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Smoker's Wrinkles: A Science Backed Approach
While wrinkles will happen naturally with age due to your skin losing collagen, there are other skin components and certain lifestyle habits that will speed up the process.
Resource by: PROVEN Team
Smoker's Wrinkles: Treating Wrinkles Around the Mouth From Smoking
Whether you call them smoker’s wrinkles, lipstick lines, lip lines or lip wrinkles, the fine lines that form around the mouth are telltale signs of your age and some less than healthy habits such as smoking or tanning.
While wrinkles will happen naturally with age due to your skin losing collagen, there are other skin components and certain lifestyle habits that will speed up the process. Wrinkles will tend to be the most prominent around thinner areas of your face, especially the mouth.
With proper care, like a daily moisturizing routine, and avoiding some bad habits you can hold off these wrinkles for a long time. However, if they’ve already arrived, there is no reason to panic just yet. The good news is there are plenty of treatments available that can help to diminish those lines and even erase them entirely.
What Are Smoker’s Wrinkles?
Smoker’s wrinkles will form on both the lips themselves and on the skin of the upper lip as well. On the lips, they will appear as a set of fine vertical lines, usually stretching from one side of the mouth to the other. It’s not uncommon for lipstick to settle into these lines, which will make them appear much darker and deeper than they really are.
These lines are notorious for being difficult to conceal. However, getting rid of these lines, as opposed to simply covering them up, can easily take 10 years off your appearance.
Above the lip, these vertical lines will stretch upward from the lip toward the nose. These wrinkles will typically be much deeper and more pronounced than the ones located on your lips.
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. Even if you have never smoked in your life, you can still develop the fine lines around your mouth known as smoker’s wrinkles. Whether it’s by sipping through a straw, whistling a tune, pursuing your lips from frustration, or taking too many duck face selfies, these lines can start to form over time.
After the age of 20, your body will produce around 1% less collagen every year. As the production of collagen begins to decrease, the skin will become thinner and lose its elasticity. The lips, typically fairly puffy during youth, will become noticeably more deflated as you age. In addition, aging skin will produce less oil, which can result in chronic dryness.
Lips are particularly prone to dryness as they are constantly exposed to the elements. Over time, the chapped lips of winter will eventually catch up to you. Another major cause of lip lines is exposure to the sun. The skin on your lips is extremely delicate and will often go unprotected. Constantly being exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is the number one cause of premature aging signs. This is a process known as photoaging.
Naturally, something called smoker’s wrinkles is going to have a direct connection to smoking as well. Smoking produces something called free radicals in your body, which are a major contributor to premature aging. In addition, the repetitive motion of a drag, such as the intense and frequent pursing of the lips, will contribute to the formation of lip lines. The easiest way to remember it: minor lip lines will be caused by aging and sun exposure, while major lip lines are the result of muscle overactivity.
What Are Some Treatments For Smokers Wrinkles? What Are Some Treatments For Smoker's Wrinkles?
Luckily, there are plenty of options available to treat smoker’s wrinkles. There are several home remedies that can be effective along with creams and serums that can stimulate collagen production. Products claiming to be lip plumpers are unlikely to help if your lips have thinned and wrinkles over several years.
When certain essential oils are diluted with a carrier oil, they can increase the firmness and skin cell turnover to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It’s important to run a patch test on the inside of your elbow for a few days before applying any diluted essential oils to your face, that way you will know if you have any allergic reactions to the oil.
Use your fingertips to apply a small amount of these essential oils, mixed with a carrier oil, to your mouth and lip area twice a day. It’s best to avoid using this remedy directly on your lips.
Some of the more effectively essential oils include:
- Lemon, known for its antioxidant content (do not use before exposure to the sun)
- Sandalwood, due to anti inflammatory effects
- Lavender, due to antioxidative and wound healing properties
- Frankincense, in order to increase cell turnover
There are some oils derived from plants that could potentially be effective as spot treatments for smoker’s wrinkles while also providing moisture. Unlike essential oils, these plant based oils will not need to be diluted and are safe enough to use directly on your lips. It’s best to apply a small amount to the affected area twice daily.
Studies have shown that plant oils contain essential fatty acids, many of which can promote firmness and elasticity of the skin, while also combating signs of photoaging from sun exposure.
Some of the best plant oils to consider using include:
- Olive oil
- Castor oil
- Sunflower oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Coconut oil
Lots of healthcare professionals are now using injectable fillers to fill in fine lines and wrinkles in order to provide a fuller looking lip. Solutions containing hyaluronic acid are injected directly into the lips and the surrounding area. This process is called lip augmentation and healthcare professionals will use fillers to make lips appear slightly larger. This procedure is around $500 to $800 per 1 mL injection.
This procedure involves removing the top layer of skin so that a new, younger looking layer will take its place. It may help to improve the appearance of fine wrinkles, light scarring, and blemished skin. Chemical peels are particularly well suited for the upper lip area. There are several different types of peels, which will vary significantly in strength and intensity, so it may be best to consult a doctor about which one is best for you. It will cost around $535 to $673 on average per session for a chemical peel.
Dermabrasion will produce similar results to a light chemical peel. A standard dermabrasion is a medical procedure that is typically done while sedated. It will use a rotating brush to remove the top most layer of skin. A microdermabrasion is a more gentle procedure that is performed by estheticians and involves using a handheld device that polishes away the top layer of skin with a streamt of crystals or diamond tip. This procedure will often require a few sessions, spread out over a few months, in order to get the best results. A dermabrasion is typically priced at $1,368 while microdermabrasions are around $138 per session on average.
One of the most popular methods of treating wrinkles is Botox. The lines around the lips are typically caused by the repetitive movements of muscles and Botox serves to relax these muscles. These injections can, even in small amounts, reduce the appearance of smoker’s wrinkles by preventing or reducing the movement of the related muscles. It will cost between $150 and $376 for every session on average.
Tips For Preventing Smoker’s Wrinkles
While you won’t be able to completely avoid or prevent the wrinkles that form around your lips, it is possible to adopt healthy habits that will slow down their onset.
Some of the best ways to do this include:
- Stop smoking
- Stop using a straw when drinking
- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated
- Reduce caffeine and alcohol consumption
- Eating a diet high in antioxidant rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables
- Limit your exposure to the sun by avoiding peak hour (10 AM to 3 PM) and wearing sunscreen
The Takeaway
Unfortunately, wrinkles will come to those that smoke and don’t smoke alike. They are a natural part of the aging process, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hold them off for a while. Maintaining healthy habits, and eliminating unhealthy one like smoking, can do a lot to slow down their formation. However, if they are already here, there are plenty of options for treatment.
Smoker’s wrinkles have many names, but they all refer to the fine lines that form on your lips and around your mouth. Part of the aging process is the breaking down of your skin and while this can’t be avoided, it can be slowed down.
A well regulated and daily skincare routine such as from PROVEN Skincare, along with some better and healthier habits, can go a long way toward delaying these wrinkles for as long as possible.
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