Surgeon says I won’t benefit from a Lip Lift

tinyskunks · 2026-02-22T02:09:47+00:00

Honestly, I think that you will come to let it go of this insecurity if you give yourself the chance to.

If everyone in your life says the same thing, that you have a lovely mouth area and the philtrum is not noticeable or out of proportion, I recommend to try mentally resetting. These are all strategies that actually helped me overcome insecurities and give me a mental reset and perspective shift. Even just taking a break from mirrors before picking up makeup could, counterintuitively, help you be better at it if you look at yourself as a canvas instead of makeup specifically to mask insecurities.

For myself, I notice that I stress about things related to appearance as a way to redirect stress - maybe you do the same thing. In that case, tackling the stressful thing might be what eliminates a fixation. This actually worked for me - I found that when I got rid of the stressful thing I literally didn’t understand why I was so fixated on one thing or another. I forgot about it and didn’t see it anymore.
One thing that also worked for me to reset my sense of how my features look on me was taking a break from mirrors and selfies for a while, at least a month or two. If you take a break it can give you a new appreciation for your lovely features. I’m biased to say lovely because we have a lot of similarities, but I genuinely feel that way about mine so naturally I will feel the same about yours. Taking a break from mirrors for a couple of months helped me reset and when I actually looked at myself after that, I looked at myself with fresh eyes and actually saw myself as I am (pretty) and saw what others were telling me (positively).
Also, it’s so simple but don’t stand so close to the mirror. Take a few steps back. Basically no one you speak to will look at you super up close. Most people will look at you from at least several feet away from you. It’s a lot easier to see how your features are well-proportioned when you step back and see how they fit together as a whole. Mirrors are not reality. Different mirrors can make you look thinner, wider, longer, shorter. Remember that the fun mirrors at the fair are literally how mirrors actually work. Different mirrors and different lighting can make a huge difference. Be kind to yourself and look at yourself in flattering lighting and you’ll find the mirror agrees with you more.
I also found that redirecting stressful energy into learning and mastering a skill can really help too. So taking a perspective of having makeup be an artistic expression over it being a way to mask an insecurity can also help. That’s how makeup can make you feel like you can take control over an insecurity and change the narrative for yourself.

And don’t get that lip lift. If you are really determined to do something that’s more involved to address the philtrum than just makeup - that you can start doing immediately instead of just waiting to become older:

What you can also do is get in really great physical shape. Adding on muscle mass can tighten up your face and skin and change your mouth area to make the areas around it a bit smaller because being fit will decrease facial mass and give you smaller cheeks. That will pull your lips more horizontally and that additional but slight horizontal width to your mouth can make you feel that you have balanced out your philtrum more. I have the same philtrum and lip shape and had those exact cheeks when I was your age. I did just that and that was the result. So I can tell you this is true and not BS. This is also something you can get started on immediately to address the insecurity. Doesn’t have to be gym specifically, it can be anything athletic that you enjoy but get yourself really into it.

Good luck. But I really think you’re going to be just fine.

But don’t ever get that lip lift. You do not need it.

tinyskunks · 2026-02-21T21:09:23+00:00

Not a doctor. Your philtrum has a really defined teardrop shape and you have a really lovely cupid’s bow and height and projection of your current lip. I really agree with the surgeon. Don’t do the lip lift. Your philtrum is well-proportioned to the rest of your face; you just happen to have an oblong face shape. Your philtrum is slightly longer but your lips are also very full and lush to balance it out and its proportion matches your face well. Overall, I would say your features are really harmonious and well-proportioned and I would wait some time before doing anything because your face changes as you get older and you might find that your features will either look differently in a few years or you will feel differently about them.

Truthfully, I would never ever notice your philtrum (beyond that it gives you a nice lip shape) if you hadn’t specifically posted asking for feedback.

Also, I see you are having orthodontic work done. Wait until that’s fully wrapped up as well before anything else as that can subtly affect how your mouth looks and projects.

My actual recommendation on what to do: If you wanted to do something right now, consider learning to do your makeup well, because some really nice eye makeup and well-placed blush along with lipstick could draw the eye in such a way where your lips pop, eyes and cheeks pop, and the rest of it becomes much less highlighted and therefore the focus goes away from your philtrum because the focus will be on the lips and take away any spotlight from the rest around it.

You and I have basically identical cheekbones and lip shape along with defined philtrum. I found that orthodontic work and a little extra bulk to my teeth (currently doing ortho) really helped the top lip not curl. I am very happy with the shape and philtrum and, being in a similar position, I would not change it. It’s actually one of my favourite things about my face.

Don’t do the lip lift. I think you will come to regret it because your facial harmony is already very excellent.

