Lip Filler Techniques for Men: Treating Male Aesthetic Patients

Are lip filler techniques for men different from treating women? The answer is yes. Your approach needs to be tailored to a number of gender-based variances. These include anatomy, volume and the areas to focus on for balanced, natural-looking outcomes.

Male patients are a growing cohort within the aesthetics industry, but you’ve probably treated many more female patients. As such, it’s important to understand the differences between treating female and male lip filler patients so you can create bespoke treatment plans with optimal approaches.

As more men than ever before are exploring cosmetic injectables, we spoke to Harley Academy Foundation Year Practitioner, Dr Teodora Gheorghe, for her insights. Here she shares advice on lip filler techniques for male patients, including:

• The main differences between treating male and female lip filler patients
• How to vary your consultation for men considering lip filler
• Treatment planning, dosing and lip filler injection technique tips.

Read on for our interview with Dr Teodora to pick up some real-world, actionable, practical guidance…

What are the key differences between treating male vs female lip filler patients?

“Male lips usually present broader, flatter contours with a softer Cupid’s bow and a naturally

fuller lower lip,” shares Dr Teodora. “My aim is to maintain the patient’s masculine cues, subtle structure and hydration rather than add height or enhance their ‘pout’. 

“In practice, this means keeping the upper lip relatively flat, prioritising lower-lip volume, and staying within the lateral boundaries of the chin. This allows the mouth to sit harmoniously with a stronger jawline. 

“Lip filler injection techniques that look elegant on female lips, such as a sharply defined Cupid’s bow or significant vertical lift, can feminise a male face. This look can be undesirable, so I use them sparingly, if at all. I’m always guided by my patient’s goals and anatomical presentation.

She counsels, “The watchwords when treating male lip filler patients are restraint, proportion and function.”

How often do you see male patients for lip filler in your aesthetic practice?

“Men are still a minority in my lip clinics, but they’re not rare,” Dr Teodora notes. 

“Demand is slowly rising as men become more comfortable seeking subtle aesthetic care. That expectation shapes my process. We agree on a conservative first session with a planned review so the change feels controlled and natural.”

What questions would you ask men during their consultation to ensure the best, most natural outcome? How do you establish their goals?

“I start by clarifying the brief in plain language,” she states. “I ask, for example, ‘Are we chasing hydration, gentle definition, or a modest volume restore?’ 

“An important question I ask is what would look wrong to them. Most men say anything that appears obvious or feminine.”

Dr Teodora’s point about “plain language” is a salient one. It’s useful to be aware that men may not have had the same level of exposure to the language used around injectables that female patients often have. This can require you to simplify how you talk about techniques and outcomes. 

Many aspects are the same for men and women

Dr Teodora continues, “I then explore their history, including previous filler and/or dissolutions, herpes simplex virus, recent or planned dental work, anticoagulants, supplements, smoking or vaping etc. It’s also crucial to find out if they have any upcoming events so I can plan their treatment around the necessary downtime. 

“We cover consent, photography, privacy, expected timeline of results, potential side effects and complications, and so on. These aspects - as we teach on all our filler courses - are very much the same for all patients, regardless of gender.”

Assessing men’s faces before lip filler

“I assess men’s facial dynamics including smile show and oral commissures, their perioral muscle tone at the DAO and mentalis. 

“One thing I find is helpful for all patients but especially for men is to always widen my lens to consider the lower face more broadly. Sometimes the ‘lip issue’ is actually at least in part a chin or jaw balance concern.”

What does treatment planning involve for male lip filler patients?

“Planning is holistic,” says Dr Teodora. “I document baseline photos, review proportions in frontal and profile views. Next, I reflect on all the information I’ve gathered so far.  From here, I decide whether a lip-only filler treatment will meet the brief or whether staged chin and/or jaw optimisation would yield a more authentic result. 

“I check that my patient is in agreement with my planned approach, then talk them through practicalities such as topical analgesia, asepsis, bruising risks, and establish a clear occlusion pathway. I ensure any questions they have are answered and they understand what we’ve discussed, before taking informed consent.

“Finally - and this can be done before or after treatment - we schedule a 2-4 week review for once the post-procedural swelling has settled. This provides the opportunity to fine tune their results, if needed.”

Using GEM© lip filler principles 

Moving on to the treatment, Dr Teodora explains, “I map the intended planes and lip filler entry points. Choosing a product with appropriate rheology and deciding whether precision needle work or broad cannula layering better fits the goal, follow. All of this is guided by the Global Evidence Matrix tool so I know I’m practising in line with the latest evidence.”

At Harley Academy, you’ll find our exclusive Global Evidence Matrix (GEM©) reference charts in our clinic rooms during mentoring sessions. However, these can also be accessed by subscribers via the GEM© by Harley Academy app. Annual subscriptions are available for medical aesthetics practitioners to purchase, and a 12-month subscription is included free of charge with our Diploma courses, and the Aesthetics Accelerator course.

