You know the ones we’re talking about. They’re not the deep creases that run from nose to mouth like parentheses. Those have a name—nasolabial folds—and they get plenty of airtime. No, we mean the tiny vertical lines that sneak up right above your upper lip, or the ones that bracket your lips like tiny quotation marks. Sometimes they show up when you laugh, and you think, oh, that’s cute. But then you catch yourself in a mirror at the grocery store and realize they’re sticking around even when your face is completely still. Welcome to the world of perioral lines. And here’s the kicker: you’re probably drawing them on yourself every single day without realizing it.
Let’s talk about what’s actually happening. The skin around your mouth is some of the thinnest on your entire body—thinner than your eyelids, in fact. It has very little oil production, almost no supportive fat, and it’s constantly in motion. Every time you talk, eat, kiss, whistle, or drink, that tiny ring of muscle called the orbicularis oris contracts. Think of it like folding a piece of paper over and over in the exact same spot. Eventually, that crease becomes part of the paper’s memory. Same thing with your skin. The collagen and elastin that keep it springy start to break down with repeated folding, and the repair process slows down as you age. But here’s the part that doesn’t get enough attention: it’s not just about how much you move your mouth. It’s about the specific ways you move it.
Let’s start with the obvious suspect—straws. That cute iced latte you sip all morning? Every sip is a purposeful pucker. Now, don’t panic if you’re a straw devotee. The occasional straw isn’t going to ruin you. But if you’re drinking every beverage through a straw, especially iced coffee or soda, you’re giving that muscle a serious workout. Same goes for smoking, but we’re not going to lecture you about that—you already know. The less obvious culprit is something we all do without thinking: pressing your lips together tightly when you’re concentrating, annoyed, or just staring at your phone. You know the face. The pursed-lip, slightly tense jaw, the I’m really focused squint-brow combo. That constant low-level clenching of the mouth area is like micro-folding your skin for hours on end.
Then there’s the way you talk. Fast talkers, animated talkers, people who really enunciate—you’re using the full range of your mouth muscles repeatedly. And that’s fine in small doses. But here’s a trick that beauty editors and makeup artists have used for years: watch people who age really gracefully around the mouth. They’re not necessarily the ones with perfect genetics. Often they’re the ones who have a more relaxed, slightly softer way of speaking. Not mumbling, just not over-punching every syllable. Think of it like walking on grass paths. Everyone walks, but the paths that get the most traffic turn into dirt. The paths you walk with a light step stay greener.
Now, here’s the thing nobody tells you about perioral lines: a lot of the damage isn’t from expression at all—it’s from position. Your sleeping habits, for instance. If you’re a side sleeper who buries your face in a pillow, you’re pressing that pillow right up against your lips every single night. Over months and years, that constant pressure creates compression lines. Worse, if you sleep face-down, you’re smashing your mouth into memory foam for eight hours. You wake up with temporary lines, but they set in permanently over time. And your hands? Resting your chin or cheek on your palm while you read or work? That pushes the skin around your mouth in unnatural directions.
But let’s not turn this into a list of things to stress about. The good news is, perioral lines are highly preventable and, in their early stages, even reversible. The first step is just becoming aware of what your face is doing. Set a little mental reminder to unclench your jaw and relax your lips a few times a day. When you feel yourself pursing—pause. On a phone call, laugh with your whole face instead of forcing a tight-lipped smile. And if you’re a straw fan? Try going cold turkey for a week and you’ll notice how much more relaxed your mouth feels. Drink straight from the glass. Your lips will thank you.
Also, and this is a big one—sunscreen. Yes, you know this. But the skin around your lips is a classic miss spot. People slather SPF all over their faces and completely forget the vermilion border. The lip itself doesn’t burn the same way, but sun damage accelerates collagen breakdown in that entire area. A lip balm with SPF isn’t just for chapped lips—it’s your first line of defense. And hydrate. Not just drink water—that’s good—but use a moisturizer or lip treatment with ceramides or hyaluronic acid at night. The skin around your mouth thrives on a little extra barrier support.
So next time you catch a glimpse of those little lines, don’t panic. Just ask yourself three questions: Are you sipping through straws all day? Are you clenching your jaw when you work? Are you sleeping face-down? Adjust one habit, and give it a month. You’ll notice a difference in how plump and smooth your mouth area looks. And remember—your face is yours. You don’t have to freeze it like a statue. You just have to stop folding it in the same spot, over and over, like a stubborn piece of paper.
