Everyone knows the mouth. It is the most famous pout in Hollywood, maybe even the world. For decades, Lisa Rinna’s lips have been a punchline, a trademark, and a cautionary tale all wrapped into one. But honestly? Most people have totally forgotten what she looked like before the silicone.
Before she was a Real Housewife or the queen of the "trout pout," Lisa Rinna was just a girl from Medford, Oregon, with a dream and a very different face.
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She wasn't born with those pillows. In fact, if you look at her early headshots from the mid-80s, she had what many would call a "classic" look. Thin, delicate lips. A sharp jawline. She was basically the girl next door who just happened to be gorgeous.
The 1986 Decision That Changed Everything
So, how did we get here? It all started in 1986. Lisa was 23. She was hanging out with a girlfriend, and they had just watched the movie Beaches.
Barbara Hershey was in that movie. Hershey had these incredible, bee-stung lips that were actually the result of a procedure she’d had for the film. Lisa saw them and was obsessed. She thought, I want those. She went and got permanent silicone injected into her upper lip.
Four injections. That was it. At the time, she thought it was the best thing she’d ever done. For about a decade, it actually looked pretty good. It gave her that "it-girl" edge that helped her land the role of Billie Reed on Days of Our Lives in 1992.
But silicone is a tricky beast.
Why Silicone Injections Are a Nightmare
Unlike modern fillers like Juvederm or Restylane—which are made of hyaluronic acid and eventually dissolve—the stuff Lisa got was permanent. It doesn't just sit there. Over time, the body sees it as a foreign invader. It builds up scar tissue around the silicone.
"In the beginning, it was great," Lisa told People back in 2010. But then things got weird. The silicone started to migrate. It hardened. She famously described the texture as feeling like "hard peas" inside her lip.
Gross, right?
It wasn't just about the feel, though. The shape started to change. It became lumpy and uneven. By the time she was starring as Taylor McBride on Melrose Place in the late 90s, the "look" was starting to take over her face.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Career
There’s this weird myth that Lisa Rinna’s career started because of her lips. She’s actually fueled that fire herself, once saying, "My lips have had their own career."
But let's look at the facts.
Before the injections, Lisa was already working. She was a video vixen in John Parr’s "Naughty Naughty" music video in 1984. She was doing commercials. She was even on The Hogan Family. She had the talent and the drive long before she had the volume.
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The lips didn't make her. They just became the thing people couldn't stop talking about.
The 2010 Reduction: Reclaiming Her Face
By 2010, Lisa had enough. She was tired of her mouth being the first thing people noticed. She felt like her lips were defining her, and she wanted her old self back—or at least a version of it.
She went to Dr. Garth Fisher, a famous Beverly Hills plastic surgeon.
This wasn't a simple "dissolving" appointment. Since it was permanent silicone and scar tissue, he had to actually cut into the lip to remove the gunk. It was a surgical reconstruction of her upper lip.
- The Goal: Remove the "yucky" lumps.
- The Reality: He couldn't get it all.
- The Result: She could finally see her teeth when she smiled again.
She was thrilled. "My lip is back to being smooth!" she told reporters. Her husband, Harry Hamlin, was just happy she was happy, though he claims he never even noticed the lumps because her lips "always felt soft" to him. Talk about a loyal husband.
The Modern Era and the "Overfilled" Scare
You'd think after a surgical reduction, she’d be done with needles forever.
Nope.
In early 2024, Lisa made headlines again when she showed up to an event looking... different. Her cheeks were huge. Her face looked tight. The internet, as it does, went into a frenzy.
Lisa, being the candid person she is, didn't hide. She jumped on TikTok and admitted she tried a new skin-plumping treatment called Skinvive. "It was not good for me," she admitted. Luckily, because it wasn't the permanent silicone of the 80s, she could just have it dissolved.
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Lessons From the Lip Pioneer
If you’re looking at old photos of Lisa Rinna before lips and thinking about making a change yourself, there are some real takeaways here.
First off, stay away from permanent fillers. Just don't do it. Technology has come so far that there is zero reason to put something in your face that can't be reversed easily.
Secondly, be careful with the "trend" of the moment. Lisa wanted the Barbara Hershey look because it was "in" in 1986. Trends fade, but scar tissue is forever.
Honestly, the most impressive thing about Lisa isn't the plastic surgery—it's her honesty. In an industry where everyone pretends they just "drink a lot of water," she’s always been the first to say, "Yeah, I screwed up my face, and here’s how I’m fixing it."
What you can do now:
If you're considering any cosmetic procedure, your first step is to vet your surgeon's board certification. Look specifically for the American Board of Plastic Surgery. If you've already had filler and aren't happy with the "migrated" look, schedule a consultation for a "dissolve and reset" rather than adding more volume. It’s exactly what Lisa did to get her smile back.