Upper Lip Lines or Lip Wrinkles – Causes, Removal and Treatment – Auckland NZ

Lip wrinkles begin as fine lines, only visible when pursing the lips, and over time can become visible at rest and cause lipstick to bleed up the line.

They tend to be more common in women than men as the dermis (the supporting structure of the skin) is thinner and therefore more prone to wrinkles, especially after menopause.

Ageing tends to cause volume loss at all levels of the face, from the surface of the skin right down to the bones. The skin becomes less elastic and dewy looking due to loss of collagen and elastin in its supporting dermis. The maxilla (upper jaw bone) shrinks too meaning there is less support to the tissues overlying it. Less support from beneath means more upper lip lines and thinner lips.

Repeated movement of our mouth facial muscles with eating, drinking and talking can contribute to the formation of upper lip lines.

Smoking is a double edged sword. The pursing action of the lips that is performed repeatedly while smoking, but perhaps more importantly the damage to the skin from smoking, contributes to upper lip lines. Even though they are called ‘smoker’s lines’, it is not uncommon to see upper lip wrinkles in people who have never smoked too.

Last but definitely not least is sun exposure. The more sun damage that you have experienced over your life, and the fairer your skin type, the more likely you are to experience upper lip wrinkles.

At our clinic in Auckland, NZ we offer several treatment options to address upper lip lines, and will help you select the treatment that is best suited to you. We may recommend one lip wrinkle treatment, or a combination of treatments for optimal results.

Our preferred treatments for upper lip line removal include:

Dermal Fillers for Upper Lip Lines

To address the volume loss described above, hyaluronic acid dermal fillers (lip fillers) can be injected beneath the fine lines and into surrounding structures including the lips, nasolabial folds and marionette lines, to provide support and hydration to the skin. 

Lip fillers will usually soften rather than completely eradicate upper lip lines so that the result looks natural. Our cosmetic medicine doctors and nurses are skilled at using dermal fillers for lip enhancement to achieve a softer, more youthful appearance, and avoid an over-plumped ‘monkey muzzle’ appearance.

ResurFX™ Laser Skin Resurfacing

This clever laser ‘resurfaces’ the skin, kicking off a healing response that stimulates collagen production and results in a smoother, more radiant skin. You can read more about ResurFX™ laser here.

Dermal Needling Using Dermapen

Dermapen dermal needling is a gentler version of the ResurFX™ laser. Instead of using a laser, the skin is damaged in a controlled way with very fine needles. Again, collagen production is stimulated, which over time leads to an improved texture to the skin. The benefit of dermapen is that it requires less down-time, but it will take more treatments than the ResurFX™ laser to attain the same results. 

Medical Grade Skincare

Our skin therapist can create a tailored plan of medical grade skincare with active ingredients that you can use at home to optimise the health and resilience of your skin. 

Some key ingredients that she will recommend are: 

• Vitamin A which speeds up skin cell turnover, improving pigmentation and skin texture
• Vitamin C to promote collagen growth
• A quality sunscreen to protect your skin from further sun damage

She may also prescribe medi-facials or chemical peels to optimise your desired results.