Do you wrestle with lip lines? As you age, vertical lines can appear around your lip area that add years to an otherwise youthful complexion. Here's a breakdown of what causes lip wrinkles and how you can minimize their appearance.
What causes lip lines?
Vertical lip lines are caused by a number of factors, including aging, environmental stress, everyday facial expressions, and lifestyle choices:
aging
The skin around your lips is thinner and more delicate than the rest of your face. Because of this, it is more prone to the harmful effects of environmental stress and tends to show the visible signs of aging more quickly. In fact, as early as 20 vertical lines can appear above your upper lip, after which you produce 1% less collagen per year. Over time, as elastin and hyaluronic acid are also broken down, your skin becomes more fragile and less resilient. As your lips lose strength and volume, thin vertical lines can deepen into more prominent wrinkles.
Vertical lines can appear above your upper lip as early as 20, after which they produce 1% less collagen per year.
UV exposure
The aging process is accelerated by exposure to the sun, which further depletes the collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid stores in your skin. Because the lip area is often unprotected, it is at an even greater risk of UV exposure than the rest of your face. UVA rays in particular expose this sensitive area to harmful free radicals, which actively break down and weaken healthy skin cells. This speeds up the aging process and leads to fine lines and wrinkles around the lips.
Repetitive movements
Lip lines develop in a similar way to other "dynamic" lines (think frown lines and smile lines). Repetitive activities like speaking, smiling, and tipping your lips cause the muscles around your mouth to contract, creating permanent lines and wrinkles. As Amanda Doyle, MD told Yahoo beauty: “The analogy we like to tell our patients is: remember to fold the corner of a piece of paper and what happens when you unfold and flatten it. You can still see a kink that was left behind. Likewise, a constant feeling of the tip of the lips leads to tiny wrinkles over time. "
smoking
Another culprit for vertical lip lines: smoking. No wonder that prominent wrinkles are also known as "smoker's wrinkles". The repetitive motion of puffing a cigarette, combined with the oxidative stress caused by inhaling smoke, can accelerate the development of fine lines around the lip area. The accumulated damage deepens wrinkles and dries out the skin, leaving the lips looking pinched and puckered.
How to get rid of lip lines
Proper lip care should be an addition to your daily skin care routine. Follow these steps to keep your lips soft, plump, and youthful looking:
1. Peeling
Dry skin can worsen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and make lip wrinkles appear deeper and more prominent. Refine your lip area with the Citrus Enzyme Lip Exfoliator from our Lip Trio. This lip scrub is formulated with citrus and pineapple enzymes to smooth out dry lips and minimize the appearance of lip wrinkles.
2. Treat
Marine Flower Peptide Lip Serum is a luxurious cream serum that plumps up the appearance of the lips and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in the area. It is specially formulated to support the appearance of elasticity in the lip area, with immediate and long-term plump.
Follow the step of the lip serum with the instant results of the Hibiscus Instant Line Filler. Avoid lip injections and fillers in favor of these natural ones Advanced instant fX treatment which reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in just two minutes.
3. Moisturize
Keep your lips soft and plump with a petroleum-free lip balm that reduces the visible signs of aging and locks in moisture. Our Citrus Lip Balm contains botanical peptides from hibiscus to smooth out wrinkles and plump lips.
Out and about in the open? Sun exposure speeds up the visible signs of aging, including the vertical lines around your lips. Protect your lip area with our Rosehip & Lemongrass Lip Balm SPF 15. This moisturizing balm contains zinc oxide, rosehip oil, and lavender to provide natural SPF protection and soothe dryness.
How do you care for your lip area? Visit a Eminence Organics Spa partners near you for personalized recommendations from a licensed esthetician.
This article was originally written by Alisha Whitley in January 2018.