Drooping mouth corners can make you look like you have a permanent frown on your face. Just when you thought that smile lines were the wrinkles to worry about, you get hit with drooping lip corners.
Drooping corners of the mouth look like just the beginning of marionette lines without stretching down to the chin. They are skin folds that sag as you age and happen due to mouth muscles becoming loose and the natural loss of structural support.
The first step towards removing your sagging mouth corner problem is addressing it in the mirror. There are ways to treat a droopy mouth, whether natural or invasive! The other way is to turn that frown upside down by practicing 5 effective exercises!
If you’re a victim of drooping mouth corners, you should take our quiz below and get a personalized face workout plan.
We’ll also let you in on:
- 🧾 What are drooping mouth corners?
- 🔎 What causes a mouth to droop?
- 📚 How mewing can help with loose skin and drooping mouth corners
What Exactly are Drooping Mouth Corners?
Before we get to unravel how to get rid of droopy mouth corners, you need to know what they are precisely. Drooping mouth corners are extended lines from the corners of your mouth that do not stretch downwards to the chin.
As you get older, your skin begins to decrease in blood flow and lose volume. This leads to sagging muscles on the cheeks, lips, and jawline, resulting in a constant sad, tired, or angry facial expression.
Your face loses volume with time, and repetitive actions and emotions often lead to a down-turned mouth. Downturned mouth corners can easily turn into marionette lines, as they look similar but are not the same.
Drooping Corners of the Mouth vs. Marionette Lines
Contrary to popular belief, a downturned mouth differs from having marionette lines. Marionette wrinkles extend from the corners of the mouth downwards to the chin, resembling the lines on a marionette puppet. The only connection between marionette wrinkles and drooping mouth is their root cause – the DAO muscle.
Both are an extension of frown and smile lines due to how the jaw DAO muscle is connected. The two of them can also result in an exhausted and unhappy appearance.
If you have saggy skin on the corners of your mouth that continue into marionette lines, you should evaluate the condition with a professional. Check if your drooping corners attach to the puppet lines. You can take preventive actions to stop face sagging if you combat and treat the problem quickly. Proper skincare, exercising, a healthy lifestyle, proper posture, and moisturizing are ways to stop marionette lines.
What Causes Corners of Mouth to Droop?
The mouth can start drooping for various reasons, like an injury or a dental condition, but the main cause is old age. Here are other reasons for drooping mouth corners.
Natural Ageing Process
As you get older, there’s less blood flow to your face, which leads to dry skin. Improper skincare and bad habits can accelerate aging, causing wrinkles at an earlier age. But wrinkles and drooping skin are pretty familiar if you are at a mature age or a senior. You can decrease their appearance with dermal fillers, anti-wrinkle injections, surgeries, etc.
Hereditary
Genetics plays a significant role in determining whether or not you’ll develop wrinkles. If your parents or relatives had them, you might be predisposed to developing lines like the chin crease. However, you can prolong your time with clear skin if you implement proper skincare, keep a healthy lifestyle, and stay hydrated.
Strained Muscles
If you have an overused muscle, there’s a great chance a wrinkle will appear in its place. Wrinkles appear due to muscles contracting and excess use.
Constant facial expressions also weaken the facial muscles, causing the appearance of wrinkles like smile and frown lines, marionette wrinkles, mental creases, bunny lines, etc. Due to the natural aging process, your muscles grow less resilient, so they slip and sag downward.
Bad Habits
Smoking and drinking age your face dramatically because they drain the moisture from your skin. Alcohol dehydrates your skin and body, while cigarettes make wrinkles more visible. To avoid getting wrinkles faster than normal, lay off cigarettes, drugs, and booze.
The DAO Muscle
The DAO muscle, commonly called depressor Anguli Oris muscle, is a jaw muscle responsible for causing a downturned mouth. It’s a set of muscles that run from the corners of the lips to the chin.
The DAO muscles become stronger as you get older. You use these muscles when you frown since they turn your mouth downwards. When you overuse the DAO muscle, the repetitive action of frowning can lead to drooping mouth edges.
Is There a Way to Lift Corners of Mouth?
There are tons of solutions to fine lines around the mouth, but most patients practice three natural approaches:
- Facial exercises (mewing, face yoga)
- Medical treatment options (dermal fillers, facelifts, injections)
- Lifestyle changes (exercising, drinking water, quitting smoking and drinking)
Mewing as a Natural Approach to Improve Facial Structure
Sometimes, keeping your tongue, teeth, and jaw in proper posture can go a long way in diminishing wrinkles. Doing a simple exercise regularly that requires keeping your tongue against the roof of your mouth while your teeth and jaw are in proper alignment does wonders for your facial symmetry. This nifty trick is called mewing and involves practicing moves to tone your facial muscles!
