Those little lines above your lip used to disappear when you stopped pursing your mouth. Now a few stay put. If you wear lipstick, it may be finding them before you do.
Often called smoker's lines or lipstick lines, these wrinkles can appear even if you've never smoked. Filler supports the creases to make them shallower and less obvious.
Dr Alex will assess the lines and the support around your lip edge, then talk through how much smoothing is possible. The aim is to improve the skin around your mouth while keeping the lip shape you like.
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With Dr Alex, who teaches doctors, dentists and nurses across several dermal filler ranges.
The lines you've noticed
You like your lips. It's the lines around them.
The concern may be one or two obvious creases or a collection of fine wrinkles across the upper lip.
The lines stay when your mouth relaxes
Lipstick is settling into the creases
You want smoother skin, not bigger lips
The practical details
Lip-line filler at a glance
Treatment can address the individual lines and the support beneath the upper-lip skin. Dr Alex will explain which approach suits the creases you've noticed.
Smoother skin around your mouth
Soften the lines without chasing a bigger lip
Lip-line filler can reduce the depth and visibility of vertical wrinkles, making the skin above the lip look smoother.
Supporting the skin beneath the creases can make the upper-lip area look smoother and less wrinkled. Shallower lines may also give lipstick fewer creases to settle into.
Sometimes a little filler along the lip border or within the lip itself can help support the skin above it and soften the lines. The aim can be gentle reinforcement of the area, rather than a noticeable increase in lip size. Dr Alex will explain if he thinks this would improve your result.
Deeply etched wrinkles may not disappear completely with filler. Dr Alex will explain how much softening he expects and whether resurfacing would do more for the skin's surface.
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Choosing the treatment
Are the lines visible when your mouth is still?
Lines can come from repeated movement, changes in the skin or a combination of both. Dr Alex will look at your mouth at rest and as it moves.
Filler, Botox or laser?
The best choice depends on the line
Botox relaxes muscle movement that repeatedly creases the skin. Filler supports a crease with gel. Laser resurfacing treats the skin's surface and may be more useful for etched-in wrinkles.
You may benefit from a combination, but you don't need to work that out in advance. Dr Alex will explain which treatment is likely to make the difference you're hoping for.
How it works
Supporting the skin and softening individual creases
Dr Alex can add a thin layer of support beneath the upper-lip skin, treat individual lines directly, or use both approaches.
A fine, blunt-tipped tube called a cannula can place filler beneath the skin above your lip, adding a thin layer of support across the area. Alternatively, tiny droplets can be placed directly into individual creases to make them shallower.
Dr Alex uses a softer filler here to suit skin that moves when you speak, eat and smile. Where the lip edge has lost support, a little filler along the border or within the lip can also reinforce the area and help reduce the lines above it.
The choice depends on whether you have a few deeper lines, more widespread wrinkling or reduced support around the lip edge.
Your appointment
Let's look at the lines that bother you
You can point out a single crease or ask about the whole upper-lip area. Dr Alex will assess the skin and explain the improvement each option could offer.
Look at the lines together
Choose what you want to change
Numb and treat the area
Follow your aftercare advice
Why Dr Alex
Why choose Dr Alex for lip-line filler?
Dr Alex teaches doctors, dentists and nurses how to carry out dermal filler treatments and is currently a trainer for Evolus's Estyme filler range. He has also helped launch filler ranges in the UK, including Estyme and Aliaxin LV.
For lip lines, he'll assess both the creases and the support around your mouth. Treating individual lines, supporting the skin beneath them and reinforcing the lip edge can each contribute to the result. He'll explain which he recommends and how that fits with the lip shape you want to keep.
He also uses laser treatments for etched-in skin lines. If resurfacing is likely to give you a better result, he can explain that option at your consultation.
GMC-registered doctor · 7072776
Full Member of BCAM
International toxin trainer
Aesthetics Awards winner 2021
Side effects and suitability
What should you know before treatment?
Bruising is likely after treatment of upper-lip lines. The upper lip or lips can also be a little swollen for a couple of days, with tenderness or small injection marks. Bruising may take longer to fade.
Possible side effects
Possible problems include lumps, unevenness, infection, cold sore flare-ups and delayed inflammation. Adding too much filler can also create unwanted bulk above the lip.
Rarely, filler can block a blood vessel and damage skin or other tissue. Very rare complications include permanent sight loss. Seek prompt help for an unexpected change rather than waiting for a routine review.
When to get urgent help
Contact SONÜ immediately for unusual or worsening pain, or pale, dusky or mottled skin. If you can't reach the clinic, seek urgent medical care. A change in vision, sudden weakness or difficulty speaking needs emergency help - call 999 and tell them you've had filler.
When treatment needs to wait
An active cold sore, infection or inflamed skin around the mouth needs to settle first. Tell Dr Alex about pregnancy or breastfeeding, allergies, medicines and previous reactions to filler. Mention a history of cold sores even if you don't have one now.
You can discuss the options and take time to decide whether to go ahead.
Treatment pricing
How much does lip-line filler cost?
Treatment starts from £400 for the first 1 ml. We’ll agree the amount, areas and total cost with you before treatment.
Your questions
Questions about smoker's line filler
Including what it can do for the lines, and what it means for your lips.
Why are they called smoker's lines if I've never smoked?
Will this make my lips bigger?
Will it stop lipstick bleeding?
How long does lip-line filler last?
Would Botox work better?
When would laser be a better option?
Does the treatment hurt?
What if I get cold sores?
Can I return to my usual day?
Can I add a little more if some lines remain?
Other options
Treating the lips and the skin around them
Gentle lip filler or border support may help reinforce the upper-lip area as part of treating the lines. Lip-line Botox targets muscle movement, while CO2 laser resurfacing may help etched-in surface wrinkles. Dr Alex can explain which approach would add most to your result.
Your next step
Let's talk about those lip lines
Book a consultation with Dr Alex at SONÜ in Hale, Altrincham. He'll look at the lines you want softened and explain what filler could achieve, including whether a different treatment would give you a better result. You don't have to decide on bigger lips to ask about smoother skin.
SONÜ Medical Aesthetics
34 Hale Road, Hale, Altrincham, WA14 2EX
Doctor-led treatment in a relaxed, private clinic
Close to Hale station and easy to reach from Altrincham, Manchester and Cheshire