Smoker’s Lines: How to Get Rid of Vertical Upper Lip Wrinkles

Wrinkles and mouth lines are a byproduct of age, but also stress. If you’re worried about the possibility of crow’s feet or lip wrinkles or have already started to develop them, hope is not lost.

There is an abundance of exercises to make your face more expressive. These often include mewing or dermatology-related techniques to prevent your facial muscles from becoming too rigid. You can also find products that are proven to be quite effective in making the skin softer and smoother.

Other than natural treatments, healthcare professionals perform several non-invasive procedures to achieve younger-looking skin, but these come with risks.

We will outline how you can get rid of lip lines or wrinkles and advise you on how to prevent them from forming early on. We will also discuss our solutions to get rid of the bunny lines on your face.

Here’s what you can read in this article:

💋 What causes smoker’s lines?

💪 Helpful techniques and exercises for smoker’s lines

💄 A selection of beauty and health products to use

🩺 Treatment options to prevent smoker’s lines

Read more to find out!

What are the Smoker’s Lines?

The term smoker’s lines describe the small lines appearing around your lips and on the skin that connects the upper lips and nose. You may also be familiar with them by their alternate names, such as lipstick lines, vertical lip lines, and perioral wrinkles.

These lip lines are most common among older generations and are pretty difficult to eliminate.

Reasons Behind Appearance of Fine Vertical Lines

There are several reasons why wrinkles like these occur. One such reason is a decrease in natural collagen production, a type of protein that protects the skin’s structure. Research shows that as we age out of our 20s, we start to lose a small percentage of collagen each year.

Dry skin is another problem that older people face quite often as we produce less oil, leading to chapped lips and cracks along the skin’s surface. Environmental factors are also a cause, such as sun exposure or pollution.

Stress can cause hormones to fluctuate and reach unhealthy levels in the body. These can lead to multiple problems, some of which are changes to the skin.

Alongside the oil decrease, we also lose elastin, another protein like collagen. Its component is found in tissues that allow them to stretch and shrink. Without essential skin proteins, our skin would not be so flexible.

What Causes Smoker’s Lines?

A plethora of other factors also lead to the formation of smokers lines. Some of these could potentially lead to young people developing vertical lines sooner if they do not take care of their skin early on.

• Excessive and heavy smoking can lead to skin sagging as nicotine plays a role in causing blood vessel shrinkage and reducing the flow of nutrients to the skin. This in turn leads to accelerated aging.
• Skin damage from UV rays or sun exposure is also called photoaging. Overexposure to these rays leads to reduced collagen and elastin. Sun-damaged skin can lead to wrinkles but also skin cancer.
• The natural aging process leads to many changes in the body. One such change is that the division of cells slows down; thus, skin layers cannot be repaired as they used to.
• Lack of water in the skin or dehydration makes the skin drier, causing lip lines to appear, resembling cracked ground lines that haven’t seen rainwater in weeks.
• Circumstantial causes from our environment affect our skin condition. These can include sun damage, tobacco smoke, lack of nutrients and healthy food, air pollution, etc.
• Hormonal imbalance is another possible reason for the early appearance of smoker’s lips and wrinkles, whether from high or low levels of estrogen, progesterone, or DHEA.
• Insufficient beauty treatment or the wrong skincare routine can cause just as much damage as the other methods listed. Consult with a dermatologist or beauty technician on the best products for your skin type..
• Rapid weight changes from overweight to underweight in short periods will cause the skin to sag and make lip wrinkles appear.

Do smokers lines go away?

Unfortunately, there is no permanent cure for the aging process. As we age, wrinkles and lip lines will happen naturally; nothing can stop that.

However, there are other ways to slow down the process. There are skincare products that can give your skin the much-needed natural oils and fill in for missing proteins.

Evidence also suggests that exercises tone the face and make the skin more malleable, especially the upper lip.

For those looking to hide away their lip wrinkles, there are cosmetic techniques and products to reduce the marionette lines.

Can Smokers Skin be Reversed?

As the aging process begins, it’s crucial to understand that the already formed smokers lines will not go away quickly, and neither will the fine lines appearing around the upper lip.

