Drinking adequate amounts of water throughout the day is supposed to be a healthy habit. Our bodies lose water not just from excretion, but also from breathing and evaporation from the skin. Therefore, it is important to replenish lost fluids. Water is also supposed to help hydrate the skin and keep it looking moist and youthful, although it should not be regarded as an anti-aging treatment. However, with busy on the go lifestyles, most people drink regularly from water bottles. Now more medical experts are realizing that this could contribute to the formation of wrinkles around the lips.
Why It is Possible For Water Bottles to Cause Wrinkles
more women are seeking various forms of wrinkle treatments due to water bottles (image: flickr)*
Vertical lines around the lips can result from repetitive puckering. These types of creases have most notably been seen on long term smokers. But also they can manifest by constantly drinking from straws.
A few years ago, NBC Washington featured a segment about the skin effects of drinking from water. The clip focused on a 54 year old woman named Melissa who seems to exemplify perfect health. She is an avid triathalon runner who religiously replenishes her body with water throughout the day by drinking from water bottles. Although she does not smoke, she was astonished to discover fine creases around her lips.
Melissa’s dermatologist, Dr. Marilyn Berzin said that this scenario is increasingly becoming more and more common. Not only are older patients seeking treatment for these wrinkles, but also younger individuals still in their thirties.
Due to many factors, the collagen and elastin fibers in the skin can start to degrade. This causes a loss of firmness and elasticity. So when the skin is creased from muscle contractions, it is more difficult for it to restore its original structure and form. And these lines can become more permanently etched onto the skin.
In fact, drinking regularly from water bottles can actually be worse than smoking two to three packs of cigarettes a day. This has to do with the number of times that a person’s lips enter a puckering or pursed position. According to Dr. Berzin, drinking from water bottles on a regular basis for two years can create creases around the lips.
Individuals should be wary of any type of water bottle with a nozzle, sports top or nozzle. Opting for cups or bottles with wider mouths (e.g. Snapple bottles) can help prevent wrinkles around the mouth from developing.
How to Treat Vertical Wrinkles Around the Lips
Although lasers can help improve the appearance of fine lines, results may require multiple treatments. This is because the wavelength energy can only help to facilitate the processes that create new collagen fibers. But the rate at which this happens will differ depending on individual differences.
Therefore, dermal fillers can offer more reliability. Belotero is an injectable made of hyaluronic acid. Due to a new technology called Cohesive Polydensified Matrix, its structure is smooth and continuous due to the way the molecules are cross linked together. This is why Belotero can be injected close to the skin’s surface as a treatment for superficial wrinkles, like lip lines from puckering. With other fillers, there is a much higher risk of clumping.
To learn more about developing aging signs from smoking, click here