What is Volbella? Dr. Ingraham Explains More about the Injectable Filler for Thin Lips

News Reporter: They're known as smoker's or lipstick lines, those annoying vertical lines that appear on the sides of the mouth around the lips as we age. There's a brand new product on the market to help eliminate those wrinkles. Here to talk about it is Dr. Sherry Ingraham with Advanced Dermatology. Good morning to you.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Good morning.

News Reporter: Thanks for being here. You have a brave patient with you today-

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Yes.

News Reporter: ... so welcome to you as well.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Yes.

Jody: Thank you.

News Reporter: Okay, so what product are we talking about?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Today we're talking about Volbella, and Volbella is exciting because it has the same Vycross technology as Juvederm Voluma, which was introduced by Allergan several years ago. Now Volbella has been available since 2011 in Europe, so we know it's very safe and effective, but it just was released this week in America, so we're very excited to have it in our hands.

News Reporter: And so what do you do? You just actually inject around the mouth?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: We do, and so the way you use Volbella is the way you use other hyaluronic acid fillers in the lip, and Jody's going to be our model. What I like in particular about this product is it gives augmentation that's soft and natural.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: So the way the product is designed, it is designed to bind water like all hyaluronic acid fillers, but the special particles that are in this filler are actually different sizes, which is a unique quality about this filler. What that does is it allows a specific amount of water to bind to the filler so the lips do not become too swollen. They remain natural and soft, and the patients I've injected so far this week say it feels more natural than other fillers they've had before and it gives their lips a smooth and glossy appearance.

News Reporter: Now you numbed the lips before you started this, and we're trying to not show it too close because I know needles upset some people, but you're actually injecting the lip itself. So when you inject the lip itself, it fills those lines above and around the lips?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Right. Well, there's different ways you can approach it. In Jody, I'm actually filling the body of the lip, but then when I'm done doing that, what I'll do is I'll go back, and any lines that she have that run perpendicular to the lip, what we think of as the smoker's lines are actual-

News Reporter: Or even if you drink from a water bottle or a straw-

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Right, or a straw-

News Reporter: ... it causes those lines.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: ... and it just happens as a normal part of the aging process. We'll go back and we'll fill those in, and you do need a filler like this that is lighter, smoother with smaller particles to do that and have it look natural.

News Reporter: How long will it last? How often would she had to redo this?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: That's the beauty of this product. This product is actually FDA approved to last a year, which is really new in this category of the finer lip fillers. I think that's what's attractive about this to women because most patients don't want huge lips that suggest they've been filled. They want a smoother glossier lip. You know, you think of the lips as a balloon. As we age, we have this big balloon lip that we were born with that's full of fatty tissue and healthy hyaluronic acid tissue. As we age, that balloon deflates and the surface becomes kind of irregular and convoluted, and so now we can fill it and smooth it.

News Reporter: One of the biggest questions that people ask me when we do stories like this is how much does it cost? Will I be able to afford it?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: This is a very reasonable filler. So for this syringe, we're charging in the $500 range.

News Reporter: Okay, and then another thing is, I guess it's so important to make sure, especially since it's a new product, that you're with someone who knows what they're doing so you don't get that botched job.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Absolutely. You want to go to a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon, especially someone who's been trained by Allergan in the use of this filler.

News Reporter: And you're going to see the results immediately?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Immediately. So when we're done here today, and you can already see on the right side-

News Reporter: Yes, I can. That's why I said I was surprised. You can already see-

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: ... she's getting some lip, and the nice thing again is that in the patients I've injected so far this week, because again this just came out this week, they are walking out of clinic saying, "You know what? Unlike I usually feel after a filler, I don't feel swollen. I feel like I can go back to work. I can go back to lunch with my friends and I don't look done or swollen."

News Reporter: How does it feel? What does it feel like?

Jody: I don't really feel much at all.

News Reporter: You don't because of the numbing cream.

Jody: I'm numb, and usually you can sometimes feel some of them, but this isn't. It's nice, yeah.

News Reporter: Well, I think you'll like the results. It looks very natural.

Jody: Thank you.

News Reporter: It's very pretty from what I can see on that, the first half side of the lip. All right. Thank you for being here, both ladies. Appreciate you, Dr. Ingraham.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Thank-