The treatments on this page soften the lines around the mouth — also known as perioral lines or smokers lines. Our aim is a rejuvenated, refreshed appearance without any telltale signs of treatment.
Patients who come to Cheshire Lasers for this are usually over 40, and many are over 60. Smokers tend to get these lines earlier, but plenty of our patients have never smoked and still get them, because of their facial expressions or the anatomy of the skin in that area.
Dr Johnson has a special interest in treating this area and knows our full range of treatments and who is suitable for which. She will give you an honest consultation about your options, including doing nothing. The treatments are carried out by our doctors or by our highly skilled aestheticians, depending on what you need. If anything concerns you afterwards, we are contactable seven days a week.
Which Lip Line Treatment is the best for me?
It depends on what is causing your lines, which is why we start with a consultation rather than a treatment. Lines in this area come from three different places:
- Fine surface lines or changes in skin texture
- Deeper lines, caused by collagen and fat loss in the tissues supporting the skin, where the surface is still smooth
- Both together
Some people need only one method of treatment. Others need a combination, because the different layers of the skin have to be addressed separately.
We will be straight with you about what is achievable. The longer you have had lines around the mouth, and the more damaged the skin texture, the less effective the results will be and the more treatment you are likely to need. For severely damaged, deeply wrinkled skin this area is very difficult to manage.
At your consultation, Dr Johnson will assess whether the cause is volume loss, skin texture, or both. She will go through the treatments open to you, the costs, how effective each is, the risks and benefits, any downtime, and how to maintain your results afterwards.
A consultation with Dr Johnson is £50. The fee is redeemable against injectable treatments carried out by Dr Johnson, or device treatments carried out by our aestheticians at Cheshire Lasers, if you go ahead within six months.
Book a consultation with Dr Johnson
Treatments for Perioral Lines and Wrinkles
- Dermal fillers — support the skin and replace lost volume in the lip lines
- Botulinum toxin — softens the lip lines by reducing lip pursing
- Neogen Plasma — rejuvenates the supporting tissues under the skin as well as resurfacing the upper layers
- RadioFrequency Microneedling — an excellent dual treatment that can target different skin layers
- Ultraformer MF2 HIFU ultrasound — stimulates collagen and new cell turnover
- Radiofrequency — a gentler way to stimulate collagen and improve skin texture
- Microdermabrasion — improves superficial lip lines and skin texture
- Microneedling — improves skin texture and stimulates collagen to support deeper lip lines
What causes the lines and wrinkles in the Perioral area?
As we age, the mouth area develops lines and wrinkles and the lips begin to reduce in size. The skin, the supporting dermis and the fat underneath all go through changes that make those lines more obvious.
Women tend to age more in this area than men, because over time they lose almost all of the fat in the perioral area. This fat acts like a mattress under the skin and gives a plumping effect. As the fat goes, the skin is then sat on the muscle, which means the dynamic lines of movement are visible. Facial expressions such as pursing the lips cause those dynamic lines.
What are smokers lines, and do you have to be a smoker to get them?
Smokers lines are the fine vertical lines that form on the upper lip and around the mouth. They are called smokers lines because the repeated pursing action of smoking tends to bring them on earlier.
You do not have to be a smoker to get them. We see them just as often in people who have never smoked, where they come from ordinary facial expressions, from the loss of fat and collagen that supports the skin, or simply from the anatomy of the skin in that area.
Women tend to age in this area more than men, as over time, they tend to lose all of the fat in the perioral area with age. This fat acts like a mattress under the skin and gives a plumping effect. As the fat goes, the skin is then sat on the muscle, which means the dynamic lines of movement are visible.
Facial expressions such as pursing the lips cause dynamic lines. These lines are usually more obvious in people who smoke; however, they are often seen in non-smokers who have the habit of repeatedly using their muscles for their facial expressions.
You can view more details about the changes that cause wrinkles here.
Lip Rejuvenation with Dermal Fillers
Dr Teri Johnson specialises in “Dermal Filler Lip Rejuvenation” a treatment that gently restores ageing lips and improves the perioral area.
