Fighting Smokers Lines

By Nasrin Mani, M.D.

Those little lines or crevices running up from your upper lip are certainly troublesome when you have them! Referred to as “smoker’s lines”, they used to be attributed to women who smoked. The real problem was not so much the smoking, but the repeated pursing of the lips. The same thing can occur from drinking from water bottles, sipping through straws – or just talking!

The muscle movement over and over forms the wrinkles and over time they get deeper and deeper.

Fixes? A tiny spot of Botox, some judicious placement of filler and some new speaking habits can help fairly quickly. Some women will use the little “frownies” at night in an effort to retrain the lip muscles so there’s less involuntary contraction. Over time, this actually can make a difference.

Other options are laser, but you still need to address the cause of the wrinkle formation or they’ll come back. So, think Botox, hyaluronic gels and a good injector. Then drink from a glass and practice using less muscle movement when you talk – doing this in front of the mirror helps!