Fencing: The solution for fabulously, fuller lips
By Dr Martina Pirklova Wood
Dip Imp Dent RCS (Eng) PGCert ANSI. Level 7 Certificate in Injectable Aesthetic Non-Surgical Interventions
Making the most of your natural beauty is at the heart of everything we do here at REclinic, and lip enhancement is no exception. Whether you’re looking to restore lost volume or improve lip symmetry, each treatment is tailored to your specific needs, complimenting your features and subtly enhancing your appearance. Key to the perfectly enhanced lip is technique and there’s no-one better placed to give advice on this then the beauty world’s very own lip filler queen, Julie Horne RN.
The lip filler queen
Julie is known as the lip filler queen in the world of facial aesthetics, after developing her own filler technique which revolutionised the way products were injected into the lips. With over 16,000 filler procedures under her belt and not a single vascular occlusion (blockage of blood vessels) during treatment, she’s certainly earned that crown.
Instead of the traditional method of horizontal injections Julie looked at administering the product through a series of vertical injections. She coined the technique ‘fencing’ as her process is similar to building fence posts, with the vertical lines of filler holding up the lip tissue and providing support to the top and bottom of the lip.
Bringing the Fencing Technique to REclinic
I’ve long been a fan of Julie Horne’s work and was thrilled to get an opportunity to train with her in London last October.
Lip fillers are one of the most popular treatments at REclinic and the most common requests from patients are to create a fuller shape in the middle of the lip and better-defined borders. The traditional method of horizontal injections does not always yield the best results in those areas.
Julie explained to me how she had also found this and so started experimenting with vertical injections and monitoring how the tissue reacted, how it settled and then how it presented a few weeks later.
When we inject lips with Hyaluronic Acid, we want all the threads of the solution to connect so that there is no empty space between them, this reduces swelling. We also aim to use a minimal amount of product. Less product, gentle injecting and less ‘messing’ with the lips means requires less numbing cream and the overall outcome is much reduced swelling and quicker recovery time.
I am convinced that the Fencing Technique is the way forward for producing natural looking, beautifully fuller lips with less downtime. I was so inspired from my time with Julie Horne that I have introduced Fencing as the standard technique for lip fillers at REclinic.
Providing the best possible outcomes and care for my patients
We’ve all seen photos of celebrities sporting ‘new lips’ which are oversized and look quite uncomfortable, so it’s little wonder that when clients come for their treatment their focus is often on what they don’t want, as opposed to what they would like.
Typically, my patients are women aged between 35 and 55, who are looking for natural results. One of the first things I often hear at the consultation is that they don’t want extreme lips. Overwhelmingly, they want to see a difference but not go too far, keeping it within a natural range.
Every patient is different and my job is to look at the natural attributes of their lips and assess where I can help enhance that. Every treatment is tailored to suit the patient, for example, if they already have a very defined lip border, I won’t touch that at all but maybe work on creating height to the middle.
Every lip I treat as if it were my own, always being careful and taking time to ensure the result is just right. Being gentle is so important. The harder you press with the injection the more swelling you will have so I inject slowly and gently to avoid moulding or massaging the lips during the process as that is another contributing factor to swelling.
Simply the best
Julie’s technique undoubtedly achieves great results, and an added bonus is that it involves far less injections than a purely horizontal method. At REclinic we combine cutting edge techniques such as fencing with products which deliver fantastic results, and we should know as we’ve tried them on ourselves!
Below is a selection of before and after photos from patients recently treated using the Julie Horne ‘fencing’ technique. This is now the standard technique we employ at REclinic.
All the products we use for our treatments are crucial to the success of our procedures. When it comes to lips we have a selection of products to choose from, but all our augmentation products are Hyaluronic Acid (HA) based. The beauty of HA is that it mimics a naturally occurring sugar that attracts and retains water, adding natural volume to the area of the skin where it’s being used.
The treatments we offer cover everything from full lip volume enhancement and restoring lost volume, to improving lip symmetry and anti-ageing lip hydration. Although the process can be uncomfortable, we can offer numbing solutions or help to ease the sensation throughout. Once complete, the results can be seen immediately, although we do recommend 3-4 weeks for optimal benefits.
Coupled with minimal aftercare, it’s no wonder lip treatments are so popular and although over time the results will naturally fade, the products we use will continue to add benefit boosting collagen and elastin formation.
If you’re ready to refresh your lips and would like to talk in more detail about lip treatments, then please do get in touch for a free consultation.
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