Smoker’s Lines

Smoker’s Lines are straight lines on the upper lip (can also be on the lower lip), going from the end of the lip and towards the nose (or toward the chin for those on the lower lip). The lines are normally slightly tilted outwards.

These lines, as most other facial lines, are caused predominantly by muscle movement.

In the case of Smoker’s Lines, they are caused by the repeated puckering of the lips, or by the mouth forming a small open circle.

They are called Smoker’s Lines because smokers use the lips to grip around the cigarettes to keep them in the mouth. They are therefore very common among smokers.

When this mouth movement is made repeatedly, lines will start to form. If done very frequently, these lines will remain even after the movement is no longer made.

However, Smoker’s Lines also appear in non-smokers. Other people who make these movements frequently can also develop Smoker’s Lines.

In addition, as we age, we tend to loose collagen and elastin in our skin. With the loss collagen and elastin, our skin normally loses its elasticity and plumpness.

While the lines are formed mainly by muscle contractions in the muscles around the mouth, excessive sunlight can speed up the process of the formation of Smoker’s Lines.

That is because the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight can destroy collagen and elastin in the skin. The result is loss of vitality and plumpness.

Smoking, in addition to causing these lines and wrinkles by the way the lips grip around the cigarettes, also contains several toxins that can degrade cells and cell formation. Which can lead to further wrinkles.

The same goes for many forms of substance abuse and for air pollution.

Also, an unhealthy lifestyle, such as an unhealthy diet, can exacerbate line and wrinkle formation. If the skin cells don’t have the right building blocks for repairing damaged skin and also for creating new skin, the quality of the overall skin is likely to be in inferior condition. 

Smoker’s Lines are normally best treated with laser resurfacing. If the lines are minor, a non-ablative laser resurfacing will normally produce good results.

This laser penetrates your skin a damages collagen. By doing so, it encourages collagen to rebuild and become stronger than before.

If the Smoker’s Lines are deep, one can expect better results with an ablative laser. This laser treatment burns and removes the outer layers of aged or damaged skin.

By doing this, it creates controlled wounds on the skin, which prompts the skin to heal itself by creating new cells. This treatment however, requires some downtime.

To learn more about laser resurfacing on Treatmywrinkles, please go here.

For severe Smoker’s Lines, laser treatment can be combined with a dermal filler for better results. The dermal filler will add volume to the skin below the lines. This will push up and stretch the skin above the injection, and hence smooth out the lines.

Botox is not recommended in this area as partly disabling the ability of the lips to move can impact speech and can cause drooling.