How do you choose your product and how much lip filler to use for male patients?

Choosing the best lip filler product for men

In terms of what type of lip filler product she uses, Dr Teodora confirms, “I reach for a low-to-mid G′ hyaluronic acid gel. This should be supple enough to move with speech but have enough resilience to hold a clean edge in thicker male tissues. 

“Very high-G′ structural gels live poorly in the vermilion border and can feel firm. Also, very lax gels may diffuse without providing meaningful shape. As such, a low-to-mid G’ lip filler product is my preferred product choice and is backed by GEM©.

How much lip filler do you use when treating men, on average?

“I prefer a conservative start for my male lip filler patients,” counsels Dr Teodora. “Typically I use around 0.7–1.0 ml in total for a first treatment, depending on lip size and tissue quality.

“If the brief is purely hydration and texture, ~0.5 mL placed strategically can suffice. I’d rather under-treat and top up at review than overshoot on day one. 

“Staged dosing helps preserve masculine proportions and gives the patient time to adjust. However, it’s important to discuss this approach with your patient in advance given, unlike toxin review appointments, any further filler treatment will require a separate paid appointment.”

Do you prefer a needle or cannula for male lip augmentation?

“For tools, I mostly use a 30G needle for precise border refinement and short threads in the body,” she shares. 

“If I want broad, even submucosal deposition with fewer entry points or to minimise bruising, I’ll use a 25G cannula introduced laterally and fan retrograde strands at low pressure.”

What lip filler injection techniques do you use for men?

Dr Teodora explains, “My default lip filler injection technique when treating men is submucosal linear retrograde threading across the lip body. This allows me to add gentle width and projection without vertical ‘pillowing’. 

“I place slightly more filler in the lower lip to keep a masculine balance. If their upper lip collapses centrally, a tiny central tubercle micro-bolus can restore contour. However, I avoid building vertical height or carving sharp Cupid’s bows, as these give a more traditionally feminine look.

“For men wanting to retain a masculine appearance, border work should be minimal to avoid a ‘lip liner’ effect. I’d consider a light, very superficial vermilion pass only where definition is genuinely lacking. 

“With a cannula, from a single commissural entry, I use retrograde fanning in the lip body to lay a thin, even sheet of product. Throughout, I inject slowly with tiny aliquots, keep my plunger force low, watch for blanching, and pause frequently to assess symmetry. 

“Gentle moulding is useful as it helps integration, but aggressive massage should be avoided.”

What common mistakes do you see new aesthetic practitioners making when treating male lip filler patients?

“The biggest error I see novice injectors making is treating male lips like female lips,” notes Dr Teodora. “Over-projecting the upper lip or sculpting a dramatic Cupid’s bow can feminise their patients’ results, which is usually contrary to what they want to achieve. 

“A close second is treating the lips in isolation without considering chin and jaw support, leading to ‘stuck-on’ unnatural-looking lips in profile. 

“Product and tool mismatch also causes issues. Very stiff filler gels in the vermilion border feel unnatural, whilst ultra-soft gels can vanish in thicker tissues. 

“Lastly, overfilling on day one creates swelling-driven decisions and can lead to patient regret. 

“The fixes are straightforward though,” she reassures before setting these out:

• Respect masculine proportions - flatter upper, fuller lower
• Assess the entire lower face
• Choose a lip-appropriate low–mid G′ filler product
• Inject slowly in small volumes
• Stage the journey with a planned review rather than chasing a finished result in a single sitting.

More men are looking for aesthetic treatments than ever before

Recent research from 2025 has found that approximately 5.2 million men in the UK are now considering dermal filler treatments. 

This Teoxane study of 700 male aesthetic patients found:

• Only 8% of men think that dermal fillers are for women
• Just 5% are worried what others might think of them for having filler treatments 
• 52% of the men surveyed who’d had aesthetic treatments found their practitioner via social media. 

With a new audience emerging, now is the time to hone your skills and showcase them online to appeal to this growing cohort. If you’ve completed your foundation-level aesthetics training and are looking to elevate your approach, we recommend checking out our Perioral & Lip Filler Masterclass.

Whilst your aesthetics training will teach you the fundamental differences between treating male and female patients, many injectors find the GEM© by Harley Academy app invaluable as a reference resource.

The appropriate tool, product rheology and injection technique for each lip filler approach is clearly set out in the Global Evidence Matrix. This information is listed in a clear grid format, alongside key pointers on aspects such as aesthetic risks, anatomical targets, and more. 

You’ll also find product recommendations for each treatment, 3D diagrams illustrating each technique, and video case studies from Dr Tristan Mehta, which bring these GEM© techniques to life. Visit the Harley Academy YouTube channel to get a taste of these detailed live demonstration videos.

All Harley Academy medical aesthetics courses are taught using these principles to ensure a solid evidence-based knowledge from the start. But you don’t need to be #HarleyTrained to benefit from this information. Check out our Global Evidence Matrix page for more details, including how to purchase a subscription.

All information correct at time of publication