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Injectables · treatment guide

Lip flip

A small neurotoxin injection to the upper lip, often sold as a low-price special.

Also sold as: lip flip, flip

Check a place

What it's for

  • Create the appearance of a slightly fuller upper lip by relaxing the muscle that rolls it inward

Before you book

What to ask, what to verify, and what may change the decision — before you commit to an appointment.

Checklist

  • Which product and how many units are in the price
  • Who injects, under which license, and who supervises
  • What happens if your smile or lip movement changes — who do you contact

These are the items most likely to change what you pay, what you get, or what happens if something goes wrong. Take them with you — or and bring it.

From Vanity or Vice

Read the long version when this is the appointment you’re actually considering.

Spa Intelligence keeps the working checklist short. These publication pieces carry the fuller argument, source file and maintenance context.

The ongoing commitment

The first appointment is one number. The useful number is the commitment you can reconstruct from the written plan: what it takes to start, what lands inside the first 12 months, and what an ordinary maintenance year looks like after that.

01

To start

Everything required before the first meaningful result: the initial session or series, mandatory add-ons, deposits and planned review.

02

First 12 months

The starting course plus repeats, maintenance visits and known follow-up costs that fall inside the first year.

03

A normal maintenance year

What the plan costs after the initial course is over. Keep this separate from the first-year number so a package does not make upkeep disappear.

What the treatment guide says to clarify

Like other neurotoxin treatments, it wears off and is typically repeated. Ask how often, and whether the repeat cost is the same as the first.

What belongs on the receipt

  • How many sessions or units the starting plan actually includes.
  • Which follow-up, touch-up or review is included and which is separately priced.
  • When credits, packages or banked units expire and what happens if the plan changes.
  • What the practice expects maintenance to look like after the initial course.

Published interval · not this place’s plan

Results reported to last: 2.3–2.8 months

Repeated as it wears off, that is 4–5 repeat visits in twelve months.

10 to 12 weeks converted at 52 weeks = 12 months (2.3 to 2.77 months). An ASPS news article rather than a clinical page.

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Perfect your pout with a lip flip · “This goes away quickly, and the results stay for 10 to 12 weeks.” · checked Sep 24, 2026

Do not make the benchmark do the quote’s job.

Published averages have a source year. Reader ranges have a quote month and a rolling inclusion window. Neither is a current local quote, and a per-unit number is not interchangeable with a per-session number. Keep the dates and units attached when you compare.

Build the 12-month totalSee dated price context

What the menu name doesn’t tell you

Which neurotoxin, how many units, and whether the person injecting is licensed to inject.

How it’s priced

Usually a flat price per treatment. Ask how many units that price includes and which brand.

What a complete quote says

A written quote that answers the questions has:

  • The brand and the unit count
  • The total price
  • Whether a follow-up is included

Products and devices you may hear named

What each one is and what its FDA record shows — authorization, labeled uses, warnings, and how to check it’s the real thing.

What changed at the source

Dated records from FDA about products used for lip flip, newest first. Each says what happened at the source — not whether any clinic or product is right for you.

  1. Enforcement or recall ·

    FDA warning letter to a Texas med spa over Botox from unauthorized sources

    U.S. Food & Drug Administration · FDA warning letter 723267

    A CDER warning letter dated April 1, 2026 said a med spa obtained botulinum toxin from entities that were not authorized trading partners and claimed it was authentic AbbVie Botox; FDA's laboratory analysis found botulinum neurotoxin type A in an unlabeled vial at the facility.

    What this source establishes
    That FDA found one named med spa sourced toxin outside the authorized supply chain while presenting it as Botox.
    What it does not establish
    Anything about any other clinic. It is why "where was this vial bought?" is a fair question to ask.

    Relates to Botox Cosmetic

    The official record (opens in a new tab) · checked Sep 25, 2026

  2. Enforcement or recall ·

    FDA warned 18 websites selling unapproved botulinum toxin

    U.S. Food & Drug Administration · FDA news release, 2025-11-05

    FDA issued 18 warning letters to owners of websites illegally marketing unapproved and misbranded botulinum toxin products, and restated that FDA-approved botulinum toxin products are available only with a prescription and should come from an authorized source.

    What this source establishes
    That FDA acted against specific websites selling unapproved or misbranded botulinum toxin, and that approved products are prescription-only.
    What it does not establish
    Whether a particular clinic's vial is genuine or where it was bought. The carton, the vial and the practice's supplier are what speak to that.

