Lip Lines
The fine vertical lines above the lip, the ones that catch lipstick and show in low light, carry a smoking nickname that most people who have them never earned. Repeated pursing, thin skin and a little lost lip volume do most of the work, and a combined plan at our Berkhamsted clinic softens them substantially.
At a glance
- Causes Repeated pursing, sun damage, volume loss, smoking
- Clinic Regents Park Aesthetics Berkhamsted
- Course Usually combined treatments
- Results 2 weeks to 3 months
What it is and why it happens
The vertical lines above the upper lip have a nickname that blames smoking, and the majority of people who have them have never smoked. We use the clinical description for exactly that reason.
Several things create them together. The orbicularis oris muscle purses constantly, through speaking, drinking and expression, and folds the skin above the lip in the same places every time. That skin is thin, has few oil glands, and takes sun from below via light reflected off the lip and chin that the rest of the face is shaded from. As the lip loses a little volume it rolls inward, which shortens the distance and deepens the creasing. Smoking accelerates all of it, through both the pursing and the collagen damage, as a contributor rather than the cause.
These are lines that reward a layered plan. Relaxing the muscle softens the movement half, rebuilding the skin softens the etched half, and the realistic goal is substantial softening, which in the mirror and in your lipstick is a very noticeable change.
Treatments that address it
| Anti-Wrinkle Injections A very small, carefully placed amount that softens how forcefully the lip purses, dosed with real precision so your speech, your sip and your smile stay exactly yours. From £180. | Skin Boosters and Polynucleotides Thicken and hydrate the thin skin the lines sit in, the half of the job that muscle relaxation leaves for someone else. From £320. | SkinPen Microneedling Rebuilds collagen through the creased area across a course. Suitable for most skin tones after a skin check, with a day of pinkness. From £250. | Exion Clear Radiofrequency resurfacing for the deepest etched lines around the mouth. Suitable for most skin types after a skin check, with around a day of redness. Three sessions four to six weeks apart. From £400. | |
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| £180 | £320 | £250 | £400 | |
| Explore Anti-Wrinkle Injections | Explore Skin Boosters and Polynucleotides | Explore SkinPen Microneedling | Explore Exion Clear |
- £180
- £320
- £250
- £400
Compared side by side
How we assess and treat
We watch you purse and speak. The lines that appear on movement and the lines etched at rest need different halves of the plan, and seeing both tells us where to start.
We look at lip volume, because a lip that has rolled inward is part of the mechanism and restoring a little lifts the lines indirectly. We assess skin thickness and sun damage above the lip, which is usually more than people expect because of that reflected light from below.
Dosing anti-wrinkle treatment here is a precision job. A very small, carefully placed amount softens the purse while your speech, your sip from a cup and the shape of your smile stay exactly yours, and we review at two weeks to fine-tune. Skin boosters, microneedling or Exion Clear resurfacing then rebuild the skin the lines sit in. Prescription-only medicines are only considered after a face-to-face consultation with a prescriber.
Your clinician covers suitability, timing and aftercare at your consultation, and the team is a phone call away afterwards.
Can you treat it at home?
Sunscreen on and above the lip, which almost nobody applies and which matters more here than almost anywhere because of reflected light from below. A lip balm with SPF is the single easiest habit to add.
Retinoids used consistently thicken the skin and improve fine etched lines over months. The area is sensitive, so introduce them slowly.
Stopping smoking helps both mechanisms, the pursing and the collagen damage. Drinking from a glass rather than through a straw makes a marginal difference over years, the sort of advice that is true and rarely changes much.
Home care improves the skin the line sits in and slows new ones forming. The crease itself needs something that reaches the dermis, and that is where our Berkhamsted clinic comes in.
Related concerns
Meet our team of experts
Kay Greveson, our founder and advanced nurse prescriber, or Dr Grace Adamson, who is in Berkhamsted every Thursday, assess lip lines at the clinic, with Anna Stenekova and the skin therapists taking on the microneedling and Exion sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not usually. Most people who have them never smoked. Repeated pursing, thin skin, sun exposure and lip volume loss do most of it, and smoking simply accelerates all of them.
Usually a combination. A very small amount of anti-wrinkle treatment to soften the pursing, plus skin boosters or microneedling to rebuild the skin. Deep etched lines get Exion Clear resurfacing at our Berkhamsted clinic.
Substantial softening, which in the mirror and in your lipstick is a very noticeable change. The movement half improves within two weeks and the skin half keeps building across the course.
Anti-wrinkle treatment from £180, skin boosters from £320, microneedling from £250 and Exion Clear from £400 at our Berkhamsted clinic. Most plans combine two.
With small, carefully placed doses. Your speech, your sip from a cup and the shape of your smile matter more than any line, so we dose with precision and review at two weeks.
Indirectly, and often beautifully. Restoring a little lip volume re-tensions the area and lifts the lines, which does far more than placing filler into the lines themselves.
Yes, across a course, and it suits most skin tones after a skin check. It rebuilds collagen through the creased skin, with about a day of pinkness.
Two weeks for the muscle component, six weeks to three months for the skin rebuilding.
They hydrate temporarily, which softens the appearance for an hour or two. For structural change the treatment needs to reach the dermis.
Your clinician covers suitability, timing and aftercare at your consultation, and the team is a phone call away afterwards. Prescription-only medicines are only considered after a face-to-face consultation with a prescriber.
Kay Greveson, our founder and advanced nurse prescriber, or Dr Grace Adamson, who is in Berkhamsted every Thursday, for the injectable part of the plan, with Anna Stenekova and the skin therapists for microneedling and Exion Clear.
113 High Street, Berkhamsted HP4 2DJ, a short walk from the station and a short drive from Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Chesham and Amersham.