How to Soften Lines on Your Face and Around Your Lips

We have a lot of patients coming into the office looking for help with correction of fine lines on their face. People commonly refer to these as smoker’s lines even though many of the patients have never smoked. (Interestingly, I was told a few years ago by a Spanish dermatologist that they are called “bar code” lines in Spain, like the product scanner at the grocery store.)

Belotero-Before-After

These skin lines do not improve with surgery, so different procedures have been used over the years to eliminate or at least soften them.

In our office, we like using laser resurfacing in the treatment of vertical lip lines, but it generally cannot make them disappear completely. Therefore, we often recommend a filler injection in addition to (or instead of) the laser.

For the last eight years or so, we have used a clear gel called Juvederm for this purpose. It injects very smoothly and lasts for about a year, depending upon the exact area where it is placed.

Recently, we added a newer gel product called Belotero to our filler menu. This is also a clear gel, and is designed to be injected very superficially. This may be especially useful for the vertical lip lines (bar code lines for you Spanish speakers), because these lines will only improve when the gel is injected directly under the very outer surface of the skin. We have been told that the Belotero will last approximately nine months.

So keep smiling and know that there are some excellent options for fine lines, no matter what you call them!

If you want to soften the lines and wrinkles on your face, call us at (360) 823-0860 to learn more about all the available options.