Can Botox Reduce Wrinkles Around Lips?

As we age, the lips go through many changes.  Some of these are rather easy to treat.  Take, for example, the dryness that makes lips look thinner.  Aging skin produces less oil, and since lips don’t have an epidermal layer that produces most oil, this is especially true.  Keeping lips moisturized with a balm or rejuvenating gloss is an easy fix for the flakiness that can make lips appear wrinkled.  But what about, the lines that begin to set in around the lips?  These require more intensive procedures to treat.

When the lips are neglected, they show one’s age even if anti-aging is addressed on other parts of the face. They also tend to be an area that we don’t pay attention to until it is too late.  Since lines around the mouth are caused by normal activities like eating, laughing, and talking, they are virtually unavoidable, and new lines are created all the time.  As with other parts of the face, sun exposure is another factor that contributes to the weakening of collagen and the appearance of fine lines.  If you have ever smoked, you will find that this activity is a major contributor to development of lip lines as well.

Botox is aimed at temporarily reducing the muscle activity beneath the skin surface in areas like crow’s feet and forehead frown lines. When considering a treatment that will address the fine lines around the mouth, Botox might come to mind, especially since it can address movements that lead to further wrinkling, but it is not the treatment most physicians would recommend.  Since Botox injections will interfere with movement of the lips, the result will not be normal and natural.  There are, however, other treatments that can effectively address concerns about aging on this part of the face.

One of the best ways to address lip lines is laser resurfacing.  Through this technique, concentrated pulsating beams of light are directed at the skin, which is removed layer by layer with precision.  Erbium laser resurfacing removes superficial and moderately deep wrinkles.  As it involves minimal burning of the surrounding tissue, it causes less swelling and bruising and involves a recovery period of around week.  For deeper wrinkles, CO2 lasers are generally used, and these are associated with a recovery period of about two weeks.  As an alternative to traditional resurfacing, physicians also may recommend a series of nonablative laser treatments.  While multiple treatments are required to see improvement with this method, there are decreased risks and recovery time as they create microscopic wounds that do not affect the surrounding skin tissue.   They may be the best option for those who do not want to commit to longer recovery times.

Of course a great skincare routine and prevention is recommended to try to prevent fine lines around the lips in the first place, but sometimes this is not enough to combat the inevitable signs of aging.  Another treatment option is to use hyaluronic fillers such as Juvederm that will plump up the skin and reduce the appearance of lines.  As hyaluronic acid is a substance that occurs naturally in the body, you will not need to undergo any special testing prior to injection, and it is highly effective at hydrating the skin and increasing its volume.

Through consultation with your physician, you will best be able to determine which treatment option is best to address your particular concerns.  While you may have thought Botox would be the best way to treat fine lines around the lips, other options such as laser resurfacing and fillers are generally preferred ways to deal with aging on this part of the face.

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