Smoking and the Puckered Pout

So you smoked or are smoking and are noticing those little tiny lines above your lip. Some of the lines are the natural result of all those years of pursing those lips. However, the added pursing of the inhale, the heat and chemicals from the smoke take an additional, and in some cases dramatic, toll. The skin of the upper lip is 1/3rd as thin as the rest of the facial skin (excluding that around the eyes).

There are at least 12 "expression" muscles that are attached to the dermis are around the lips. Besides frying that upper lip drying it out and poisoning it; you've trained the muscles to contract further wrinkling and creasing the skin.

What to do? Things that can help from your esthetician:

• light microdermabrasion
• microcurrent
• hydrating treatments that include hyaluronic acid
• An SPF30 sunscreen with a physical block (zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide)
• a clear waxy lip liner can help to keep lipstick from bleeding up the creases

To just have the lip treated would run around $25 - $50 each treatment plus take home products to continue the treatment.

Things that can help for more severe cases:

• hyaluronic acid fillers (Restylane, Juvederm, etc.)

Dermal fillers run about $400 per treatment.