How to minimise the appearance of mouth wrinkles

At bh, we think wrinkles are pretty great. If you ask us, the more you have, the more fun you’re probably having. And we’d rather our mouths look a little more lined than give up laughter any day.
But if you’re finding it hard to keep your makeup out of your mouth creases, or are after a way to plump and smooth the area around your pout, you’re in the right place. Here’s what the experts had to say…
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What causes wrinkles around the mouth?
It seems mouth wrinkles are just another fact of life and getting older, according to Dr Josh Wall, Medical Director at Contour Clinics.
“Drooping of the corners of the mouth and increased prominence of the nasolabial folds (the folds between mouth and nose) can be caused by a loss of facial volume and facial fat pads as we age”, he says.
However, some mouth lines can also be accentuated by lifestyle choices, “vertical lines above the lip are often referred to as ‘smokers lines’ and skin quality around the mouth can also deteriorate due to overexposure to the sun.”
Can wrinkles around the mouth be prevented?
Like all things to do with the skin and ageing, the best preventative is a good routine and a healthy lifestyle (we know, broken record).
“A good cosmeceutical skincare routine is essential in any preventative strategy and it’s particularly important that this includes an SPF 50+ daily sunscreen”, says Dr Josh.
“In regards to preventative cosmetic treatments, you should aim for treatments that stimulate collagen. These options include fractional laser, skin needling, radiofrequency skin renewal, LED light therapy, among many others.”
Makeup tricks to try
When it came to the guidance of makeup artists, there were two pieces of golden advice: less is more and skin prep is key.
“Adding too much product will only emphasise the lines, so use a light hand”, says Marnie Avagiannis.
Ocea McKenzie, MAC National Educational Manager, seconds this and suggests using small fluffy brushes when applying your foundation and concealer in this area to keep it controlled.
But perhaps the best hack we’ve heard is from Caroline Barnes, UK ambassador for Max Factor, who says to extend the use of your light reflecting concealer (usually applied under the eyes) to your nasolabial folds (the lines that run from the corners of the nose to the corners of the lips). “As your face loses volume, these lines deepen and create shadows, so add light to the shadow.” Try: Max Factor Radiant Lift Concealer.
For the lips themselves, Ocea says to “use a good primer to smooth the skin and blank out the lip colour with a hint of concealer to start with.” Her top pick for the final lip colour? The new MAC Love Me Lipstick nude shades - “the soft hues compliment different skin tones and feel light and airy.”
Treatments for a more ‘permanent’ fix
If you think concealer tricks just won’t cut it, there are treatments available to help minimise wrinkles around the mouth. Dr Josh talks us through a few options…
Threadlifting
To target: Nasolabial folds
“Threadlifting is my favourite treatment. It lasts for two years and improves the contour of the cheeks without adding to lower face heaviness.”
Ablative laser
To target: Smokers lines
“This is a good option as there is no downtime relative to laser. Treatments can also include botox and fillers.”
Collagen Induction Therapy
To target: General mouth skin quality
If you’re looking for an all-over mouth plump and smooth, Dr Josh says, “collagen induction therapy such as fractional laser, collagen stimulating injections or skin needling” is best.
More information on the treatments can be found at Contour Clinics.
What are your best lip care tips?
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52 Member Comments
I love your articles BH but I wish I could find some advice and help on how to give thin lips a wow effect. Your photos are always gorgeous young ladies with perfect looking lips. How about "real" people, even the older generation with the not so perfect lines! Please give us some advice for the "not so gorgeous" looking lips.
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A good read but the line come with laughing & enjoying your life.
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All a part of ageing.
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So many amazing products will try not using so much powder, if I could afford it I would have some of the anti-aging procedures done.
Getting older is a part of life guess we need to learn to love ourselves wrinkles and all.
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I exfoliate my lips occasionally and I think using a lipliner is a must, I know someone who is a heavy smoker and her skin really shows it.
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Anything topical I'm willing to try. I use less powder to prevent creasing.
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Getting older certainly puts our face through a lot of changes and wrinkles are probably the worst that we experience. Sadly cosmetic surgery is always jumping in and offering solutions for this natural occurrence. In my opinion using as many natural products as we can to help keep our skin taut and moisturised is probably much healthier than the cosmetic route. Who wants to end up looking like 'cat lady' or Melanie Griffiths if things go wrong. Even some movie stars get it so wrong - Micky Rourke. Using a good lip balm is probably the best and easiest solution and I have also read that using a soft brush on your lips to brush away dead skin may help. I haven't tried that though.
Probably not frowning or drawing your lips together and doing face exercises helps with elasticity. But you need to start this at an early age, it doesn't work when you get past the half century mark. Trust me, I know!
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As I have aged I have found you tend to get lips that the skin peels, so I use a lot of lip balm but some of these suggestions sound good, apart from the procedures, those I can do without.
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I like the makeup tricks but I wouldn't be happy having any procedures done.
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Dermalogica make a good lip product too
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Handy tips. I'm starting to see some lines around the mouth. I picked up The Ordinary's Argireline Solution that is meant to be good.
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I've heard mixed reviews about Argireline.
Would love to hear your feedback if you can post it on The Ordinary forum thread...
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Noo needles for me when I get older. IF I get wrinkles on my lips well so be it.
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I’m lucky I don’t have to deal with mouth wrinkles yet...
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My lips will have to age naturally. I do moisturise and use ones with sunscreen.
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I don't want to even think about wrinkles or getting older... better just to pretend they don't exist
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I second this. It’s a good way to live- in the moment!
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I do think surgery is for me ... yet anyway. I may change my mind later.
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I have lines and wrinkles around my lips and will give some of these products a try.
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No thanks to any surgical things but more than happy to look at topcial treatments to plump out lips. I hate my lipstick bleeding into those fine lines!
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I agree with you regarding surgery.
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Not an issue for me yet.
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Very interesting read. I recently got my lips done but I have more troubles with cracked skin than wrinkles around my mouth.
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I use a Blur cream on my nasolabial folds in the hope to make them look less obvious.
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