    Relates to Botox Cosmetic, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau, Daxxify, Letybo

    The official record (opens in a new tab) · checked Sep 25, 2026

  3. Safety communication ·

    FDA alert: counterfeit Botox found in multiple states

    U.S. Food & Drug Administration · FDA drug alert, 2024-04-16 (updated 2024-05-01)

    FDA reported counterfeit Botox given to consumers, with hospitalizations. FDA's markers of the counterfeit: lot number C3709C3, the active ingredient printed as "Botulinum Toxin Type A" instead of "OnabotulinumtoxinA", a 150-unit vial, and non-English text on the carton. Updated May 1, 2024 with images of the authentic cartons.

    What this source establishes
    What FDA says the counterfeit and the authentic cartons and vials show, and that FDA advises confirming the product came from an authorized source.
    What it does not establish
    That a vial without those markers is genuine. Only an authorized supply chain establishes that, and a photograph cannot.

    Relates to Botox Cosmetic

    The official record (opens in a new tab) · checked Sep 25, 2026

Who performs it

A lip flip is a neurotoxin injection, so the same state rules apply as for any neurotoxin — see your state page.

Ask these three first

  1. Which product and how many units are in this price?
  2. Who injects, under which license, and who supervises?
  3. What happens if my lip feels weak or my smile changes — who do I contact?

Phrases worth a second look

  • “$99 lip flip, this week only”

    A deadline and a price say nothing about the product, the units or the injector.

  • “Painless, no downtime”

    Promises about how you’ll feel can’t be checked. Ask for the written aftercare instead.

The 2 a.m. plan

If something is wrong tonight, the plan should cover:

  • A named licensed person reachable after hours
  • Who reviews changes in speech, drinking or lip control, and how soon

If you think it’s an emergency, call 911 or go to an emergency department.

The days after

Worth asking before the appointment, not after:

  • What should I avoid for the first day, and why?

Watch from the source

Explainers picked for the question each one answers. They open on YouTube; nothing plays on this site, and none of them is about a particular clinic.

  • Proxima Clinical Research · Some background helps

    The Difference Between FDA Registered, Cleared, Granted, Authorized and Approved (opens YouTube in a new tab)

    A regulatory consultancy walking through five distinct statuses and the evidence burden attached to each.

    What it answers
    What registered, cleared, granted, authorized and approved each legally mean.
    What it doesn’t
    Whether a specific device is right for you, or what result to expect.

    Why it’s here: Registration is a listing. Clearance is a similarity argument. Approval is a review of evidence. Ask which of the five the machine holds, and for what indication.

    US regulatory framework; no aesthetic-specific examples. · Checked Sep 8, 2026

  • American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) · Some background helps

    Med Spa Law: Who Can Perform Injectable Treatments in a Medical Spa (opens YouTube in a new tab)

    Trade-association legal counsel on delegation, supervision and medical-director accountability under state practice acts.

    What it answers
    Who may legally perform a medical aesthetic act, and who carries the liability.
    What it doesn’t
    Whether an injectable is appropriate for you, or which clinic to pick.

    Why it’s here: Med spas run on delegation: a physician holds the authority, someone else holds the syringe. Ask who the medical director is and whether they are on site.

    US-specific, and supervision rules differ sharply by state. · Checked Sep 8, 2026

  • Sara Shikhman, Esq. · Detailed

    2026 Compliance Rules Every Med Spa & Medical Practice Needs to Know (opens YouTube in a new tab)

    A healthcare attorney specialising in med-spa regulation, covering ownership, delegation and supervision as legal obligations.

    What it answers
    How ownership and supervision rules decide who may do what, and under whose authority.
    What it doesn’t
    Any named clinic's compliance, or whether you should book.

    Why it’s here: The person holding the syringe and the person legally responsible are frequently not the same person. This explains why, which makes it a question you can ask.

    US, framed for operators rather than patients; rules vary by state. · Checked Sep 8, 2026

  • Dermapedia · Some background helps

    Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau, Daxxify - Dermatologist Comparison! (opens YouTube in a new tab)

    A dermatology education channel comparing the licensed neurotoxins by formulation and unit convention rather than promoting one.

    What it answers
    Why five neurotoxins are distinct products whose units do not convert between brands.
    What it doesn’t
    Which toxin you should have, or how many units you need.

    Why it’s here: A Dysport unit is not a Botox unit. Price per unit means nothing until you know the brand, so ask which product and how many units are going in.

    Brand availability and licensed indications differ by country. · Checked Sep 8, 2026

Money explainers

The pricing terms that come up with this treatment, explained:

Compare with other treatments

See how this treatment stacks up against others on goals, tradeoffs, downtime, and maintenance — side by side.

The decision path

From wondering to decided — the steps this guide supports:

  1. Understand — What it's for, what it can and can't do — above
  2. Compare — How it stacks up against alternatives
  3. Ask — The questions to take into the room
  4. Check the place — Run the before-you-book check on a specific spa
  5. Record — Save your decision and what's behind it
  6. Reassess — Come back and update when things change

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