Well-defined lips symbolize beauty. Lip fillers give the lips a desirable, appealing feature, especially to a young audience. However, many countries allow filers to persons above 18. This article discusses the legal age to have lip fullers.
Many people desire to improve their facial appearance and body curves. Social media has obsessed people with various cosmetic procedures to pursue a perfect body and face. In the earlier days, it was unusual for children to get involved with cosmetic products. However, things are different now. The pressure to meet generation Z’s and generation Alpha’s beauty standards forces young people to make wrong decisions. They do so to impress others and fit in social groupings. Younger patients are tempted to undertake lip fillers, apply heavy makeup, or try risky plastic surgeries. Some countries have age restrictions for cosmetic procedures to protect young people incapable of making sound lifetime decisions. So, how old should you be if you want lip fillers?
The Acceptable Age for Lip Fillers
Teenagers are restricted from undertaking lip fillers or cosmetic surgeries. Regulatory bodies like the FSA only approve cosmetic procedures for persons above 18 years to get the fillers. No professional and reputable clinic will allow injections to someone below 18 years. Any practitioner who agrees to administer injectables to underage children risks their reputation and practice. Overlooking the state’s age of consent threatens a child’s safety. It may need effort and legal threats to convince teenagers that they are not mature and legally allowed to receive lip filler treatment.
Why Is It a Good Idea to Deny Teenagers Lip Fillers
To Protect Their Health and Safety
Lip fillers involve an injection of chemicals. Some of the substances in these lip filers may cause health issues in children. Pereira et al. (2018) emphasized that qualified clinics and practitioners use hyaluronic acid, a safe, natural molecule, to make the injection effective. Lip fillers with the right quality are those tested extensively and labeled safe by FSA in the UK. Adults have the experience and knowledge to determine whether a cosmetic procedure is legit. However, a person under 18 is easily convinced to agree to an operation that may harm their health. An adult is in the right mind and understands the consequences when making decisions. Teenagers may have unrealistic expectations from the filler; dealing with a botched procedure may prove too much to handle.
To Save Them from Financial Struggles
Lip fillers are expensive. This treatment is not a one-time process. Hence, it is not for anyone who is not financially stable. Lip fillers involve temporary results; thus, need consistent upkeep to achieve the desired outcomes (Schuurmans et al., 2021). Younger people and teens do not have a regular income. As a result, they can easily opt for extremely low-quality injections that are not safe. Waiting until you are financially stable and seeking high-quality lip fillers from reputable cosmetic professionals is worth it. Rather than investing the little cash they may have on cheap cosmetic products and procedures; they should save it for more important life essentials.
To Protect Their Expectations
Teenagers are still emotionally immature and have little experience handling life situations. Being an adult exposes you to different difficulties. With time, you learn how to deal with unmet expectations. Social media posts have overrated Lip fillers results. Teenagers have unrealistic expectations about how lip fillers will transform their lives. They have to build a false worldview of how lip injections will give them perfect lips and look forward to having flawless lips. Adults have gained a better perspective and become more realistic about their expectations. UK lawmakers and cosmetic experts want to protect teens from heartaches from failed lip filler treatments. So, it is wise to hold off on lip fillers and other cosmetic procedures until you are old enough to make sound decisions.
To Allow Their Perception to Improve
Your definition of true beauty may not be the same as others. With age, you learn your perception of things, your view on things changes, and your self-care practices improve. You may like a certain facial feature but later hate it. Setting an age limit for lip fillers gives children enough time to rethink their beauty beliefs and practice self-love. This way, they can embrace their imperfections, and if later in life they choose to get dermal fillers to improve their least likable features, they can do so because they want to and not out of social media pressure.
What If You Are at the Right Age but Still Unsure About Lip Fillers?
Injectable lip filler procedures can help anyone achieve a satisfying volume and better lip definition. If you are above 18 and badly wish to push through with lip fillers but are still not ready to take that step, consider these questions before pursuing lip injections;
- What is my real motive for pursuing my desire to change my facial appearance?
- Are my expectations realistic or above the possible results of lip fillers?
- Is my lip the only specific part of my appearance that I want to improve?
- Will any aspect of my everyday life get affected, such as work, family, relationships, or social obligations?
- Is this the most appropriate time in my life to get lip fillers?
- Have I openly and extensively expressed my concerns and received answers to my questions from lip fillers specialists?
- What does the lip filler procedure involve?
- Will I have to deal with any activity restrictions after undertaking this treatment?
- Is lip filler the correct cosmetic procedure for me? Or should I consider other cosmetic treatments?
- Can I handle the complications and risks of lip fillers?
What Other Cosmetic Procedures Have Age Restrictions?
- Cheek lift
- Facial fillers
- Chin surgery
- Botulinum injection
- Breast lift
- Breast reduction surgery
- Abdomen reduction
FAQs about Lip Fillers
Why Can’t I Get Lip Fillers Yet I am 18?
While the legal age permitted for lip filler injection is 18, many clinics give the treatment to persons above 21 years; they consider patients above 21 as more capable of making life-long decisions.
Can I Get Dermal Fillers While Pregnant?
There are no legal restrictions for pregnant adults to take cosmetic procedures. However, regulatory bodies like FSA discourage patients from taking the injection while pregnant.
How Fast Does a Lip Filler Degrade from My Body?
Lip fillers last between 6 and 12 months; their duration depends on the nature of the filler, the patient’s age, and metabolism (Goldberg, 2017).
Conclusion
Lip fillers can bring unexpected and lasting changes to your facial appearance. Teenagers are not old enough to understand how cosmetic procedures might change their inside and outside. Make sure you get lip fillers when you are an adult. Before undertaking this procedure, seek medical clarification from a registered cosmetic specialist. Think carefully about your motives for seeking a new look before getting lip fillers. Generally, the fillers are safe and have minimal costs compared to surgical operations. However, their safety depends on the practitioner’s expertise.
References
Goldberg, D. J. (Ed.). (2017). Dermal fillers. Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers.
Haneke, E. (2015). Managing complications of fillers: rare and not-so-rare. Journal of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery, 8(4), 198.
Pereira, H., Sousa, D. A., Cunha, A., Andrade, R., Espregueira-Mendes, J., Oliveira, J. M., & Reis, R. L. (2018). Hyaluronic acid. Osteochondral Tissue Engineering, 137- 153.
Schuurmans, C. C., Mihajlovic, M., Hiemstra, C., Ito, K., Hennink, W. E., &Vermonden, T. (2021). Hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate (meth) acrylate-based hydrogels for tissue engineering: Synthesis, characteristics and pre-clinical evaluation. Biomaterials, 268, 120602.
MS, Lund University, Sweden
Nutrition plays an important role in human life. Eating habits are one of the factors that affect our health. There is often a misconception among people that nutritionists force a very restrictive diet, but that is not true. In fact, I don't ban any products, but I point out dietary mistakes and help change them by giving tips and new recipes that I've tried myself. I advise my patients not to resist change and to be purposeful. Only with willpower and determination can a good result be achieved in any area of life, including changing eating habits. When I don't work, I love to go climbing. On a Friday evening, you are most likely to find me on my couch, cuddling with my dog and watching some Netflix.
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