Exfoliate to smooth lip skin. Exfoliating skin removes the outer layer of dry, dead skin to promote cell turnover, can make lips instantly look and feel smoother and plumper. Buff your lips daily with a clean toothbrush, a damp washcloth or a lip scrub to remove flakes and boost circulation.
Try Wrinkle Fillers
If you've tried every face peel and laser procedure under the sun and still can't get your lip lines to go away, it may be time to try wrinkle fillers. This treatment uses a needle to inject hyaluronic-acid based dermal fillers to plump up your skin and smooth out those deep wrinkles.
The lips are often unprotected and exposed to the sun's UV (ultraviolet rays) which can contribute as a primary cause these ageing signs. This process is called photodamage. In addition upper lip wrinkles are often exacerbated by smoking which produces free radicals in the body, which contribute to premature aging.
But there are several ways you can stimulate production or add new collagen to your lips: Get Enough Vitamin C – The body can't make collagen without vitamin C. Promote collagen production by eating lots of vitamin C-rich foods like kiwi, bell peppers, broccoli, citrus, and spinach.
The best results for lip lines will be with the use of retinol or one of its more powerful cousins like tretinoin (Retin-A). This puts the skin into overdrive and increases thickness and skin quality, and it plays well with the other modalities we discuss in this post.
The massage stimulates the blood circulation, while the position of your mouth works the orbicularis oris muscle, which runs right around the mouth area. Lifting and toning this muscle helps to tighten and tauten the attached skin, reducing and preventing those fine lines.
“Staying hydrated and promoting the production of collagen by drinking [plenty of] of water, getting eight hours of sleep, taking a probiotic, taking a multivitamin, and using an SPF in your lip products when outside will help [keep your lips looking full],” Patel says.
As a normal part of aging, the upper lip thins, flattens, and can appear to fold over the teeth, leading to the appearance that the upper lip is kind of disappearing! Lips get their shape partly from collagen, and as we age, we produce less of this collagen, and the lips start to lose their plumpness.
Age-Related Lip Concerns
Just like your skin, your lips experience a natural decline in beneficial collagen and hyaluronic acid production. As a result, you may start to notice undesirable aesthetic changes. Other factors, such as smoking and sun damage, can further impact the appearance of your pout.
Dermal fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane are often recommended to treat lip lines. These fillers are FDA-approved to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and add volume to thinning lips.
You may be familiar with the risk of over-exfoliation (and even contact dermatitis) that comes with overusing retinoids. This is relatively easy to spot when it happens, as it likely results in redness, dryness, or overall irritation. One of the not-so-predictable potential side effects? Chapped lips.
Botox can be injected into the area above the upper lip to soften the muscle that makes the pucker expression responsible for smoker's lines. When done in small amounts by a professional, Botox can be a great option to significantly reduce fine lip lines and keep them from coming back.
For some patients, laser rejuvenation may be the most appropriate treatment. This technology can help restore the skin's youthful appearance through a process called photo-rejuvenation. Because it can be used to target fine lines, for some patients it may be the ideal treatment for smoker's lips.
Unfortunately, quitting smoking cannot reverse the damage to your skin. But by quitting, you can prevent the damage from worsening. One study noted that melanin was significantly reduced in just 4 weeks after quitting smoking (14).
Baking soda is a gentle exfoliant that can help you tackle lip lines at home without causing skin irritation. Here's how to give it a try: Begin by washing your face, neck, and chest with warm water and an oil-free cleanser to remove makeup and open up your pores.
Collagen, particularly hydrolyzed collagen, may help reduce fine lines and deep wrinkles around the mouth and eyes. Vitamin C helps brighten the skin and diminish signs of aging and UV exposure. Vitamin E can help prevent free radicals from damaging your skin and even skin tone.
Use a Retinol Night Cream
One of the best treatments for wrinkles around the mouth is night cream formulated with retinol, as it works alongside the skin's natural production of collagen. Our Pure Retinol Night Cream helps to visibly smooth the appearance of wrinkles around the mouth and face in just two weeks.
Non-surgical lip fillers (lip augmentation) are used to restore shape, volume and structure to the lips. This allows us to get more definition, improved lip proportion, improved balance and volume to the lips lost over time or enhance a lip's natural shape or volume.