Life is a lot more fun when you choose to laugh and smile often. Remaining positive and not taking yourself – or life – too seriously lowers blood pressure, improves mood, and a host of other health benefits. In spite of this, years of turning your lips upward to laugh or smile can leave you with laugh lines, also known as “marionette lines.”
Marionette lines start at the corners of your mouth and end at your chin. In rare cases, these lines can move upwards towards the nose. They are named after the classic marionette puppets that have a mouth separate from all of the other features of the face.
How Do Laugh Lines Develop?
As we get older, our bodies produce less collagen, including the area around the mouth. After stretching upwards for many years, the skin around your mouth eventually breaks down and forms laugh lines.
Another cause of laugh lines is that fatty deposits in that area of the face decrease in a process known as lipoatrophy. This causes your skin to begin sagging and the early formation of laugh lines. You may have also inherited a tendency for deep laugh lines even when you don’t have any other wrinkles on your face.
Certain lifestyle factors also affect the development of laugh lines. Smoking and excess sun exposure slow the process of collagen production to the point where you can age prematurely. An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise are additional factors that can produce these unwanted lines. Adequate vitamin and nutrient intake keeps your skin healthy while exercising detoxes your body through sweating.
Can Laugh Lines Be Eliminated?
Avoiding the lifestyle habits mentioned above is the best way to slow the progression of laugh line development. A nightly skin care routine that includes a moisturizing product is also helpful. Once you have the laugh lines, your focus needs to shift from prevention to treatment. Some of the professional treatments you may wish to consider include:
- PicoSure Laser Therapy: PicoSure treats a number of skin conditions in one or more quick outpatient sessions, including wrinkling caused by laugh lines. The infrared light energy from the laser reaches your skin’s deepest layers to stimulate collagen production and give your face a younger, fuller appearance.
- Dermal Fillers: The muscles in your skin start working closer to your face as part of the natural aging process. This causes you to lose plumpness and look older. Dermal fillers restore fullness and decrease the lines around your mouth. Some of the most popular types include Belotero Balance, Radiesse, Restylane, and Sculpta.
- Chemical Peels: With this procedure, your dermatologist applies a chemical solution to your face and allows it to sit for a specified time. When it’s time to remove the chemicals, your dead skin sloughs off and then begins to peel. The skin underneath is free from wrinkling around your mouth and looks younger and healthier in general.
Eliminating your laugh lines is simple and causes only brief, minimal discomfort, if any at all. When you think about it, it’s a small price to pay for not having to go expressionless for the rest of your life.
At Dermatology Associates, we have these technologies and many others that we use to help you put your best face forward. If you’d like to know how innovative skin care treatments can help you look and feel your best, just click here to schedule a free consultation.
Dermatology Associates offers a full spectrum of leading edge medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology services from offices in Savannah and Vidalia.
