Treatment Options for Smoker’s Lines
The lips are a prominent facial feature that commonly draw attention, for better or for worse. When the area around the lips develops wrinkles or lines, it can cause the lips themselves to appear thin or pursed. While age and genetics play a strong factor in such changes, smoking can also cause lines around the lips to develop and become more apparent over time.
To help you combat these changes and restore a look of beauty and vitality to your lower face, our San Antonio practice offers a wide range of non-surgical options. Specifically, dermal fillers and similar facial rejuvenation techniques are available to help you achieve fuller, smoother skin. Rather than let your history of smoking continue to negatively impact your appearance, why not take steps to restore your skin’s vitality?
Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers are a non-surgical skin rejuvenation treatment that utilizes a synthetic or natural compound. This compound is injected directly into the skin to fill out wrinkles, creases, and similar irregularities, creating a smoother and more uniform surface. Moreover, because treatment only comprises a few simple injections, patients can achieve results quickly and with little risk. With the right filler and treatment regimen, patients can dramatically reduce their smoker’s lines for months or years at a time. Some of the dermal fillers offered at our office include:
- Juvéderm®: This is one of the more popular and effective filler options, as it is composed of an acid found naturally within the body. Patients therefore require no allergy testing beforehand. With a few injections, you can expect the area around your lips to look younger, fuller, and more attractive immediately after treatment.
- Sculptura®: This filler is typically used for wrinkles and lines around the mouth, making it an excellent choice for patients looking to decrease smoker’s lines. It includes poly-L-lactic acid, which encourages collagen regeneration for long-term, natural looking results.
- Radiesse®: Like Sculptura®, Radiesse® uses a natural compound that promotes collagen growth, and most patients are able to undergo treatment with little to no risk. Injections can typically be completed in 15 minutes.
BOTOX® Cosmetic and XEOMIN®
Depending on the nature of your wrinkles, your doctor may recommend BOTOX® Cosmetic or XEOMIN® as an alternative or supplement to dermal fillers. Unlike fillers, these injectables do not simply take up space within the skin - they actively relax the surrounding muscles responsible for wrinkles.
When lines around the mouth are caused by smoking or age, it is often because the muscles in the area tighten over time, thereby pulling on the skin to create a characteristically uneven, wrinkled appearance. BOTOX® Cosmetic and similar treatments utilize a small, safe dosage of botulinum toxin, which temporarily paralyzes these muscles, releasing tension on the skin. When used in such areas, and especially when combined with other facial rejuvenation treatments, these injectables can help patients remove or reduce signs of aging and smoking.
Cosmetic Fat Injections
By taking a small amount of fat from elsewhere on a patient’s body and injecting it into the lips, a patient benefits from increased volume and plumpness of the lips. While this is typically done to improve the lips on their own, it can also achieve satisfying results when used in tandem with the abovementioned treatments. Dermal fillers or similar injectable treatments can help smoothen out the skin around the lips, while natural fat injections can further instill an appearance of youth and beauty to the patient’s lips themselves. Because this technique draws fat from the patient’s own body, however, the procedure is more invasive and requires additional steps beyond a simple injection. Speak with your doctor to find out exactly what such treatment entails and whether you may benefit from any of the above options.
Get Rid of Your Smoker’s Lines
Smoking can seemingly take control of a person’s life in so many ways; don’t let it also get the best of your appearance. Contact us to learn more about our multitude of facial rejuvenation treatments, and to schedule an initial appointment with Dr. Barone.