Lip Lines - An Ounce of Prevention
If you haven’t a single lip line, but a look at your mother and grandmother suggest they may be in your future, there are steps you can take now. Also, if you’ve taken dramatic steps to reduce the lines, now is the time to preserve progress.
As discussed in Lip Lines – Short Term Fixes, the lip area is drier, not nearly as populated with oil glands as the cheek/chin/forehead area. Dry skin is less responsive skin, meaning that damage (i.e. wrinkling) is more prone to occur. There is also a lot of movement in this area, and movement over time wears a path through collagen to form wrinkles.
Fortunately, science is starting to provide effective options in a bottle. Part of the ‘peptide revolution’ the cosmetic industry is currently rhapsodizing about includes acetyl hexapeptide-3, also known as argireline. This is a peptide that can wend its way down to the nerves in the skin, block their signals, and diminish movement in the area. It is not even close to Botox in terms of potency – and if it were it would probably be cleared off the shelves by the FDA – but it does help address micro-movement in the lip area. People who use Botox and also apply a lotion with argireline in it daily report that their Botox treatments last longer.
There are a lot of options out there – a quick search on argireline will prove the point – but when it comes to what are called ‘actives’, you want the vehicle (the medium it’s suspended in) to give it the best chance to penetrate. Lighter serums are the best bet – there’s little point in putting an active ingredient in a heavy emulsion that will barricade it from the skin.
I’d also use a moisturizer at least at night, and if you’re a drier skin type, during the day as well, and of course, sunscreen daily. The other essential is exfoliation – this can be achieved through any number of ways – chemically, by using an acid: lactic, glycolic, citric, retinoic; or by using a scrub (not all scrubs are created equal, but that’s a whole other article).
I usually recommend exfoliation at night, done before the application of your serum and moisturizing cream. There’s something about this area – a lot of women get a build up of thicker, leathery feeling skin and unless pared down a little through exfoliation it will be very difficult to get ingredients to penetrate. I never heard men complain much about lip lines, but then they either exfoliate that area daily through shaving, or have a moustache protecting it from sun damage.
If the exfoliating ingredient is in a lotion or cream (i.e. glycolic acid cream as opposed to a scrub), or if it is in a heavier cream, apply according to the Rule of Application.
I’ve recommended a three-step process here, not counting whatever cleansing routine you’re doing, and I know that drives some people nutty. The bare bones regime would be exfoliation (again, look at men’s upper lips) and sunscreen.