If you naturally make mewing your daily habit, you will see multiple benefits reflecting on your face! Besides helping you lift sagging skin and tone muscles, there are mewing benefits for lips, chin, and jawline!
To get a thorough understanding of mewing, all you need to do is download the Mewing.coach app! You don’t have to start immediately with the more difficult hard-mewing technique, so you can choose an option to get a personalized plan catered to your needs and conditions!
Take a quick quiz to receive a workout program to improve your jaw, facial muscles and overall appearance.
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5 Facial Exercises to Lift Droopy Mouth Corners
Below you’ll find five different facial exercises that will help you lift those annoying drooping mouth corners.
Exercise No. 1: Smile and Pucker
Repeating the “Smile and Pucker” exercise at least 5 times daily will help add symmetry to your face. By sucking in your cheeks and puckering your lips, you add volume to areas that need it, like your cheekbones and lips.
All you need to do is pucker up your lips like you are about to kiss someone, hold the pose for a few seconds, and then spread a wide smile. Repeat the action 3-6 times a day, and you will notice a slimmer, smoother face.
Exercise No. 2: Resistance Cheek Lift
With the resistance cheek lift exercise, you give your face a mini facelift with just your fingers. By accumulating blood flow in the face, you add volume and tone the muscles.
The exercise is done by placing your fingers over every cheekbone, lifting the skin, and opening the mouth like you are about to say “O.” If you are doing the exercise right, you will start to feel resistance in the cheek muscles. Hold the pose for at least 5 seconds and repeat the action with 10-15 sets.
Exercise No. 3: Fish Face
The fish face exercise involves closing your mouth and sucking the cheeks from the inside. Once you make your fish face, try to smile while holding the pose. If you can hold the pose for 20 seconds, you should start feeling a burn in the area.
Exercise No. 4: Tongue Press
Tongue press is the best exercise to eliminate your droopy corners. It involves extending your tongue to the corner of your mouth as far as possible. Afterward, press against the back of a spoon and hold for 5-10 seconds. Repeat the activity 5 times a day and for each side of the mouth.
Exercise No. 5: Jaw Clencher
Doing a jaw-clenching exercise will not only strengthen your jaw muscles but smooth the skin as well. Open your mouth wide and pull the chin downwards with your hand. Intensify the stretch by using your other hand to pull the grip even further down. Tense the jaw against the pull of the hand and hold it for 5 seconds. Release the tension, pull the jaw down again, and repeat.
Medical Treatments for Drooping Mouth Corners
If the above natural treatments are not helping, you may want to consider getting some medical help.
Fillers
Fillers are the best way to treat severe mouth corners. The most popular filler to treat wrinkles is Hyaluronic acid, which is popular for lip augmentations.
Fillers contain the natural acid your skin needs to start collagen production and add volume to sunken areas. They help support drooping lip corners and uplift the mouth, returning your smile. Fillers work as an invisible scaffolding that lifts the corners of your mouth!
They provide results in a week or two once the swelling subsides and last 6-18 months, depending on the place of injection.
Botox for Droopy Corners of The Mouth
Botox is one of the best solutions for dropping mouth corners since they relax the muscle pulling the corners of the mouth down. The Botox injections are injected directly into the DAO muscle in the jaw, and the botulinum toxin blocks the chemical messages that cause the muscle to contract.
There are some risks to Botox, like headaches and swelling, but the results last up to 6 months, and you notice them after 4-14 days.
Extra Tips for Droopy Mouth Corners Treatment at Home
Here are a few additional tips to have you smiling back in no time!
- Make Sure to Look After your Skin – Never go to bed with makeup, wash your face after waking and before sleep, moisturize, and wear sunscreen.
- Get or learn how to do a facial massage yourself – There are millions of face exercises available online. Do a simple Google search for face exercises, or try mewing to increase some blood flow.
- Try to maintain a healthy lifestyle – Quit drinking and smoking, avoid sugary drinks and snacks, and stay hydrated.
- Consult with a specialist – If your drooping mouth is too severe, the best option is to consult a specialist. They can determine the severity and advise you on further treatment.
Final Words
It’s no use going through life if you are unhappy with your appearance. Your look is how you present to the world, and life is short to remain with a sad facial expression.
Now that modern medicine provides numerous solutions for your droopy mouth corners, it’s best to seek help. If you take action and improve your facial appearance, you will ultimately feel and look better and live life to the fullest.
