Let’s talk “smokers” lines!

“I have these smokers lines, even though I have never smoked” is something I hear from the mouths of my patients week after week. They’re termed “smokers” lines because of the action of pursing your lips when you smoke, making the lines more prominent. But in fact, most of us develop these so called “smokers” lines just from day to day things such as kissing, pouting and sucking from a straw.

“Smokers” lines can vary widely in their severity; from the very fine, to the very deep. Just like with most lines on our face, the severity is often dependant on the amount of movement in that area, contributing to the line, but it also has a lot to do with genetics.

It is an area that those who suffer can really start to hate. The lines can often make the area between the nose and upper lip appear longer and the “smokers” lines can sometimes cross into the lip border leading to “bleeding” of lipstick and lip liner.

So, what can be done to help?

This is an area where we can use botox of filler, or a sometimes a combination of both.

Do these techniques work and can they cause problems?

Botox

When botox is used in this area, it is used very superficially along the lip border. The aim is to weaken the fibres of the Obicularis Oris muscle that runs in a circular pattern around the mouth. By weakening this muscle, the lips cannot purse as much, and therefore the lines caused by this pursing are softer. It is important, however, to tread with caution in this area. The aim is to weaken the muscle fibres, NOT paralyse them. If too much botox is injected, and the muscle becomes paralysed, the patient will not be able to do things discussed above such as drink from a straw and purse their lips properly to kiss or pout.

Filler

The other option for this area is dermal filler. Filler is placed into the heavier lines to try to soften them. The upper lip area is an area we have to be careful not to over volumise as this can in fact make the patient look worse, rather than better (think Homer Simpson).

For this reason, it is important that we are aiming to “soften” the lines and not get rid of them totally. We use a nice soft pliable filler in this area, to make sure the overall effect is natural, and no lumpiness occurs.

Botox & filler

For some patients, a combination approach of botox and filler can be used. In this instance, we would always do the botox injections first, and then if necessary, do the filler injections after two weeks, so that we can assess the effects of the botox first.