From the Mona Lisa to Angelina Jolie’s signature pout, the mouth has long been considered a symbol beauty. However, as the years go by, time takes its toll on the lips, and many people forget to include this area in their anti-aging strategy. Here are six major ways your lips change as you age and what you can do to start reversing the clock — or at least its effects.
1. Hydration
Hydration is one of the most important parts of keeping your skin looking its best, and this includes your lips. To combat dryness and keep lips well moisturized, look for lip balms and masks that are made from natural ingredients such as aloe vera, shea butter, beeswax and jojoba and coconut oils as products with alcohol or synthetic colors, fragrances and preservatives can actually make your lips even drier. Also, don’t forget to exfoliate your lips regularly to keep them smooth and ensure the product can get to the deeper layers of skin.
2. Fullness
Full lips are a quintessential symbol of youth, and celebrities sporting perfect pouts are all over every beauty magazine. As the years go by, your lips naturally lose fullness because of the decrease in collagen and hyaluronic acid production. While there are lip plumping products and glosses on the market, these are temporary and usually work via some kind of warming ingredient — such as cinnamon — which increases blood flow leading to short-term swelling. A better — and longer-lasting — way to regain the full, youthful look is with dermal fillers like JUVÉDERM VOLBELLA® XC. This product contains that hyaluronic your body used to produce in higher amounts so it boosts lip volume and can help reduce fine lines around the lips. It also has a soft consistency which gives you the results you want while keeping a natural-looking texture.
3. Tone
There are 43 muscles in your face, and just like in other parts of the body, muscle tone decreases with age. This can result in a loss of tone at the outer corners of the mouth and a droopy smile. A simple way to combat this is with facial exercises. Performing facial exercises for just a few minutes 2 to 3 times a day — maybe as part of your morning and bedtime routines — can help restore tone and give you an uplifted, brighter smile.
4. Definition
The part of your mouth that separates your darker lip color to the skin around it is called the vermilion border. When we’re younger, this line is sharp and creates a very contrasted definition between the lips and the skin around it. However, it fades
with time and leads to a lack of definition, which can be blurred even further when fine lines like smoker’s lines set in. Dermal fillers like Bellafill can help plump up the lips and create a sharper vermilion border again, and Restylane Refyne is ideal for diminishing the appearance of smoker’s lines and other fine lines around the mouth.
5. Volume
While this may seem similar to fullness, the appearance of volume in the lips is actually associated with the cupid’s bow. The cupid’s bow is usually more pronounced in youth, but with time, starts to sag. Creating definition in this area with lip liners and highlighters can help on a temporary basis, but a dermal filler like Restylane can deliver better, more natural-looking results that last longer — no makeup required.
6. Color
Having a vibrant lip color is associated with youth, which is why teens often only need a swipe of clear gloss to set off their lips. Lip color dulls with age but can be added back temporarily by any of the various lipsticks, glosses, tints and stains on the market. However, keep in mind that bold colors can actually age you even more. A soft rosy look from a pink or berry hue that closely matches your lip color from youth is the best bet.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can restore the full, defined appearance of your lips, contact Aponi Aesthetics today.