Instead, cosmetic procedures, facial exercises, and beauty products are the only option to eliminate the appearance of fine lines. However, the natural methods discussed can certainly help maintain your skin condition.

Treatment Options for Deep Wrinkles on Upper Lip Area

Treatments for stubborn wrinkles around the upper lip portion of the face are in high demand. A lot of research is done on these treatments, as well as on the causes and treatments for glabellar lines. Some of these include topical treatments with tretinoin and tazarotene, but these can sometimes cause itching and dry skin.

Procedures involving injecting lip fillers have been used for a long time to get immediate results. Using in-office or dermatological procedures can achieve natural-looking results and stimulate collagen production. These are non-surgical treatments that are far safer than medical procedures.

Natural methods, such as changes to your lifestyle habits, can also produce good results. Stress is a possible contributing factor that speeds up the aging process.

Facial Exercise Technique: Mewing

We mentioned that facial exercises and methods could prevent or minimize smokers lines, and the best way is with mewing. You can explore the mewing.coach App that has mewing explained in full, but we will also discuss its many benefits here.

Through various techniques for better facial posture, and facial and jaw exercises, it’s possible to make slight face changes by mewing. Among the many methods, there are sections dedicated to how mewing affects your lips, lots of effective tongue exercises, and other ways to reduce face sagging.

Repetitive muscle movements are the best answer on how to naturally get back your skin elasticity without any lip augmentation or plastic surgeons’ help. It’s why we highly recommend mewing to our readers who should make use of these methods to get rid of lip lines.

These exercises also contain several facial blood circulation improvement techniques that can assist in giving readers a more youthful appearance. The official app even has a section dedicated to what facial features are considered not so attractive.

How to Reduce Smokers Lines Naturally

The following cosmetic procedures can help to get rid of lip lines. Plastic surgeons usually perform them at a doctor’s office to give customers fast results.

Injection of Botulinum toxin or Botox

Botox stops the signals traveling to the facial muscles and prevents muscle contractions. This makes wrinkles become smooth, and the facial areas appear relaxed. However, it may allow you to make limited facial expressions.

Injection of dermal fillers

Dermal fillers are a substance that resembles gel and are usually used to make lips fuller and give sharper cheekbones. Dermal fillers can also help smooth facial creases and prevent wrinkles from forming.

Protein production increase with Laser resurfacing

Also known as laser skin resurfacing, this outpatient procedure is done in less than a day. Numbing cream is used to ensure that you won’t feel any pain. In some cases, laser resurfacing can be quite extensive and may require sedation.

The purpose of laser resurfacing is to use a laser beam to destroy the epidermis and stimulate collagen production in the dermis.

Skin texture improvement with micro-needling

Micro-needling is a procedure involving thin needles used to make tiny punctures on the surface level of the skin. It’s only minimally invasive and stimulates the healing process of the skin cells.

Platelet Rich Plasma facial rejuvenation

Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is a method which includes using your blood to create an organic filler made for you. Your blood has its own platelets that promote the production of collagen and anti-aging properties. These platelets are extracted from a small sample and then injected into the skin areas that need improvement.

Skin Resurfacing with Dermabrasion

A dermatologist or surgeon uses dermabrasion to remove the outermost layer of your skin. The purpose is to promote skin cell division and allow the new skin layer to grow back smoother, with less pronounced lip wrinkles.

skin resurfacing with chemical peels

A chemical peel is a solution that treats all kinds of conditions, from wrinkles to scarring. A healthcare professional applies the substance to the top skin layers to remove them and promote new skin growth.

If you go for a light chemical peel, the procedure may need to be repeated multiple times to achieve the desired effect.

How to Get Rid of Smokers Lines Without Injections

The above-mentioned procedures are often costly and require much time to heal fully. As the aging process continues, you may need to repeat them. There are plenty of other solutions for those looking for non-surgical treatments, whether out of fear or the wariness of surgeries.

Retinoids

You can find many retinoid products on the market, and some specifically target wrinkles. They are Vitamin A derivatives that significantly reduce the aging signs and can even be used to decrease the effects of sun-damaged skin. Other effects include improved skin texture, reduction of dark spots on the skin, and improved hydration levels.