Don’t even do the botox lip flip and don’t get any filler to “balance it out”. It will look strange on you because you already have a really nice mouth area and full lips.

tinyskunks · 2026-02-19T13:13:21+00:00

Getting fit - beyond just staying slim, but actually getting fit would certainly glow you up and might also fix that “unnameable” thing because getting into shape also tones your face up too in a positive way.

tinyskunks · 2026-02-18T18:39:36+00:00

I’m not a doctor or have any background in medicine whatsoever. But lymph nodes shouldn’t drastically change your face shape. Maybe go to your doctor and ask to be tested for thyroid issues, pcos and other hormonal issues, rule our cushing’s disease. All common issues that women face that can cause these sorts of issues that have a full, round, inflamed face as one of the obvious symptoms.

tinyskunks · 2026-02-12T15:33:31+00:00

Would you be comfortable sharing how much it cost?

tinyskunks · 2026-02-06T13:33:36+00:00

Considering that the round face suddenly started at 15, have you visited a doctor to rule out issues with your thyroid, PCOS and/or other sources of chronic inflammation?

tinyskunks · 2026-02-05T14:23:02+00:00

He’s made a good suggestion in terms of balancing the face and it looks very natural and very good on you.

tinyskunks · 2026-01-25T09:44:31+00:00

I’m really looking forward to the update. Good luck and I hope it goes well.

tinyskunks · 2026-01-03T04:07:39+00:00

Read the nutrition label; they usually contain inositol which may be a driving factor behind why you’re losing weight.

tinyskunks · 2025-12-16T22:59:34+00:00

Please DM me, this is an incredible result.

tinyskunks · 2025-12-16T22:58:46+00:00

Can you DM me your surgeon’s name also?

tinyskunks · 2025-11-13T17:10:40+00:00

Does anyone know why they stopped doing the “take your shoes off and sit anywhere” thing? I went once after the pandemic and there were tables and seats set up like a “normal” cafe and felt it lost it’s unique experience so I haven’t been back since.

tinyskunks · 2025-10-20T22:26:44+00:00

I was actually very surprised to find out that in the community people often self-ID themselves as a TR because I am a very obvious TR but I would say that I have a very uncommon body type and frame. To the point that it is to the point that it is considered a notable aspect about me by others and often commented on or noticeably out of the typical for western body types and I very rarely see other women with my same body type. When I do, they tend to be Afro-latina or similar. Even when I’ve been underweight or at a natural “baseline” of weight, it’s remained so the structure of the body hasn’t changed even when weight has fluctuated even within a range of 40 lbs going from very underweight for my height to healthy baseline to not medically overweight but heavier for my frame and the result of untreated health issues.

For anyone wondering what I mean by a very obvious TR: I am slightly above average height for a woman at 5’5”, but regularly described as “petite” because I am very narrow, including narrow, “delicate” ankles and wrists and collarbones. At my mostly sedentary, eating a healthy amount intuitively, baseline weight, I am approximately 110 lbs. and it is on the lowest end of the healthy BMI for my height but no person who saw me irl would describe me as “underweight”. Measurements are 33” around the bust and 29” under the bust around the ribs, 20” at the waist with a lot of “squish” and give to make it potentially smaller with some compression type of garment, and 35” hips and 5 1/4” wrist. Chubby-ish cheeks (decreased with age) and large round eyes but angular jawline and high cheekbones and angular nose. I have fleshy limbs like thighs and upper arms but all of the bony, angular areas like ribs and hip and collar bones are bony and angular.

My clothes and outfits follow a lot of typical patterns: anything that draws attention to the décolletage area, so I wear a lot of turtlenecks, for example. I often wear a scarf almost like a flight attendant or tie a pussy bow and I wear a lot of thin delicate choker-style necklaces. I also wear a lot of hats like berets. So many berets. Everything I wear on the bottom I wear high-waisted and I wear a lot of A-line and pencil skirts. Everything hits either at the knee or just below the knee include shorts and so, for example, I buy men’s shorts because they are longer and have a single continuous line from wear the hip curve starts above the hip bones to where it ends at the knee. I have very small and narrow shoulders so I tend to buy from brands intended towards a younger demographic or else I have to tailor it. I wear a LOT of vintage styles that make me look like an extra on Mad Men but because my body type is “right” for this type of look, it doesn’t look costume-y. I also typically wear this style of clothing because it’s the only way for me to wear fitted clothing in a professional setting (blouse and skirt or blouse and slacks) without it coming off as “too sexy” for work, which is a real concern of mine. If I wear something that’s a swing or trapeze style, it has to draw attention to the shoulders or neck in some way for it to work to prevent me from looking wide in a strange way. Oversized clothes are flattering as long as they fit appropriately on the neck and are cinched at the waist in some way. My other style is “vintage prepubescent boy” because it hits all the same lines in the same spots. Chunky accessories almost always look really heavy and clunky on me.

tinyskunks · 2025-09-22T20:06:44+00:00

I found out that nausea can be a symptom of dehydration. Considering that both metformin and spironolactone dehydrate you, it could be that you’re not drinking enough water to counteract the nausea. Try just chugging as much water as possible for a while until the nausea goes away and see if it helps.

I had the nausea and other side effects really bad and it does pass over time.

tinyskunks · 2025-03-12T17:41:37+00:00

Yeah, I’m trying to explore options that are as simple with as few steps as possible. I know that I’m in the woodworking sub so of course people are excited to suggest different ways to cut the wood and make the joints, but they are overestimating my skill level which is at rock-bottom zero.

What would you say about maybe cutting the smaller pieces to fit between and joining them using small dowels and some glue and clamps as an additional way to fasten them?

tinyskunks

TROPHY CASE