One of the features of facial aging that bothers women the most is the development of lines on the upper lip. Whether it’s small fine lines that meet at the junction of the skin and upper lip or much deeper lines that run vertically down to the skin…women hate them…as they indicate an older, more aged appearance to the mouth. in more severe cases. cases allow lipstick to spill into the lines. Many patients think it’s due to smoking and chronic sun exposure (and clearly these can make a big contribution), but the reality is…it’s a function of full lips and skin thickness.
That’s why this is a much bigger problem in Caucasians of English and Northern European descent than in African-Americans, Southern Europeans, or those of Mediterranean descent. As all natural wrinkles form perpendicular to the direction and action of the underlying muscles, vertical lip lines develop from the action of the circumferential orbicularis muscle pursing the mouth around a straw, cigarette, or purse. kiss.
Although the diagnosis of this problem is easy, its treatment is not. Since the cause of the lines (thickening of the skin or stopping mouth movement) cannot be cured, I tell patients to think about improvement (but not removal of upper lip lines) and the need for treatments maintenance since we are not curing. the root of the problem. Treatment options are based on three achievable goals; decrease muscle movement (Botox), plump the lips or fill in lip lines (injectable fillers), or ‘sand down’ wrinkles. (dermabrasion or laser resurfacing). Any combination of two or more of these will produce a better result in most patients. While Botox can certainly weaken muscle movement and cause fewer wrinkles, it must be done carefully so as not to create unnatural lip movement when smiling.
For this reason, this is often the last procedure I’ll do or I’ll do it alone in combination with everything else in the most severe cases. Injectable fillers are a good option if the patient can accept or wants a larger lip. If not, then dermabrasion or mid-depth laser resurfacing is the only other option. The best results I usually see are when the upper lip is slightly enhanced with a filler and then the upper lip is laser resurfaced to a depth of 50-100 microns.
This is probably the best combination if, again, the patient can accept a larger upper lip. It heals in a week and can be done in the office with local anesthesia. Typically, patients will need to repeat the procedure once a year to maintain good results. However, it’s fair to say that upper lip lines defy a single permanent fix.
