Characteristics of a smoker's lips

This is an automatically translated article.

Smoking not only affects your inner health but also changes the appearance. Smoking accelerates the aging process, leading to wrinkles and unwanted changes in the skin, most noticeable on the lips of smokers. Accordingly, dark lips caused by smoking are characterized by vertical wrinkles around the mouth; At the same time, lips and gums can also become significantly darker than they are natural.

1. How is a smoker's lips?

Smoker's lips are characterized by vertical wrinkles around the mouth. Lips and gums can also become hyperpigmented, significantly darker than their natural rosy shine.
Smoker's lips can begin to appear months or years after smoking or using other tobacco products. If signs of smoker's lips already appear, the best thing a person can do to reduce their appearance is to stop smoking. At the same time, there are other useful treatments that should be considered.

2. Why is smoking bad for the lips?

Smoking can cause periodontal disease and some types of oral cancer.
In addition to these serious health conditions, smoking can affect a user's appearance, causing the skin around the mouth to sag and wrinkle. Furthermore, tobacco can also darken lips and gums.
Smoking accelerates the skin aging process, causing wrinkles. One reason for this is nicotine. Nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict and narrow, reducing blood flow and leaving the skin deprived of oxygen and nutrients needed to stay healthy and supple.
Reduced blood flow and exposure to tar and nicotine can also darken the pigment in the lips and gums, leading to uneven pigmentation. Specifically, on the lips appear colored, purple, dark brown or black spots.
On the other hand, the chemicals in cigarettes also have negative effects on the skin. In a cigarette, there are more than 4,000 chemicals in the smoke. These chemicals damage the structure of collagen and elastin fibers, two proteins that help maintain skin elasticity and structure. Without enough collagen and elastin to keep the skin strong, the skin layers quickly weaken, causing sagging and the formation of wrinkles.
Besides, repeated lip curling when smoking and the heat emitted when burning cigarettes can also cause smokers to form acute and long-term lip lesions that become chronic, changing health. in place of the lips.

3. How to overcome dark lips caused by smoking?

Quitting smoking is always the first way to help prevent new damage to the lips and mouth, creating favorable conditions for old lesions to be regenerated and repaired. At the same time, the patient needs to remember to drink a lot of water to flush toxins from cigarettes out of the body and make sure to keep the lips protected from direct sunlight.
Details of methods to help overcome each feature of dark lips caused by smoking are as follows:

3.1. Dark lips

There are a number of treatments for hyperpigmentation due to many causes in general, due to smoking in particular, to help restore the natural color of the lips to the original.
Exfoliation
Lip skin is always a delicate layer and needs careful care. Exfoliation can be done at home or using specialized products bought at the store. Try mixing coarse salt or sugar with almond or coconut oil and gently massage the mixture onto your lips once a day. Users can also use a soft-bristled brush or an oil-soaked towel to exfoliate. Remember to use a moisturizer or lip balm after each treatment.
Lip masks
There is ample evidence that lip masks containing turmeric, lemon, or lime juice can help brighten lips. Try combining one or more of these ingredients with an oil from vitamin A or vitamin E, and cover your lips for 15 minutes, once daily to help improve dark circles.
Laser treatment
Always performed professionally by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon, laser treatments work by focusing pulses of light deep within layers skin. These treatments can be used to restore the natural color of the lips, reduce dark spots, remove excess pigmentation, stimulate collagen production, and erase vertical wrinkles around the mouth.

3.2. Lip wrinkles

Lip wrinkles caused by smoking are also known as lip wrinkles. These wrinkles can be made worse when accompanied by other causes such as drinking alcohol, not getting enough sleep, too much sun exposure and poor diet.
There are treatments that can help reduce or eliminate vertical lines around the mouth. Some of these treatments are especially beneficial for the reduction of wrinkles and hyperpigmentation of the lips.
Moisturises and hydrates lips
Using a rich moisturizer containing tretinoin, such as Retin-A, can help build collagen and reduce the appearance of wrinkles around the mouth. A daily moisturizer containing a broad-spectrum SPF can reduce exposure to UVA and UVB rays.
Exfoliating
Mandelic Acid is a gentle alpha hydroxy acid derived from bitter almonds. There are home and professional versions of Mandelic acid peels in varying degrees. Various types can be used on and around the lip area to reduce fine lines and wrinkles as well as lighten dark patches.
Anti-wrinkle injections
Using injections, such as Botox, can be done to smooth wrinkles and relax facial muscles. This method needs to be performed by a specialist in a dermatology clinic.
Fillers
Fillers typically contain hyaluronic acid, which is used to plump the appearance of the lips by filling in lip lines and wrinkles around the mouth.
Laser resurfacing
Also known as laser or laser peel, laser resurfacing is performed by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Laser treatments remove the top layer of damaged skin, usually after temporary fillers or fat grafting directly into deep wrinkles.

3.3. Lip and mouth cancer

Oral cancer can develop in the lips, gums, tongue, and inside the mouth. Smoking and using other types of tobacco are high risk factors for oral cancer. At this point, quitting smoking is the only meaningful way to reduce the risk of disease.
Treatment for mouth or lip cancer often requires surgery to remove tumors and cancer cells that have spread to other areas of the body, such as the neck. You may also need oral reconstructive surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.
In short, smoking is not only a risk factor for your own health, but also causes cosmetic problems, such as dark lips caused by smoking. This condition is characterized by wrinkling and discoloration of the lips and mouth. In mild cases, this condition may respond well to home treatments. However, if deep vertical wrinkles have formed around the mouth or if hyperpigmentation is severe, more intensive treatments may be required.
Vinmec-View Aesthetic Center is based on the Aesthetic Department of Vinmec Times City International Hospital. This is a prestigious and reliable address in skin care, bringing beauty to customers with the following advantages:
Vinmec's team of doctors and aesthetic technicians are professionally trained and have long experience. years in the field of cosmetic internal medicine. A team of experienced and specialized doctors ensures the quality of surgery. Taking "safety" as a development foundation, in 15 years of establishment and operation, View has not had any plastic surgery complications, is the place to send beauty care of many famous artists. Korea

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Reference source: healthline.com