Smile lines, crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles, and now this! Developing lip wrinkles can put 10 years on your face, and may make you feel hopelessly aged. However, there are plenty of ways to both prevent and treat these nuisances. After you learn exactly what causes lip wrinkles, we will then tell you exactly what you can do to get rid of them
What are Lip Wrinkles?
If you have noticed fine vertical lines forming on your lips, these are what are known as lip wrinkles. They appear on both the upper and lower lip, and can even extend to the skin above the upper lip.
They can span across both sides of the mouth, and stretch up to the nose, where they are deeper and more noticeable. Also known as lip lines, smoker’s lines, or lipstick lines, these lines age you and can be very hard to cover up.
Causes of Lip Wrinkles
So what causes these undesirable lines? Knowing what causes these wrinkles can help you target preventative care, as well as learn how to treat them. Here are the most common causes of lip wrinkles:
1. Collagen loss: As with all wrinkles, lip wrinkles are caused by a productional decrease of collagen and elastin, structural proteins in our connective tissues. During the aging process, this steady decrease causes our skin to become thinner and have less elasticity. While you may have full, plump lips in your younger years, they can flatten the older you get, causing wrinkles.
2. Dryness: As we age, our skin also produces less oil, which can cause the skin to become dryer. Because our lips are constantly in contact with the elements, they are especially likely to dry out. This is evident in the way our lips become so easily chapped in the winter.
3. UV rays: Sun exposure can cause lip wrinkles, just as it does other wrinkles. Because the skin on the lips is delicate and is not usually coated with protective products, this can easily prime your lips for lip wrinkles.
4. Smoking: The free radicals that can come from cigarettes can cause premature aging. It is also speculated that the repeated pressure of the cigarette on your lips can cause lip wrinkles.
5. Repetitive expressions: Pursing your lips (think “duck lips”) may also contribute to the wrinkling of the lips. Repeating certain facial expressions that wrinkle the lips will cause lines to form in these areas.
How to Prevent Lip Wrinkles
Regardless of your age or if you’ve already gotten lip wrinkles, you can always still work on prevention. Even if your skin is beautiful and radiant right now, this doesn’t mean your skin will always be that way.
Great skin and lips that transcend the decades happen as a result of healthy skin habits. The goal is to start taking care of your skin before the lines become deep. Let’s take a look at how we can prevent lip wrinkles from forming:
1. Change your diet: Avoid fried foods. Though delicious, when food is fried at high temperatures, this releases free radicals that can cause cellular damage. Additionally, avoid food with a high glycemic index like white bread. These foods cause inflammation that is associated with aging. It may also be helpful to avoid things like sugar, coffee, and alcohol (Difficult, but worth it!).
We recommend a diet high in antioxidants, which can fight free radicals that can damage our skin. Yummy, antioxidant-rich foods include things like nuts, berries, garlic, green tea, watermelon, dark chocolate, tomatoes, whole grains, and leafy greens.
2. Quit smoking: Among other health concerns, smoking also causes wrinkles. Tossing the cigarettes can improve your blood flow, which then allows more oxygen and nutrients to reach your skin cells. Not only will your complexion improve, but nicotine stains on the fingers and nails will vanish.
Additionally, when you stop the repeated pursing of your lips as you take a cigarette drag, you are less likely to add to the etchings of your wrinkles.
3. Protect lips from UV rays: Next time you lube up with sunscreen, don’t forget the lips! Find a lip balm that includes at least SPF 30 to protect the delicate skin of the lips. Apply generously over your lips, and keep reapplying every 2 hours if you are in full sun.
4. Facial exercises: This may sound a bit odd, but stick with us. Just like with other muscles of our bodies, our face muscles must be exercised. This is because they too, lose elasticity over time, causing wrinkles. Target the skin of the lips with the following daily exercises:
- Lift one corner of your mouth with your lips closed, then the other corner. Repeat 10 times.
- Open your mouth as wide as you can into an O-shape, with your lips covering your teeth. Repeat 10 times.
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Smile as wide as you can without opening your mouth. Repeat 10 times.
