Craving fulls lips a la Angelina Jolie but the thought of getting injections scares the hell out of you?
Lip plumpers look like the perfect solution. They make your lips bigger without pain, downtime or hours spent overdrawing your lips.
But… do lip plumpers really work? Do they have what it takes to make your lips bigger or are they just a temporary fix?
Let’s find out:
What Are Lip Plumpers?
Lip plumpers are a type of lip product designed to make your lips appear fuller.
Note I said “appear” fuller, not “make” fuller. There’s a difference. Lip plumpers are cosmetic products and cosmetics can only change the look of your lips (or skin), not alter their size.
If they could go that extra mile, they’d be classified as drugs. Those are strictly regulated. Translation: beauty brands need to do a lot of expensive testing to make sure drugs don’t have nasty side effects… like cancer or death.
What does it mean? No matter what fancy claims a brand comes up with, a lip plumper will only give you the illusion of slightly bigger lips.
One more thing: the effects of lip plumpers are only temporary.
Related: What’s The Difference Between A Cosmetic And A Drug?
How Do Lip Plumpers Work?
There are three kinds of lip plumpers – and they all work in a different way:
1. Swelling Lip Plumpers
I call them swelling lip plumpers because they literally make your lips swell up. How?
They use ingredients, like menthol and camphor, that irritate lips, making them swell up so they look bigger.
FYI, that tingling you’re experiencing? That’s your lips being irritated. Ouch!
I do NOT recommend swelling lip balms at all. Irritation is NEVER good news. It just makes your lips more sensitive to anything and speeds up premature aging. Scary, huh?
Not sure what ingredients are irritating? Click on the image below to subscribe to my newsletter and receive the “Irritating Ingredients Cheat Sheet” with the most irritating ingredients lurking in your cosmetics:
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Related: What To Do If A Skincare Product Irritates Your Skin
2. Collagen-Boosting Lip Plumpers
Collagen-boosting lip plumpers do just that: they stimulate collagen production. Here’s how:
These lip plumpers contain ingredients, like peptides and retinol, that have been proven to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, the proteins that keep skin firm and full.
In theory, this trick keeps your lips fuller and prevents them from thinning with age. In practice? Some dermatologists don’t think they can reach deep enough into the skin to stimulate anything.
There’s nothing wrong with giving these types of lip plumpers a try, if you can afford the splurge. Just don’t expect miracles.
Related: Are Copper Peptides Better Than Retinoids?
3. Moisturising Lip Plumpers
Ah, moisture! That old trick. Let me share the secret with you…
Moisturising lip plumpers work by moisturizing lips. They contain microspheres that attract water molecules to your lips. The extra moisture plumps up your lips, giving them a fuller appearance.
Of course, the effect is subtle and temporary. But if you really must try a lip plumper, this is your safest (in every sense!) bet.
Related: 4 Things I’ve Learned From Korean Skincare
Do Lip Plumpers Work?
Yes, lip plumpers work – just not as well as you think. They can make your lips appear a little thicker for a few hours, but they won’t give you the full Angelina Jolie look you’re craving for. Even then, you need to constantly keep reapplying them during the day to maintain the results.
What Are The Best Lip Plumpers?
I’m not into lip plumpers. The results are too little for my taste. But if I had to use them, I’d pick the ones below:
- PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster ($45.00): available at Dermstore and Nordstrom
- Replenix Plumping Lip Treatment SPF 30 ($37.00): available at Dermstore
Have you tried lip plumpers? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
yes I would say they work, but I can’t use them! I already got full lips to start with ..lol 🙂
I really don’t get the craze over lip plumper! I think the one that started it all is Lip Venom but some people got allergic to it and their speech became slurry. Also, I’ve heard Holywood celebs apply them on their nipples to get the perky look when they’re on red carpet.
I have several lip plumpers. They definitely work! But the quality are all all difference. I guess, there is no particular best one when it comes to this since everyone have difference preferences.
I love lip plumpers!
there is only utterly useless product from Make Up For Ever I have tried. didn’t plump my lips whatsoever.
come to think of it, i didn’t review it on my blog. gotta do it soon.
thanks for the post. i always look up your blog for references! 🙂
i love lim plumpers! but the effect of it is only temporary.
Nikki: lucky you!! 🙂
Dao: I guess big lips are perceived as sexy and beautiful and therefore most people would try anything to get them. Personally, I’m not crazy about them, I own a couple (although one was a win). But if you’re gonna use them then it’s important to know how they work. Youd don’t wanna use something that contains irritating ingredients on your lips every day, it’s not good for you.
I didn’t know celebs used them on their nipples, that is just WRONG!!
Cinthia: It’s great they work, isn’t it? The quality depends on the ingredients. For example, they highter the quantity of camphor in it, the better they work. Isn’t it weird that they work better when they iritate the most? That’s why I prefer the other two types of lip plumpers, they’re better for the lips.
Lydia: they’re good aren’t they? I’m not crazy about them but it’s nice to use them every once in a while.
jojoba: You’re welcome. And I’m glad you find my posts useful. The thing with lip plumpers is that you have to read the ingredients list carefully before purchasing as some of them contain ingrdients that don’t really work or in such low concentration, the plumping is so slight you won’t even notice.
Sab: I like to use them too, every now and then, but I wish they did more.
I have small, thin lips, but I find that if I just exfoliate them well with a good lip scrub, they look SO much fuller! MAC Lip/lustre/dazzleglasses also give me a much fuller-lip look.
I prefer using old tricks like exfoliating too, you can actually see a difference and avoids you spending lots of money on products that may not work that well. I find that adding lipgloss just at the center of the lips helps too.
I tried my friends’ lip plumper and it worked absolutely amazing!!1 I asked her where she got it from and she wouldn’t tell me. So if ANYBODY can help me please do, I need to know where I can find Plump FX Lip plumpers from. pls let me know if you can. Thanks
Hi Carla, why wouln’t your friend tell you? I tried looking around but I haven’t found any shops that carry it yet. But you can always try ebay, I’m sure you’ll find it there. Hopefully someone else will know where else you could get it from.
She is a snobby little thing that believes that she is part of an exclusive club. But you are the greatest cause I checked ebay and found it. I cant wait to apply it to my lips in front of her.
eheh, thanks Carla, I’m glad you found it 🙂
I recently bought a lip plumper from the lip plumping shop and I was amazed by how well it worked, def worth a try.
Anna, I’m glad you found one that works really well for you. 🙂