July 2021: A study conducted by Dr Tijion Esho, the cosmetic expert dubbed “The Lip Doctor”, reveals today that the key to ageing is in the smile. As we age, thinning lips are normal as well as the Philtrum (groove in our upper lip) appearing longer – caused by a combination loss of collagen, the breakdown of fat pads underneath the skin and lips as well as increased skin laxity.
So while it may be assumed that the leading contributors to an ageing appearance are wrinkles;
sagging skin and discolouration, Dr Esho’s study confirms that one of the biggest factors is a person’s facial expression or emotional attributes – the focus of this being on your smile.
Conducted by Dr Esho, over 1000 before and after pictures of patients from the last year were reviewed. These patients had been treated for the following:
- Wrinkles
- Sagging skin
- Discolouration
- Lip volume loss
Reviewers were ask to rate how much younger each patient looked on an age scale, and on average, respondents rated patients as much as 10 and a half years younger in before and after lip treatment photos as opposed to 5.2 years younger in photos which showed treatments to wrinkles, sagging and skin discolouration.
This comes as no surprise to Dr Tijion Esho, who states:
“You look happier and healthier when you smile, so the biggest indicator of ageing is the formation of peri oral lines and thinning lips. When we look at each other, the first thing we notice are the eyes, then straight to the lips, so it’s not surprising that when lips age, they give the appearance of looking sad which is attributed to the ageing process.”
Traditional lip volumising treatments such as dermal fillers or topical plumpers have always been associated with the young to enhance the lips, and it’s lesser known that rejuvenating the lips for volume lost over time can have a significant direct anti anti ageing effect.
