Lips are one of the details in our face that stand out the most at first glance and are an undisputed symbol of sensuality: plump, full lips immediately catch the eye and make a face seductive.
They are, however, also an extremely delicate part that, more than others, suffers from the signs of time.
In fact, the lip contour area is one of those most affected by the appearance of first wrinkles.
Initially, around the age of 25-30, these expression lines form at the corners of the mouth and are related to the strain on the underlying muscles when we smile, for instance.
With advancing age, however, the furrows become permanent, compromising the aesthetics of the face.
A typical imperfection of the lip contour, linked not only to age but also, as we shall see, to bad habits, is the so-called ‘barcode’, i.e. unsightly vertical furrows that form above and below the lips and make a person look older.
The effect is the same as when whistling, or giving a kiss, or smoking a cigarette: the lips move forward and folds are created around them.
The problem is that, in this case, nose-labial wrinkles are permanent and regardless of the action performed.
A real discomfort for individuals, men and women alike, who find themselves bearing these marks on their faces that can make them appear older than the actually are.
What should you do about wrinkles on the lips?
In this article, we will examine what causes barcode lines, the best practices to slow down their appearance, and what is the best product to eliminate barcode lines on the lips.
In particular, we will look at the following:
Barcode lines on the lips: what are the causes?
In general, the physiological ageing process brings about changes at an organic level that have a decisive influence on the structure of the skin:
- It becomes less firm and compact
- It loses volume and elasticity
- It has to deal with deep facial wrinkles
This loss of structure is closely related to a decrease in the activity of the cells responsible for supporting the skin and providing it with the right level of moisture.
In particular, with age, the body’s natural production of collagen – the main protein of connective tissue, which plays a fundamental supporting and protective role, especially for the skin and cartilage – decreases.
Another key component for healthy and youthful skin is hyaluronic acid, a molecule that also occurs naturally in our bodies and is able to bind and retain a high amount of water, which is necessary to keep the tissues hydrated and to give firmness and plasticity to the skin.
Not only that: hyaluronic acid also stimulates fibroblasts to increase collagen production.
It is no coincidence that, as we shall see in a moment, precisely for the characteristics and properties of hyaluronic acid, this molecule, used in the form of fillers, is the best product for barcode lines on the lips.
The lower amount of these two substances is therefore decisive in the ageing of the skin and also in the formation of mouth wrinkles.
However, in the case of barcode lines on the lips, which, not surprisingly, are also called ‘smoker’s wrinkles’, bad lifestyle habits are also heavily responsible.
Indeed, barcode lines on the lips are imperfections due to the expression lines that form during the very act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, which, over time, become permanent.
Moreover, as is well known, the harmful substances present in smoke predispose more to ageing, because they increase the formation of free radicals that damage cells.
How to improve the lip contour? Natural remedies
We have seen how barcode lines on the lips are closely linked not only to the natural ageing process, but also and above all to the bad habit of smoking, which is, if not the only cause, certainly a decisive factor in anticipating and worsening the situation.
This type of lip wrinkle generally appears after the age of 45 and worsens dramatically from 50 onwards.
To avoid any false illusions, it is essential to know that eliminating lip wrinkles without resorting to specific treatments is impossible.
What one can and should certainly do to at least limit the extent of the problem is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. In particular:
- Do not smoke
- Limit alcohol consumption
- Follow a healthy diet rich in antioxidants (found, for example, in fruit and vegetables), vitamin A and C (essential for collagen formation) and omega-3 fats (found, for example, in fish and nuts)
- Protect against UV rays
- Drink plenty of water
- Take care of your skin, using specific, quality products to ensure proper hydration
We reiterate how adopting these good habits is important especially at a preventive level, but is not enough to solve the problem of wrinkles on the lips.
How to conceal wrinkles on the lips?
Hiding wrinkles on the lips is no easy matter.
For women, it may be relatively easier because of the possibility of resorting to make-up: concealers and foundations suitable for mature skin can help camouflage the blemish but, if the product formulation is not perfectly right or its application incorrect, it may further emphasise the problem.
What’s more, it is clear that this is still a temporary ‘solution’ and not a real remedy.
So, what is the solution to achieve visible, long-lasting and natural results at the same time?
For the effects of hyaluronic acid on the face this molecule, in the form of a filler, proves to be the best product for bar-coding on the lips. Let’s see why.
Eliminating barcode lines on the lips with hyaluronic acid
As we have already mentioned, hyaluronic acid (HA) is a molecule naturally present in our body, in the dermis of the skin, and plays the important role of moisturising tissues, as well as stimulating collagen production by fibroblasts.
With the physiological ageing process, the proportion of HA progressively decreases, the skin loses moisture, tone, elasticity, firmness and wrinkles and lip barcode lines form, especially in smokers.
Hyaluronic acid-based fillers are now increasingly used in aesthetic medicine, due to their extreme effectiveness, high tolerability and naturalness of the final result, in line with a new concept of beauty that repudiates the ‘plastic’ and ‘remade’ effect but aims, rather, at bringing out one’s best age.
HA, in the form of a transparent jelly, is injected through very thin needles into the dermis or subcutaneous tissue and, as the term itself suggests, it goes to ‘fill in’ the area affected by the blemish, in this case, the wrinkles on the lips.
While in the past hyaluronic acid was obtained from cockscombs, thanks to enormous advances in research, it is now produced industrially from bacterial cultures.
The best hyaluronic acid filler has chemical-physical characteristics identical to those of the molecule already present in our body and is therefore completely reabsorbable by the body.
Why is hyaluronic acid the best product for barcode lines?
We said that hyaluronic acid fillers are best products to eliminate barcode lines on the lips. But why?
- It is a non-invasive and virtually painless treatment
- It guarantees immediately visible and long lasting results (between 6 and 8 months)
- It is completely reabsorbable by the body
- It allows achieving absolutely natural results compared to other aesthetic medicine treatments, where the final effect is extremely artefactual
- It has a low risk of side effects
Regarding this last point, it is important to make a clarification: hyaluronic acid, by its nature, does not produce any side effects and is generally well tolerated, and this principle is also valid for fillers using this molecule.
What makes the difference is the quality of the product used and the way it is administered.
That is why it is essential, if one decides to use hyaluronic acid for mouth wrinkles, to turn only to doctors specialised in aesthetic medicine, who guarantee the use of the best injections and their correct application.
Not only that: the specialist will also choose the most suitable product for the specific imperfection to be corrected.
There are, in fact, variable density fillers depending on the part of the face to be treated and the problem to be solved. One speaks in this sense of different degrees of cross-linking.
The best product to remove the barcode lines from the lips, for instance, would be a hyaluronic acid filler specifically designed to exert a dual revitalising action, i.e. immediate and slow-release hydration on the one hand, and a volumetric and restructuring action on the other, filling in the wrinkles on the lips.
Barcode lines on the lips: what is the best product to remove them? Conclusions
We have seen how barcode lines on the lips are imperfections linked to the physiological advancement of age but also to bad habits, primarily smoking.
Correcting this problem is only possible by using the best product to eliminate barcode lines on the lips.
Hyaluronic acid fillers have the advantage of being a non-invasive treatment that guarantees immediately visible, natural, long-lasting results with no risk of side effects.
For this to be possible, however, it is necessary to turn exclusively to doctors specialised in aesthetic medicine who are able to choose hyaluronic acid filler specific to the area to be treated and the imperfection to be corrected.
Foliage is the result of 20 years' experience of Phitogen Beauty Labs - a leading group in the production of hyaluronic acid-based injectables. Foliage distributes a complete range of high-performing intradermal products.
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