Wrinkles around the mouth? Follow these dermatologist tips

Why these wrinkles around the mouth?

Even if you’ve never smoked, the appearance of fine lines around your mouth can be the result of many things: drinking through a straw, whistling, pouting in spite or posing with a duck mouth on your selfies. . “Age and sun damage cause fine lines to form,” says Dr. Norman Rowe, a plastic surgeon from New York.

“Bigger wrinkles come from overactive muscles.” Whatever the origin, these wrinkles around the lips are now targeted by the best plastic surgeons who have more means than ever to make them disappear and make sure they do not come back.

Neuromodulators

For fine lines or shallow wrinkles around the lips, an injection of a neuromodulator – Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin – can often tame them by paralyzing them, says Dr. Joe Niamtu, a facial plastic surgeon in Midlothian, Virginia. “This allows you to release the muscle tension around the mouth and create a slight but clearly visible improvement.” The term “pre-rejuvenation” is the buzzword in beauty care to describe preventing deeper wrinkles, adds Dr. Joel Cohen, a dermatologist at Lone Tree, Colorado. “My patients who I give low-dose Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin to relax their muscles note that their wrinkles are less noticeable, shallower, and less prone to imprint on the skin.”

Some effects appear immediately, but it takes up to two weeks to see the final results of the neuromodulators, which lasts two to four months. Costs vary depending on the quantity required and the location of the clinic.

Fillers

For deeper static wrinkles, Dr. David Shafer, a plastic surgeon from New York City, recommends hyaluronic acid dermal fillers. This acid is found naturally in almost all of our cells (especially the skin), but our supply decreases with age. “Some of these hyaluronic acid fillers restore volume by plumping the lips (Juvederm and Restylane), and others, more liquid, fill in wrinkles without adding as much volume (Juvederm, Volbella, Restylane Silk and Belotero ), he adds. As the thickness of the lips decreases over time, I often recommend a combination of natural volumizing and filling products. ”

For those who have shallow wrinkles on their upper lip, Dr. Cohen superficially injects the filler to smooth them out. He recommends pre-treatment with Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin a few weeks before in order to relax the muscles. The price varies depending on the type of product, the quantity required, and often the location of the clinic. Are you afraid of injections? Fillerina Dermal Filler Gel promises to fill those wrinkles in two weeks. Composed of six hyaluronic acids, it is administered with a pen-shaped applicator.

Lasers, lights and peels

People who are afraid of needles and have fine lines around their lips have several options, says Dr. Shafer. “The outer layer of the skin can be corrected by superficial treatments such as laser resurfacing, radiofrequency, chemical exfoliations (peels), micro-needles, dermabrasion.” All of these treatments remove the top layer of the dermis and dead cells to leave room for new, healthy skin.

“The disappearance of this layer improves the texture and tone of the skin, in addition to reducing fine static lines,” he adds. These treatments are quick and relatively painless if you use an anesthetic cream. Recovery is short-lived. Peels and the laser leave redness for a few days that can be reduced with makeup, he continues. It takes several treatments to get the best possible results. “For deep wrinkles, I do an Erbium laser resurfacing,” continues Dr. Cohen.

The disadvantage? Provide a period of convalescence after this intervention which is both muscular and deep.

The advantage? This is often done in a single intervention. “I pre-treated with Botox or Dysport a few weeks before to reduce the mechanical contraction action of the underlying muscle, and obtain a synergistic result,” he adds.

Better to prevent …

According to experts, regular application of sunscreen and a collagen booster or wrinkle cream prevents wrinkles from forming around your lips. There is an overwhelming amount of lotions, potions, and creams at all prices that promise to wipe them out. “To slow down the formation of wrinkles, always protect your lips from the sun with sunscreen, don’t smoke, and use Botox preventively,” Dr. Rowe recommends.