5. Lip exfoliation: Add the exfoliation of your lips to your skincare routine. Just like the rest of our faces, dead skin cells build up on the lips, causing dry flakiness. It is important to exfoliate dead skin cells away, allowing for the revitalization of your gorgeous lips.
Try a simple DIY scrub with either cinnamon or sugar (exfoliants) mixed with honey, oil, or shea butter (emollients) to form a paste. Apply gently in small circles, then wash off. You can also use a toothbrush to carefully exfoliate the emollient.
6. Avoid straws: Just like smoking enables the repeated pursing of lips that can cause wrinkles, so can drinking from straws. If you want to avoid deepening the grooves of your lip wrinkles, try avoiding straw use. As a bonus, avoiding straw use benefits the environment.
7. Choose the right skincare products: Products containing vitamin C or retinol are among the most effective ways to promote anti-aging. Vitamin C is known to boost collagen and thicken the dermis, which allows a younger-looking, vibrant complexion. But not only can it diminish fine lines, but it can also prevent more damage from free radicals through its antioxidant properties.
Retinol is another anti-aging powerhouse. It can increase collagen production, reducing the fine lines we aren’t fond of. Retinol can smooth the skin, unclog pores, fight acne, and even out discolored skin. Find out the best retinol product for your skin type.
Consider purchasing vitamin C or retinol products from a reputable brand like LilyAna Naturals. Made in the USA, our products are vegan, cruelty-free, organic, natural, and naturally derived.
How to Get Rid of Your Lip Wrinkles
We’ve talked about prevention, but if you’ve already developed lip wrinkles, not to worry! There are things you can do to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles or even get rid of them altogether. Home treatment can work wonders on not only preventing lip wrinkles but also reducing the appearance of mild to moderate wrinkles.
However, if you are determined to do something about those deep wrinkles, you may want to look into professional treatment. But let’s start with the easy things you can do to both prevent and get rid of fine lines to moderate lip wrinkles.
Home Treatment
We prefer the use of natural products that can help get rid of lip wrinkles. Although the results may not be as apparent as professional treatment, they are cheaper, safer, and longer-lasting. The skin care regimen we recommend to treat lip wrinkles is similar to the regimen for treating other wrinkles on your face. Follow this anti-aging skincare routine to help get rid of those stubborn lip wrinkles:
1. Clean the skin: Cleansing your skin regularly is necessary for allowing anti-aging products to work properly. Cleansers enable our pores to say the proper size, regulate oil production, as well as encourage the right amount of hydration. To cleanse your skin properly, start with our purifying Vitamin C Face Wash, making sure to extend to the lip area.
Loaded with antioxidant vitamins C and E, this face wash can both stimulate collagen production and help prevent wrinkles that are formed by free radicals and sun damage. Conversely, opt for our Retinol Face Wash. A gentle cleanser for all skin types, even sensitive skin, this retinol-based wash will leave your skin dewy and youthful.
2. Hydrate: Proper water content in your skin determines its elasticity. And having elastic skin means fewer wrinkles. Being fully hydrated enables cells to effectively flush out toxins, which then allows them to easily pass through your system. After your revitalizing face wash, follow it up with a spritz of our Vitamin C Face Toner, which contributes to hydration and brightens blemishes as well as other signs of aging.
3. Use a serum: An effective wrinkle serum is key in the care of your skin, including your lips. Dermatologists agree that serums are one of the most effective anti-aging products out there. Serums are a concentrated blend of some of the best active ingredients that fight advanced aging. Properly apply our Vitamin C Serum.
This product not only contains the elasticizing vitamin C but also contains hyaluronic acid which helps hydrate and quenches the dryness that can lead to wrinkles. Even more potent is our Super C Serum that has an explosion of 3 types of ‘C’; an overall powerful deterrent of those wrinkles. And lastly, High Potency Retinol Serum goes even deeper, doing battle against the most stubborn wrinkles.
