Whether you call them frown lines or laugh lines, there's nothing funny about those little wrinkles that pop up around your lips, marking the spot where your skin has stretched to accommodate smiles, pursing, puckering and even sipping over the years. The skin around your lips, like the skin around your eyes, is one of the first places on your face to lose collagen, causing wrinkles, says Deborah Sarnoff , associate professor at New York University Medical Center in More magazine.
Step 1
Apply broad spectrum sunscreen and wear a lip balm with SPF 30 or higher every day, says New Orleans dermatologist Patricia K. Farris in Good Housekeeping magazine. Sun damage exacerbates frown wrinkles and can keep them coming back after treatment.
Step 2
Use a fine-grained or alpha hydroxy acid-based exfoliating scrub around your mouth to refresh your skin and make fine lines less noticeable, says Christine Rodgers, a Denver-based plastic surgeon, in More magazine.
Step 3
Apply a collagen-building serum that contains retinoids or peptides to the skin around your mouth every day. By stimulating collagen production around your mouth, these serums can smooth out skin to make wrinkles less obvious.
Step 4
Schedule an appointment with your dermatologist for an injectable filler, which deposits tiny beads beneath the skin to create a smoother surface and fewer wrinkles.
Step 5
Consider setting up a series of laser treatments with your dermatologist if your frown wrinkles are deep or noticeable, says Paul M. Friedman, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. You'll need several sessions, but the collagen production they produce is lasting.
Tips and Warnings
- If you smoke, quitting will help reduce the formation of lines around your mouth. You may start to notice your lips are dryer around the same time you develop frown wrinkles. Like fine lines, dehydrated lips are a sign of aging. Fight back with a moisturizing lip balm.
Things You'll Need
- Sunscreen
- Lip balm with SPF
- Exfoliator
- Serum
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