How to Remove Smile Lines: Five Techniques for Smoothing Out the Area Around Your Mouth

If you want your skin to look smooth and wrinkle-free, you should try to avoid getting laugh lines. In order to get a comprehensive understanding of laugh lines, we consulted dermatologists Cindy Yoon-Soon Bae and Morgan Rabach, a plastic surgeon named Dr. David Shafer, and an aesthetician named Yolanda Mata. Here is a breakdown of everything we learned from these professionals: Is laughter the actual cause of their formation? How can one get rid of the lines caused by laughing?

What exactly are these laugh lines? What exactly results in them

The vertical lines that start at the sides of the nose, curve around the mouth, and sometimes extend all the way down to the chin are known as laugh lines. These lines are extremely prevalent throughout the population, so you're not the only one who has them. According to Shafer, there are two different variations of laugh lines: the nasolabial crease and the nasolabial fold. He explains that the fold is the skin or tissue that hangs over the nasolabial crease, which is the line that can be seen between the upper lip and the cheek. He also says that the nasolabial crease is the line that runs vertically between the two. Both types emerge over time as a result of natural aging and other aspects of lifestyle.

"If you look back in your high school yearbook, probably half the people have a nasolabial crease—so it is not necessarily a sign of aging," says Shafer. "If you look back in your high school yearbook, probably half the people have a nasolabial crease." "People develop deeper creases with age, weight gain, and with recession of the dentition or dental problems; the teeth are no longer supporting the overlying tissue, which makes the crease deeper." "People develop deeper creases with age, weight gain, and with dental problems; the teeth are no longer supporting the overlying tissue." ”

Whether they are dynamic wrinkles, which are wrinkles that appear when your face moves, or static wrinkles, which remain even when your face isn't moving, will determine the type of treatment that will be most effective in reducing their appearance. "We want to prevent the static wrinkles because they can become more difficult to treat over time," says Bae. "We want to prevent the static wrinkles because..." "Wrinkles that appear when you are laughing are known as dynamic wrinkles, while wrinkles that are present even when you aren't laughing are known as static wrinkles." They are not uncommon because the muscles that surround our eyes and lips are constantly being used by humans in activities such as blinking, smiling, animating, and other similar activities. ”

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The three doctors all agree that fillers are the most common treatment for laugh lines around the mouth, but Shafer stresses the importance of finding a board-certified expert who is familiar with the subtleties of facial anatomy. "If too much filler is placed in the wrinkle, you may be very smooth, but you may also look puffy—this can look odd around the mouth," he says. "If too much filler is placed in the wrinkle, you may be very smooth, but you may also look puffy." "Because of this, my approach is more traditional." It's possible that we'll just administer one syringe, wait a few days to see how the patient reacts to it, and then make a decision about whether or not to continue treatment after that. ”

Fillers are to Rabach's liking because the results of line-plumping can be seen almost immediately. "Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring sugar molecule that is found underneath the skin," she says. "Fillers are made up of hyaluronic acid." "The improvement with fillers can be seen almost immediately, in contrast to Botox, which takes about a week to start working." ”

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The only part of our face that moves when we smile or laugh is our mouth, but our eyes and cheeks also move. When we move those muscles, our eyes become more animated, and wrinkles begin to form. The three doctors unanimously recommend getting Botox injections in order to smooth out the laugh lines that have begun to appear near our eyes. According to Bae, "in the long run, it's like unwrinkling a piece of paper that's been crumpled," When applied to other areas of the face, this treatment employs the exact same mode of action. ”

According to Rabach, the most common areas of her face where Botox is applied are in the middle of the forehead, between the eyebrows, and around the eyes. After one week, you should begin to notice the results, and the smoothing effect should continue for approximately three to six months, depending on how quickly your body metabolizes the Botox.

Can Laugh Lines Be Repaired Without the Use of Needles?

Even though exfoliation does not directly lessen the visibility of laugh lines, it does help smooth the skin overall. Exfoliating your skin on a daily basis with a cleanser that contains physical or chemical exfoliants or any topical product that contains alpha hydroxy acids is highly recommended by Bae. Shafer is of the same opinion, and he recommends products such as the Skinbetter AlphaRet Exfoliating Peel Pads. These pads contain glycolic acid, lactic acid, and salicylic acid.

Reacquainting yourself with your facial muscles is something that is recommended by Mata, a Tatcha ambassador who is known for her YoliGlo facial and lymphatic massage. Just keep in mind to use plenty of product so that you don't needlessly stretch out your skin. "You never want to massage the skin down if you want to lift the face," she says. "You always want to massage the skin up." "[A] massage technique I love to use around the mouth and jaw is making fists with both hands, placing them at the corners of each side of the mouth, and then gliding them upwards with moderate pressure along the cheekbones until you reach your temples. This is one of my favorite ways to massage the area around the mouth and jaw. Not only will it help lift your mouth, but it will also help lift your cheeks, and the pressure that is applied to your temples will help with any headaches or stress that you might be holding in your face. "

Be aware that massage and exfoliation are holistic approaches that can perk up your face overall, as opposed to quickly targeting specific lines. "No matter what technique you use, the lines won't go away completely because they are your emotion lines," Mata says. "However, consistent massage will help keep your skin and facial muscles taut," she adds.

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You can also lessen the visibility of laugh lines by incorporating specific skincare products into your routine. You should look for products that contain ingredients such as retinol or vitamin C that stimulate the production of collagen. Both the SkinMedica TNS Essential Serum and the Senté Dermal Repair Cream are recommended by Shafer because they work at the cellular level to stimulate collagen production and dermal repair within the skin. Retinoids, according to Bae, should be considered in order to help prevent the formation of laugh lines around the eyes.

If you do have skin that is too sensitive for retinol, which can be common around the mouth, there are alternatives available to you; Mata compares it to the sensitive eye area. She explains, "Look for gentler retinol alternatives (such as lactic acid)," which will exfoliate without causing redness or sensitivity. "Look for retinol alternatives that contain lactic acid." Additionally, using a sun protection factor (SPF) product on a daily basis, be it chemical or physical, will help prevent sun damage. "

Which Aspects of Your Lifestyle Are Responsible for Laugh Lines?

Making relatively insignificant adjustments to the way you go about your daily life can have a significant impact on the rate at which deep wrinkles appear on your face. In order to maintain healthy skin, Rabach recommends beginning with healthy routines such as getting an adequate amount of sleep each night, drinking alcohol in moderation, and drinking plenty of water. Bae emphasizes the significance of daily sun protection by applying sunscreen. She says that using sunscreen every day can help preserve your natural collagen and help prevent lines from becoming more pronounced.

Last but not least, each of the three physicians believes that smoking is one of the external factors that contributes to the development of laugh lines around the mouth. Take this as yet another argument in favor of kicking the habit of smoking cigarettes and using a JUUL for the sake of your overall health.

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Audrey Noble

Contributor to the Charm

Freelance writer and reporter Audrey Noble is a member of the She is a writer who specializes in celebrity profiles and in-depth articles about the ways in which the beauty industry is influenced by societal issues such as race, gender, sexuality, and other forms of identity. Her prior experience includes editorial positions at Vanity Fair, Refinery29, and Allure, among other publications. Her work has also been published in Vogue, Harper's BAZAAR, Bustle, HelloGiggles, and a number of other online and print publications. You can follow her on Twitter if you'd like to keep up with what she's doing.