4. Moisturize: Once your serum has been applied, it is helpful to lock in your serum and at the same time add moisture. Using a moisturizer can protect against the elements, as well as keeping the skin smooth, plump, and supple. Moisturizing the skin makes wrinkles less noticeable, so this should become a compulsive habit for the wrinkle-prone. Finish the skincare routine off with one of our moisturizers.
Believe it or not, Vitamin C Eye Cream or Retinol Eye Cream can also function as lip moisturizers. Not only can eye creams be used on the delicate skin around your eyes, but they are also ideal for other sensitive places, like your lips. Eye creams can reduce the appearance of those dreaded lip wrinkles, as well as plumping the skin, leaving you looking young and radiant. Or combine it with a potent moisturizer like Super C Face Cream for hydrated, younger-looking skin.
7. Makeup: Combined with your targeted skincare regimen, you can also use certain makeup techniques to conceal your existing lip wrinkles. Here are some helpful makeup tips to get your lips looking their best:
- Use a makeup primer to fill in lines above your lips.
- Use a foundation on the wrinkles that provides light or medium coverage. Using a heavy foundation can make wrinkles appear more prominent.
- Next, use a lip liner that is slightly darker than your favorite lipstick. The lip liner not only frames your lips beautifully but can keep the lipstick from melting into the wrinkles above your lips.
- Lastly, use a highlighting gel or eye shadow to touch a highlight just above your upper lip. This will draw attention away from those lip wrinkles.
Professional Treatment
The most effective treatments for deep wrinkles occur in the dermatology or plastic surgery office. Here are some of the most common cosmetic procedures for lip wrinkles:
1. Dermal fillers: Also known as soft tissue fillers, dermal fillers are injected into the lips and surrounding area, to fill in wrinkles and to add volume. This allows for smoother, plumper lips. However, most dermal fillers are only temporary because they get absorbed by the body.
2. Microneedling: To stimulate collagen, this procedure involves tiny needles puncturing the skin. The result is a lessening of the appearance of fine lines and tightening of the skin.
3. Laser resurfacing: This procedure involves a laser removing the top layer of skin, allowing for newer skin underneath to emerge. The result is tightened skin and a reduction of wrinkles and other skin irregularities. Typically these results can last longer than more procedures; about 3 to 5 years and sometimes even more.
4. Dermabrasion: This procedure employs the use of a rotating instrument that works by exfoliating the top layer of skin. Redness or swelling may occur as much as a week after treatment. Microdermabrasion instead gently polishes the skin. These procedures are done in successive visits to the doctor’s office, meaning improvement will be gradual.
5. Botox injections: Botox is an injectable neuromodulator that can inhibit the movement of our muscles. Since repeated expressions cause wrinkles, inhibiting these movements can reduce the appearance of lip wrinkles.
6. Vampire facial: Using plasma extracted from your blood sample, these collagen-producing cells are injected through micro-needling.
7. Chemical peels: Chemical peels involve a chemical solution applied to the skin, removing the top layer. This allows for the newer layer of skin to emerge, which will cause a more youthful appearance. These can help with the fine lines and wrinkles that occur on the lips, among other things light scars and blemishes. Chemical peels can cause redness of the skin, scarring, and changes in skin color. Make sure your chemical peel is administered by a licensed professional to avoid severe side effects.
Some people assume that a facelift will help diminish lip wrinkles. However, a facelift only affects jowls, loose cheeks, and turkey necks, not so much the wrinkles of the face. Talk to your dermatologist to see if any of these procedures are right for you. However, it must be said that these results come at a cost.
Often expensive, they may not be worth the temporary results that occur. Also, there is the risk of side effects, as well as some downtime for your skin to recover. So, if you are just starting on your anti-aging regimen, we believe quality products are the best way to go.
LilyAna Naturals for Youthful, Luscious Lips
Lip wrinkles occur due to aging, poor diet, UV rays, lack of moisture, and even “duck lips.” But, luckily, you’ve learned that you can both prevent and treat them. This is done by adopting healthy new habits as well as cleansing, hydrating, applying a serum, and moisturizing your youthful, luscious lips. LilyAna Naturals will have you back selfie-ing in no time!
