Your Lips
You could say our lips are one of our greatest accessories. Always a canvas for our makeup and the perfect frame for our smiles. But what happens to our lips as we age? We tend to leave our lips out of our anti-aging routines, yet lips are one of the first areas of the face that start to show signs of aging. In this post, let’s talk lip service and look at lip care.
Loss of Volume and Definition
The muscles and fat pads around our lips lose collagen and elasticity as we age. This results in lining around the lip area and thinner or flatter-looking lips. Collagen and elastin are immensely important for providing structure and suppleness to our skin. Unfortunately, our collagen starts depleting around 1-2% per year, starting in our twenties, and this can have premature aging effects on the lips. Besides aging, exposure to free radicals through smoking and unprotected exposure to UV rays can also accelerate collagen depletion and result in thinner lips.
Another common indicator of age is diminishing blood vessels in the lip line (or lip vermillion). The lip vermillion is known as the "white line" around the lip and is often where we apply lip liner. We commonly notice this form of aging when our lip liner bleeds onto our skin – sound familiar? The lip vermillion offers your pout a defined border and distinct structure. When we lose this definition, it causes a loss of natural lip colour, making our lips look dull and drained. This change becomes most visible in our 40s and accelerates through the decades.
Injectable fillers with hyaluronic acid can be used to restore volume loss in the lips and definition in the lip vermillion. Our nurse injectors at T/A will assess your needs to achieve natural-looking results and facial symmetry. Fillers can last up to a year and give you the supple, youthful pout you want. Don’t worry; we won’t over-inject and do the duck-lips thing. We like subtle, and we know a little bit of filler goes a long way to create a fresher, fuller look.
Vertical Lines
With our facial muscles constantly contracting, environmental factors such as sun exposure, and (ironically) sipping dehydrating beverages, vertical lip lines are par for the course. The onset of vertical lines usually occurs in our late twenties and deepens into our thirties. These lines may be tiny, but they can have a massive aging impact on our overall appearance.
You can always treat vertical lines at T/A using a hydrating dermal filler to enhance your pout and virtually erase any wrinkling. To treat vertical lines at home, use lip care such as serums or balms that deliver active anti-aging ingredients such as vitamin C, retinol, or hyaluronic acid.
Dry and Chapped Lips
With thinning lips often comes dryness and flaking. This is often exacerbated by unsuspecting habits like licking, biting, or picking at the lips. If you’ve been noticing excessive scaling or flaking of the lips, it could point to the loss of moisture as part of the aging process. Fine lines also tend to appear more prominently on dry or chapped lips, which is why you’ll want to replenish the loss of hydration to curtail any fine lines before they deepen.
Treat dryness or flaking at home by using a moisturizing lip balm, ideally with SPF protection and shea butter or natural oils. Natural oils offer deep, nourishing penetration and prevent moisture from escaping your lips. You can also use a lip scrub to exfoliate and buff away cracked patches to reveal smoother, hydrated lips underneath. And most importantly, don’t forget to stay hydrated!