Small vertical wrinkles that run from the edge of your lip up towards your nose - commonly known as 'smoker's lines' . Although more common in smokers, they can happen to any of us and they are the WORST for ruining your lippie! Here's some info about what causes them and how we can help.
Why do these wrinkles form?
Over time the skin around your lips develops creases due to consistent expression. The term ‘smoker’s lines’ came about from the regular use of the mouth in an ‘O’ shape pattern. These lines can be present when expressing your face, and as the ageing process continues they are likely be present around the mouth even when you are relaxed. They annoyingly mainly occur in women - (we get all the perks, cellulite is ours too right?). Men have thick skin around the mouth which is wrinkle resistant due to regular shaving and having lots of hair follicles in this region . As usual lifestyle factors such as sun exposure, diet and genetics all have a part to play in the formation of these lines too.
How can this area of the face be treated?
This can often be a tricky area to treat, especially if the lines are deep and widespread. Ideally a combination of anti wrinkle injections (Botox) , dermal filler and both professional and home skincare gives the best results.
Botox
The use of a tiny amount of Botox just above the upper lip relaxes the circular muscle around the mouth. The effect is softening of the lines that show up when you speak or eat. This treatment has a nice perk of giving you a 'lip flip' (showing more upper lip - subtle but sexy) with no bruising or downtime really. Luckily since the dosage is low, it counts as a small area of Botox, coming in at around £100. The results last around 3 months.
Dermal Filler
Tiny droplets of dermal filler placed under the fine lines can hydrate and lift the tissues around your mouth. In addition to this, a lip filler treatment where the border of the lip is defined can really help the appearance of smoker’s lines too. Defining the edges of the lips prevents bleeding lipstick (which is the absolute worst right?!) You can also treat the surrounding areas such as nasiolabial lines and marionette lines, which can help give an overall rejuvenation to the region if required. Results last from 6-12months and prices start from £300.
Professional Skin Treatments
For the best results, the addition of skin treatments such as chemical peels or microneedling can smoothen out the surface of the skin. A chemical peel is a beautiful way to help the skin to resurface with a more even texture, and really helps target fine lines and wrinkles. Microneedling causes the body to stimulate new collagen and elastin formation by creating micro trauma to the skin, allowing the body's natural healing process to rejuvenate the skin. We can combine this treatment with growth factors, that supercharge the results and create long term smooth, hydrated, skin. Usually we advise at least 3 sessions of chemical peels or microneedling, as the results get better with more treatments. Results last long term, and prices start from £140.
What can you do at home?
Like working out, you have to put the work in at home to see the results in the gym. Your skin starts to lose collagen from around the age of 25, and continues to decrease by about 1.5% per year. Since pollution and stress are just part of living in this wonderful crazy city of London, we have to try and protect our skin from the effects of it!
Vitamin C- Alumier Everactive C + E - this award winning antioxidant serum mops up the free radical damage caused by pollution, sunlight and smoking, and helps synthesise new collagen! L - Ascorbic Acid at the perfect percentage for your skin and combined with Vitamin E for a synergistic supercharge - this product is AMAZING! It is protected from oxidation (which happens to most other vitamin C serums rendering them pretty useless) by giving you a new opaque bottle for each month that you mix yourself - this way you know the product you use is actually working! Use in the morning only for the best results.
Retinols- It seems like everyone is putting retinol wherever they can (it's like the protein of the skincare world). Retinol (AKA Vitamin A) is proven to reverse the signs of ageing and smoothen out skin texture, as well as helping with acne and scarring. But BEWARE too much or the wrong formulation can leave your skin sensitive, dry and rashy. The Retinol Resurfacing Serum 0.5% by Alumier is microencapsulated (meaning it releases slowly throughout the night) and combined with soothing ingredients such as honey and niacinamide, for a gentle overnight treatment. Use at night only and start with once a week, slowly building up every week (and you MUST use SPF if you're using retinols!)
SPF - Most of the wrinkles we get are from exposure to both UVA and UVB rays - these are present when its sunny AND cloudy, even if we are sitting next to a window on a winters day! Some of the more popular sunscreens are chemical based, which have nasty ingredients that are absorbed into your body and can cause long term side effects. We recommend a broad spectrum physical sunscreen which protects your skin from both UVA and UVB and doesn't get absorbed into your skin. Alumier do a variety of physical sunscreens, all perfect to go under your make up as a primer.
We are licensed retailers of the Alumier brand and tailor a skincare plan for you free of charge if you come in to see us for a consultation.
Top Tips
- Quit smoking
- Use a home dermal roller (0.5mm) regularly ensuring you keep it nice and clean
- Hydrate and use hyaluronic acid serums regularly
- Exfoliate twice a week
- Stay out of the sun
If you would like more information on this topic or wish to come in and see us, please feel free to call us on 02073108720 or email us at info@tweakyourface.com :-)
