Do you know what a smoker’s lips are and how to get rid of smoker’s lips? If no then don’t fret! Read this article to know all about ugly looking smokers lips? These smokers’ lips are a condition where your lips and gums become slightly darker, and even vertical wrinkles are around your mouth. It takes month or years of smoking cigarette and other tobacco products for a smoker’s lips to occur. The best way to change the appearance of your lips is by quitting smoking or taking treatment.
Why is Smoking Bad for Your Lips?
Smoking is responsible for causing various types of oral cancer and periodontal disease. Apart from these health conditions, smoking can affect skin appearance, darken your lips and gums and causes skin around your mouth to sag and wrinkle. In simple words, we can say that nicotine present in smoking accelerates the ageing process, which is why wrinkles appear. In addition, nicotine shrinks the blood vessels and then reduces blood flow, which starves skin for oxygen and nutrients to remain supple and healthy. Reducing the blood flow and exposure to nicotine and tar can cause melanin in your lips and darken your gums, leading to the formation of uneven pigmentation. As a result, your lips may appear purple, blotchy, black or dark brown.
You must know that chemicals in the cigarette have a negative effect on your skin, and there are around 4000 chemicals present in the tobacco smoke. These harmful chemicals will damage the proteins named elastin and collagen, which maintain the elasticity and structure of your skin. With the absence of enough elastin and collagen, your skin fiber will weaken and causes wrinkles. In addition, while smoking, the repeated puckering of the lips and heat generated by cigarette burning will cause smokers’ lips.
Read related- What Causes Black Spots On Your Lips?
How To Fix Smokers Lips?
You can prevent damage to your lips and mouth by quitting smoking. Remember to drink lots of water, whether you smoke or not, to flush the harmful toxins from your system and protect your lips from sunlight.
Lip Darkening
Will my lips go back to normal after quitting smoking? Several treatments are available for hyperpigmentation that may help in returning your lips to their natural color.
Tips to Lighten Your Lips
- Exfoliation
Your lip skin is very delicate, and that is why it should be treated with care. For exfoliating your skin, you can either make a DIY exfoliator at home or purchase it from a store. You can gently massage the mixture of coarse salt or sugar with coconut or almond on your lips once a day. Try using a cloth dipped in oil or a soft bristle brush to exfoliate, and then after exfoliation, use a moisturizer or lip.
- Lip Mask
Lip masks are known for having lemon, turmeric, or lime juice that may help in lightening your lips. You can coat your lips with a combination of one or more of these ingredients with vitamin E oil or vitamin A for 15 minutes daily.
- Laser Treatment
Your dermatologist or plastic surgeon will use laser treatment by concentrating deep light pulses deep within your skin layer. This treatment can be used to restore your lip’s natural colour, removing excess melanin around your mouth. In addition, laser treatment can stimulate collagen production, erase vertical wrinkles, and target dark spots around your mouth.
Wrinkles
Lipstick lines or lip wrinkles are caused by smoking, and it can worsen by not getting enough sleep, sun exposure, drinking alcohol and eating a poor diet. However, you can reduce or eliminate the wrinkles around your mouth using the following smoker’s lips treatment.
Tips To Reduce Lip Wrinkles
- Moisturize and Hydrate Your Skin
Try to use a moisturizer that contains tretinoin, as it may help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines and build collagen around your mouth. In addition, use a daily moisturizer containing SPF that can help reduce exposure to UVA and UVB rays.
- Anti-Wrinkle Injections
Your dermatologist may suggest using an injected medication like Botox to smoothen your wrinkles and relaxing facial muscles.
- Acid Peels
A gentle type of alpha hydroxy acid or Mandelic acid derived from bitter almonds is best for peeling. You can either use at-home and professional versions of Mandelic acid and around your lip area to reduce wrinkles and fine lines and lighten the dark patches.
- Dermal Fillers
Thesefillers are known for containing hyaluronic acid, which is used to plump up the appearance of your lips by filling in fine lines and wrinkles around your mouth.
- Laser Resurfacing
It is even called lasabrasion or laser peeling that a dermatologist removes your skin’s uppermost, damaged layer. It can be done by injecting temporary fillers or fat grafting directly into the deep wrinkles.
Lip and Mouth Cancer
Smoking cigarettes and other types of tobacco increase the risk of oral cancer that can develop in the gums, lips, tongue and inside of your mouth. You can reduce the risk by quitting smoking.
To treat mouth or lip cancer, it is often required to remove the cancer cells and tumors that have spread to other parts of your body, mainly the neck. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgical reconstruction of your mouth are some other ways to treat oral cancer.
Smoker’s Lip Treatment Outlook
It can take a month or years of smoking to form a smoker’s lip. After that, your lips will start darkening and will have wrinkles even before you realize it. Multiple factors decide how much time a smoker’s lips take to develop, like your age, skin type, how long you have smoked and lifestyle habits.
At-home treatment is enough for improving faint wrinkling and mild hyperpigmentation, whereas immediate medical treatment is needed for deep wrinkling and pigmentation.
Key Takeaway
Smoking cigarettes is dangerous for your health, and it can cause various cosmetic health concerns like smokers’ lips. In this medical condition, there will be wrinkle and discoloration of your lips and mouths.
If thinking about how to get rid of smoker’s lips, you need to use at-home treatment for mild symptoms or consult Meddo dermatologist for severe condition.
