Are smile lines wrinkles? What makes them deepen and appear more noticeable on some people’s faces more than others? What remedies will just reduce them, which ones will completely remove them? Find the answers to these questions and more in here.
A smile line is basically just that. A line that appears on the face when we smile. Typically, they run from the side of the nose to the corners of the mouth. You may also notice fine lines around the eyes when you smile. Yes, they come when you smile, but they are known as crow’s feet, and that is a story for another day.
As we go along, you may notice nasolabial fold, nasolabial line, and laugh lines scattered all over the place. Don’t worry; these are just other ways smile lines are referred to. Just swap them for in your head; it is the same thing really and will get us to the same destination we are aiming for, understanding the best treatment options for those deepening folds on your face.
But first, let us try understanding smile lines a little better.
What causes smile lines around mouth?
They are different from other lines on the face in that they do not always mean age. Laugh lines appear due to movement, repeated movement that is. Great talkers and smilers are more likely to have deep laugh lines than people who have little to say. This is how teenagers and people in their 20’s may have noticeable laugh lines but the skin on the rest of their face is smooth. Genes also have a lot to do with it, we inherit the patters of facial traits from our parents, so don’t be too quick to blame yourself while you can comfortably blame your parents.
It is also important to note that laugh lines are not always horrid, nor do you have to try fix any single line that appears on your face. Actually, they come off as cute in some instances and most people I know adore them. It is when they deepen and appear more like a fold than a cute bracket enclosing their smile that people feel the need to get rid of them.
Deeper more pronounced laugh lines that are apparent even when you are not smiling could point to the usual culprits in skin wrinkling. Age, damage from sun exposure and collagen and elasticity habits like smoking. With little elasticity, most skin on the face begins to sag and the cheeks fall.
When the cheeks fall, the nasolabial fold also collapses resulting in laugh lines.
You can prevent nasolabial lines from growing any deeper by practicing better skincare. Always use sunscreen and quit smoking. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants and minerals will also help stop laugh lines.
How to get rid of smile lines and Best Treatments
You will find a couple of treatments recommended for other wrinkles on the face mentioned here. However, it is important to note that the degree of success in removing your smile crinkles will depend on whether the method you settle on is the one rated most effective for your depth of wrinkles.
1. Smile line Fillers
Fillers can be acid or collagen based. Both are natural components in our skin connective tissue. They will basically work by plumping or boosting the skin around the laugh lines to diminish their appearance for a few months. Collagen-based dermal fillers are best for severe laugh lines. You may need to keep visiting your dermatologist every so often for booster shots. Some popular acid fillers for nasolabial lines include Perlane, Restylane and Juvederm. You will have to consult with your specialist for what is the best filler for you. Or even whether it is an option for you. While fillers get fantastic reviews for fixing lines and wrinkles, there are instances where fillers may not be the best treatment for laugh lines.
2. Botox
Using Botox to fix your smile lines might not be the best idea. The reason for this lies in how Botox injections work. The toxin goes in there and weakens the muscles making the skin appear smoother. This approach is risky if used on parts of the face below the eye and may leave one unable to properly move their face. Much as you hate your nasolabial lines, you still need movement in your face, or at the very least your mouth. You can go here to see more on why you are better off using a dermal filler than Botox on your laugh lines.
3. Fat injections
For this procedure, fat harvested from a suitable donor is injected to function as a filler. Fat injections can remove laugh lines from around your mouth.
4. Face lift to remove smile lines
A facelift is one of your options if you are looking to get rid of smile folds through surgery. Actually the facelift to eliminate laugh lines is specifically mid facelift. It works by pulling sagging skin on the cheeks back up lessening the laugh lines.
5.Cheek fillers for smile lines
These are different from the injectable fillers. It involves a surgical procedure to place implants in the cheeks to try and address the laugh lines. When done well, you will not only lose the laugh lines, but you will probably have the cheeks of your dreams, the contour nature denied you.
6. Excision
It is a surgical procedure where the laugh lines, the skin in the folds are completely cut out. This could easily be the best treatment for nasolabial folds for its thoroughness.
7. Topical creams
Not everyone is okay with surgery or getting needles poked in their face. That is why there are products that can be applied topically to correct smile lines. There are several creams and serums designed to address laugh lines. While they may not give results as fast as more aggressive method like plastic surgery, some products may be able to live up to their promises on the packaging. We cannot definitively say which is the best cream to remove laugh lines, but we can tell you how pick a product with the right ingredients. A good product or cream for wrinkles and laugh lines should contain one of the following
Silicone
It causes skin cells to attract water, makes skin appear plumper. Plumper skin equals less wrinkles. Silicone creams will fill in crevices and folds in the skin temporarily
Retinoids
It is basically Vitamin A and you want it in your cream because it stimulates collagen production
It also stimulates collagen production.
Peptide
Contained in newer cutting edge products. Peptides seem to be the ingredient of the moment as far as removing laugh lines goes.
Get rid of laugh lines naturally
It may not be instant, or as effective as say surgery. That does not mean there isn’t a home remedy or two out there that will work on laugh lines. Natural remedies are likely to have less adverse side effects and rarely cost much. With one of the following, you can reduce smile lines even on the tightest of budgets.
1. Face exercises
Face exercises promise a lot of change on the ellipses shaped furrow on your face. All you need, your face, a mirror a little information on to know the exact exercise and be consistent about it to get results. See a few facial exercises here recommended for nasolabial wrinkles.
2. Homemade masks
An all-natural beauty fix never hurt anyone so why not try a DIY mask to reduce the smile lines?
Egg white
Try applying some egg white on the tracks left by your laugh lines and wash off when dry. This mask will tighten the skin around your mouth minimizing your laugh lines and other wrinkles.
Coconut Oil
Show us a skin complain and we can bet coconut oil will be mentioned somewhere as a natural remedy for it. Nasolabial lines are no different. Massage some coconut oil on the laugh lines to make the lines less noticeable.
Avocado honey mask
These two also turn up a lot in homemade remedies for skin imperfections.For good reason too. Honey increases circulation while avocado moisturizes and plumps the skin. Throw in a little egg white to tighten the skin and you might have whipped up the best face mask ever for laugh lines.
3. Hide smile lines with make up
Here is a useful tip on applying to make up to cover your laugh lines. Your best bet for hiding laugh lines with makeup lies with primer. A good primer will fill in ridges on the skin ensuring a smooth base for the makeup. This will stop make up from falling through the creases on your skin highlighting them inadvertently.