Juvederm, Restylane or RHA? Lip filler products compared

Lip Fillers NYC is a free referral service, not a clinic, and it is not connected with any filler maker. When you send the form, an independent, licensed provider in New York City contacts you and can tell you which product they use and why.

Lip products with an FDA lip approval

These products are listed on the FDA’s device approval records for lip augmentation. Each is a hyaluronic acid gel. The ages are the ones written in each approval.

Product	Maker	Lip approval	Ages
Restylane and Restylane-L	Galderma	Lip augmentation added 2011 and 2012	Over 21
Restylane Silk	Galderma	Lips and lines around the mouth, 2014	See the label
Restylane Kysse	Galderma	Lips and upper lip lines, March 2020	Over 21
Juvederm Ultra XC	Allergan Aesthetics	Lips and the area around them, September 2015	Over 21
Juvederm Volbella XC	Allergan Aesthetics	Lips and lines around the mouth, May 2016	Over 21
RHA 3	Teoxane	Lip augmentation and lip fullness, October 2023	22 and older
RHA 3 Mepi, now RHA Kiss Volume	Teoxane	Lip indication January 2025; renamed July 2026	See the label
Belotero Intense (+) Lidocaine	Merz	Lip augmentation, July 2026	Over 21

JUVEDERM® is a registered trademark of Allergan, Inc., an AbbVie company. Restylane® is a trademark of Galderma. RHA® is a trademark of Teoxane, and RHA products are sold in the US by Revance. Belotero® is a trademark of Merz. Lip Fillers NYC is not sponsored by or connected with any of these companies.

The Juvederm family

Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, makes two Juvederm gels with a lip approval. Juvederm Ultra XC is approved for lip and perioral lip augmentation in adults over 21. Juvederm Volbella XC is approved for lip augmentation and for lines around the mouth, also in adults over 21. Ask whether the product chosen for you contains lidocaine, a local anesthetic, and mention any allergy.

In the Volbella XC study submitted to the FDA, patients were followed for 12 months after their last treatment, and the gain in lip volume gradually tapered off over that time. In the Ultra XC lip study, patients were followed to 12 months and were offered a repeat treatment when lip fullness returned to where it started, which happened between month 6 and month 12.

The Restylane family

Galderma’s Restylane and Restylane-L were the first in this group to add lip augmentation, in 2011 and 2012, for patients over 21. Restylane Silk followed in 2014 for the lips and lines around the mouth, and was later approved for use with a blunt-tip cannula. Restylane Kysse was approved in March 2020 for lip augmentation and for upper lip lines in patients over 21.

In the Kysse study the FDA reviewed, upper and lower lip fullness was maintained for 48 weeks after the last injection. Side effects at the injection site, such as bruising, redness, swelling, tenderness and lumps, generally resolved on their own within a week, and lumps typically within 30 days.

Not every Restylane gel is a lip product. We found no lip indication for Restylane Refyne or Restylane Defyne, so treat them as products for other areas unless a provider shows you otherwise on the label.

RHA

Teoxane’s RHA 3 added lip augmentation and lip fullness in October 2023, for adults 22 and older, covering the body and border of the lip and the corners of the mouth. RHA 3 Mepi received a lip indication in January 2025 and was renamed RHA Kiss Volume in July 2026. RHA Redensity is a different product: it is approved for lines around the mouth, not for adding lip volume.

Belotero

Merz’s Belotero Balance is approved for facial wrinkles and folds, not the lips, and its labeling says safety in the lips has not been established. Belotero Intense (+) Lidocaine is the first Belotero gel with a lip approval, granted in July 2026 for adults over 21. Because it is so new, ask any provider whether they have it yet.

What the records do not tell you

FDA records list what a product is approved for and what its studies measured. They do not say which gel will look or feel right in your lips, and they do not rank one product against another. How a product behaves depends on how much is used, where it is placed and on you. A careful provider explains why they reach for one product over another, and does not mind being asked.

The same goes for technique. A flat, tall lip shape is created by placement, not by a particular brand: read our Russian lip technique guide. For how lip gels fit among the other filler materials, see our dermal filler guide.

How to know what is in the syringe

1. Ask the product’s full name before the visit, including the letters after it.
2. Ask to see the sealed, labeled syringe opened in front of you.
3. Ask for the patient labeling for that product and read the approved uses.
4. Ask whether it contains lidocaine, and tell the provider about any allergy.
5. Ask whether they keep hyaluronidase on hand in case it needs to be dissolved.

Then check the injector’s license on the NYSED Office of the Professions search. Our Brooklyn guide and our page on Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx cover choosing a provider close to home.

This site gives general information, not medical advice. A licensed provider decides with you whether a treatment suits you.

Questions people ask