Rise of the Pack a Day Pout: Non-surgical treatment that claims to rectify years of lip damage from smoking soars by 78%
- Lines due to repetitive pursing of lips and can cause permanent creases
- Toxins in cigarettes weaken muscles around the mouth and cause grooves
- CACI launched £25 lip plumping treatment in response
Is your habit giving you wrinkles? The repetitive pursing of the lips can cause permanent creases and lines, and toxins found within cigarettes can weaken the muscles around the mouth, leading to an increase in women seeking non-surgical treatment
Yellow teeth, bad breath and lung disease are just some of the unwanted side effects of smoking but now female smokers are seeking surgery to help ease mouth wrinkles caused by the habit too.
With recent research revealing that a higher percentage of women are choosing to quit the habit altogether, one company has seen a surge in women seeking treatments to tackle what has been dubbed as the 'Pack a Day Pout' in a bid to rectify years of damage.
CACI, a company who provide non-surgical solutions, claims to have seen a 78 per cent increase in women looking for non-surgical treatments to help ease the lines that have appeared due to smoking.
Dean Nathanson, MD of CACI International, explains: 'The lines are due to the repetitive pursing of the lips and can cause permanent creases, and toxins found within cigarettes can weaken the muscles around the mouth - this encourages grooves to appear on the epidermis which can be really difficult to remove.'
In response to this increasing demand, CACI has launched the £25 Ultimate Lip Plump - a 20 minute non-surgical treatment that claims to work by utilising a combination of resurfacing techniques and patented 'wrinkle comb' technology.
This, combined with high frequency electrical stimulation and photo skin rejuvenation, claims to serve as a non-invasive alternative to dermal fillers.
The Pack A Day Pout is no new phenomenon and the cosmetic industry has been cashing in on the side effects of smoking for a while.
Speaking about the effects on the lips and possible treatments, Dr Mark Holmes from McIndoe Surgical Centre said: 'Smoking increases lines by reducing blood flow to the area, direct damage from the heat of the cigarette and repetitive pursing of the lips.
Before and after: CACI has launched the Ultimate Lip Plump - a 20 minute non-surgical treatment that claims to work by utilising a combination of skin resurfacing and patented wrinkle comb technology to beat the 'bar code' lines above the lips
'I use volbella. A soft dermal filler by Juvederm to break up these lines - what I refer to as "bar codes". Results last up to 12 months.'
Mr Brent Tanner, Consultant plastic surgeon who works out of the Spire Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital and Montefiore, Hove, added: 'The orbicularis oris muscle is a circular muscle around the mouth. When you smoke, suck, etc, it goes into activity.
Beat the lines: CACI's treatment uses high frequency electrical stimulation and photo skin rejuvenation, which claims to act as a non-invasive alternative to dermal fillers
'For people that smoke, this process is continually happening and so the skin above the muscle wrinkles, because all the little fibrous bands between the muscle and the skin are moving and the skin’s thickness, is thinned.
'Therefore, over the years, these wrinkles become very deep. If a person were to stop smoking these wrinkles would not get any worse and theoretically they might improve because the collagen in the skin can reform, however they are unlikely to completely go.'
Dr Vincent Wong added:
'Smoker's lines are very difficult to get rid of (especially when they are deep) and usually require multiple sessions and a combination of various treatments e.g. microneedling, Botox injections and strategic placement of dermal fillers.'
'Treatments for this area include Botox into the actual lip area to stop them moving - however the problem is that this could potentially cause a lop-sided smile,' said Mr Brent Tanner.
'Fillers can be injected into the wrinkles and if done appropriately they can work as they thicken the skin.
'Another option is deep peels, such as a CO2 laser and phenol peels. They "burn" the skin down to the level of the wrinkle and it then re-heals and regenerates more smoothly.
'However, this is quite an aggressive treatment and you have to be very careful to stay out of the sun until it has completely healed.'
WHY SMOKING CAN CAUSE LIP WRINKLES
Dr Raina Zarb Adami said:
1. The ageing process: as we age, loss of fat under the skin occurs. This usually acts as a strut and support to the overlying skin. The middle layer of skin (the dermis), due to cessation of production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, and the epidermis thins. These depletions result in a thinner skin on the upper lip which therefore wrinkles. Also, with age, the cutaneous (white) upper lip lengthens and the red (vermilion) lip shortens and inverts into the mouth, appearing thinner.
2. Repeated action of the muscle around the mouth (there is a muscle surrounding the mouth opening lying immediately under the skin of the red and white lips, called orbicular is oris) cuses these wrinkles to appear more (same as the wrinkles that appear not he forehead in people who frown a lot). Skin wrinkles always occur in a direction perpendicular to the underlying muscle fibres.
3. Smoking accelerates the ageing process due to direct deleterious affect on elastin and collagen and on the enzymes which break down these building blocks (matrix metalloproteinases)
NOW THERE'S EVEN A LIP GLOSS FOR BEATING AGEING LIPS!
Foundations with wrinkle-busting properties may have taken the beauty world by storm last year but this summer is all about lip glosses with anti-ageing benefits and the beauty maestros at NARS have the first offering.
With a new formulation, NARS Lip Glosses claims to contain nourishing ingredients that hydrate and smooth fine lines leaving lips soft and supple.
The addition of Sea Lavender claims to help protect against signs of ageing.
Scientific results have proven that Sea Lavender Peptides, which are rich in the potent antioxidant polyphenol, significantly limit the stress on the skin caused by harmful UVA rays and radiation.
With a new formulation, NARS £19.50 Lip Glosses claims to contain nourishing ingredients that hydrate and smooth fine lines leaving lips soft and supple
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