off in two to five months, which makes it a lower-cost way to decide whether you want filler.
Swelling peaks at 24 to 48 hours, drops fast by day 4, and lingers as firmness to about day 14. In the Restylane Silk trial, swelling averaged 7.3 days and bruising 8.4 days. We’ll judge the result together at two weeks.
You’ll feel sharp pinches at the border and a dull ache in the body of the lip, after 15 to 20 minutes of numbing cream. The product carries lidocaine too. A cannula means one entry point per side and usually less bruising. The flip is a brief sting with no numbing.
Typically 4 to 6 units in total across the upper lip, per the 2025 systematic review. It’s an off-label use of Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau or Daxxify. We price it as part of the plan, not by the unit.
Yes, if it’s hyaluronic acid, which everything in our lips is. Hyaluronidase breaks it down within a day or two. It’s itself off-label, carries a small allergy risk, and dissolving migrated filler costs more than placing it did. Radiesse can’t be dissolved, which is why it never goes in the lips.
The amount of filler used depends on your anatomy and goals. Your provider will recommend the appropriate amount during your appointment. We write the volume into your plan and review it with you at two weeks.
For 3 to 7 days, aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDs, fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo and alcohol, if your prescriber agrees, to reduce bruising. Please never stop a prescribed blood thinner. Avoid dental cleaning within two weeks either side, arrive without lip products, and let us know so we can reschedule if a cold sore is active.
You can, though it may feel awkward for a couple of weeks. The systematic review of lip flip studies reports difficulty whistling or drinking through straws that resolves within weeks. After filler, it’s best to skip straws for 24 hours because of the pressure on the border.
Aim for four to six weeks. That clears the swollen week, the two-week check, and any refinement. A lip flip goes two to three weeks out. We won’t do anything on the lips in the final two weeks, but a HydraFacial that week is a good alternative.
Lip filler is hyaluronic acid, so it can be dissolved with hyaluronidase if you don’t like it, and it also breaks down on its own. That’s one reason we add filler gradually. Most of the regret we see comes from too much done too fast, not from the product itself.
Keep exploring
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Start with a consult
Tell us what you’d like to work on. We’ll assess your skin and goals, walk you through your Lip filler and lip flip options, and give you a clear plan and price before anything begins.
Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout for eligible treatments.