Peptides

Peptides consist of amino acids, much like the ones found in your skin, and are used in many products to prevent lip lines from forming. Collagen is made of polypeptide chains, which help control the decrease in collagen production. They are also great for preventing acne from developing and improving the skin barrier.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C serums come with plenty of advantages and reasons to use them. The main one is improving the skin’s overall texture and causing lip lines to minimize. Vitamin C protects your skin from harmful environmental exposures that can make a skin wrinkle appear less prominent.

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is an organic substance that is found in the eyes and joints. It acts as a type of lubricant that is very effective in preventing dry eyes and leg sores. It’s commonly used in skincare routines for skin flexibility and helps reduce all kinds of wrinkles, including smokers lines.

Niacinamide

Niacinamide is produced using Vitamin B3 and is another popular skincare product like hyaluronic acid. It can either come as a topical product or even a supplement. It’s quite beneficial for all kinds of skin concerns, such as acne, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkles caused by aging.

Sun protection cream

Sunscreen is made from several chemicals, such as avobenzone, octinoxate, and oxybenzone, to name a few. They reflect UV rays and prevent skin damage caused by sun exposure. The sun contributes to many skin concerns, like cancer or photoaging, and regular application of sunscreen can prevent premature signs of aging, like lip wrinkles.

Exfoliants

Exfoliation is one of the most effective ways to remove dead cells from the top skin layer. It’s the best treatment for smokers lines and lip wrinkles. It helps to stimulate cell growth and produce smoother skin.

Hydration lotions

Use hydration lotions or moisturizers to hydrate the skin and feed it with vital nutrients. They come in a large variety depending on your skin type, whether dry, oily, or mixed. As they all come with anti-aging effects, they can easily contribute to smoothing out lip lines.

How to Hide Deep Wrinkles Around Your Mouth

There are other products worth trying if the above-listed products sound less appealing or seem too extensive and time-consuming to be worth it. These include cosmetic beauty products or makeup choices that you can use to hide away wrinkles or lip lines masterfully.

The following solutions and products have their own way of removing fine lines and other benefits to smooth out the deep lines around the mouth. They include:

• Use makeup techniques for full coverage, like foundation and concealers, to hide lines around the mouth. Liquid foundations or tinted lotions are the best type of products, unlike powdered ones.
• Choose a lipstick that best matches your shade to make lip lines appear less noticeable. Darker lipstick highlights the lips better than nude-colored ones.
• Find a lip liner that matches your lipstick. The lip liner is barrier keeping the lipstick from spreading to your wrinkles.
• Lip balm isn’t just useful for dry lips; you can even use it on wrinkles to hide the fine lines around the mouth area.
• Highlighters, especially cream-based ones, are great for smoothing smokers lip lines when applied beneath your blush.
• Hair that is too thin and pushed away from the face will only make your features more noticeable. Style your hair to frame your face, to draw away attention from the smokers wrinkles.
• Use glasses to divert attention towards your eyes, not lip lines.
• Use eye-catching accessories such as headbands, hats, and scarves to divert attention away from the lip lines or make them less prominent.

Prevent the Lipstick Lines from Appearing

There are many helpful solutions if you want to know how to get rid of smokers lines without fillers or treatments. By maintaining your health, you can look younger as long as you do the following:

• Quit smoking and prevent nicotine from damaging your cells.
• Protect your skin from the sun because sun exposure can cause damage. Always use sun protection creams year-round.
• Hydrate to prevent your skin from becoming dry, which causes lines to appear.
• Practice good skincare habits by regularly washing, exfoliating, and moisturizing.
• Maintain a healthy diet rich in vitamins and nutrients that promote cellular growth.
• Exercise regularly to keep your skin from sagging.
• Avoid repetitive facial expressions so as not to form deep lines around the mouth.
• Avoid environmental toxins such as pollution and chemicals in food products.
• Meditate to keep stress hormones at a low level.

To Wrap Up

There is little we can do to slow down time when it comes to aging. We have to contend with the fact that wrinkles are a fact of life. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to decrease lip lines or take measures to prevent them from forming prematurely.

Whether through mewing, skincare solutions, or better health choices, there are solutions that can work for you.