Dermal fillers are one of the most effective treatments for more significant volume loss in the perioral area. The use of Dermal Fillers helps to subtly replace lost volume and hydration in the lips. Dermal Fillers also reduce the perioral lines (smokers lines) that develop due to fat loss and collagen loss. The filler plumps out this area so the skin has a soft support structure to sit on, this way the lines from the movement of the muscles underneath are no longer visible.
Dr Teri has spent many years perfecting using different Dermal Fillers to suit different people’s needs.
Learn more about lip rejuvenation with Dermal Fillers with Dr Teri Johnson here.
Botulinum Toxin to Reduce Dynamic Lip Lines
Treating the perioral area with Botox reduces the movement of the orbicularis oris muscle. This treatment is usually reserved for people who overuse these muscles and often hold a pursed-lip expression when relaxed.
If a Botox treatment is overdone in this area, it can lead to problems with speech, eating etc. When performed correctly, this usually does not happen. However, it is common to be aware of slight mouth weakness for a day or two when the Botox first kicks in.
This treatment can be performed in combination with a Dermal Filler treatment. However, the two procedures are best performed a few weeks apart.
Find out more about Botox Lip treatment here.
Neogen Plasma Treatment
The Neogen treatment provides excellent results rejuvenating this area. It targets the deeper supporting tissues, stimulating collagen and improving the deeper lines in the lower skin layers while also targeting the upper layer, reducing the surface fine lines and texture.
RadioFrequency Microneedling
At Cheshire Lasers, we use Dermaforce to deliver RadioFrequency (RF) Microneedling. This advanced treatment combines microneedling with Radiofrequency (RF) technology to effectively treat many cosmetic concerns, with excellent results. It can target multiple layers deeper in the dermis to stimulate collagen to reduce and support deeper lip lines. It also can target more superficial skin cells to resurface the skin and target stubborn lines engrained in the skin’s surface.
Ultraformer MF2 Ultrasound Treatments for Lip Lines
Our Ultraformer MF2 treatment is an alternative to injectable treatments for replacing lost volume under the skin with collagen. The ultrasound causes controlled heating in the dermis and stimulates collagen production, which develops over a few months. The plumping effect under the skin reduces the appearance of wrinkles after a course of treatments. The result with this treatment varies as everyone’s collagen production is different.
A second headpiece can be used during this treatment to address the epidermis (the top layer of skin) to help stimulate increased cell turnover. We tend to use this for those people suffering from thickened lines on the top layer of skin (the stratum corneum).
Radiofrequency
Radiofrequency is an alternative to our Ultraformer treatment. It is less aggressive and less uncomfortable; many people report that it is a pleasant, relaxing experience. A course of 6 to 8 treatments is often required for optimum results.
This treatment stimulates collagen under the skin for a plumping effect but also helps fine lines in the top layer by stimulating cell renewal. Again, results with this treatment vary as everyone’s collagen production is different.
Microdermabrasion to improve Lip Lines due to skin texture
Microdermabrasion works on the top layer of skin (stratum corneum) by exfoliating the dead cells on the top layer, which are often dull, dried out and creased. The treatment encourages faster cell turnover and allows new, less creased and less dehydrated cells to replace them on the surface. We recommend a course of at least three treatments to see the benefits.
This treatment works well on thicker skin types.
Microneedling
Microneedling works on the top layer to stimulate cell renewal, improving skin texture. It also works in the dermis to stimulate collagen and plump out the dermis under the skin.
This treatment has more downtime than most of the others.
Costs for this treatment are similar if treating one area or the full face, so we usually recommend a full-face rejuvenation for cost-effectiveness.
Perioral Lines Before and After a Combination Treatment
At Cheshire Lasers, we regularly review our treatments, protocols, and client results.
We now combine microdermabrasion and radiofrequency to give lovely lip line improvements with minimal discomfort and no downtime.
Tags: lip lines