Women go to great trouble to make their lips attractive. Full lips with a shaped cupid’s bow is considered attractive. Ideally the front upper teeth should be visible by two to four millimetres at rest rather than being hidden by the upper lip. As women get older the upper lip gets longer and the front incisor teeth are not as visible. This happens because of a change in the anatomy of the lip muscles with age. The male has a relatively longer upper lip and an upper lip lift is often carried out at the same time as jaw surgery to make the lower face appear more feminine.

A lip lift is performed by excising a strip of skin from under the nose and then plicating the underlying muscle to roll the upper lip up and enhance the cupid’s bow, leaving two to four millimetres of incisor teeth visible at rest.