Everyone gets lip lines eventually, but you can soften—and even help prevent—them with a few simple products rooted in Japanese ritual combined with mindful daily habits.
Fine lines and wrinkles are a sign of life well lived. While we often associate wrinkles with other areas of the face, the lips can sneakily begin to form lines—blame the constant movement from speaking, drinking, eating, and smiling. While they do not look unsightly, some may wish to address their appearance. For help with that and more – including what causes and how to get rid of lip lines and lip wrinkles – we compiled a list of everything you need to know about them.
What Are Lip Wrinkles & Lip Lines?
Lip lines are vertical wrinkles that develop along and above the upper lip, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They can be subtle and contained to the lip area, or become deeper creases and extend to the bottom of nostrils. Lip wrinkles, or lip lines, are a perfectly normal occurrence and a natural part of the aging process.
Causes of Lip Wrinkles & Lip Lines
Wrinkles begin when we lose collagen and elastin, two proteins that help to create skin’s supple and smooth appearance. But lip lines occur for a plethora of other reasons, too. To get rid of lip lines and lip wrinkles, we must understand their most common causes, which are:
Genetics
As with many things on your face and body, lip wrinkles and lip lines could be genetic. If your parents or grandparents had pronounced lip lines, you might have a possibility of developing similar lines.
Lifestyle
Sun damage and a chronic lack of sleep are damaging to many aspects of your face and body and that especially includes lip lines. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can also be directly linked to lip wrinkles.
Repetitive Movements
Pursing your lips to sip through a straw is fine—but doing it all day long for 20+ years is considered a repetitive movement, which might be a potential cause of lip lines.
How to Smooth Lip Lines & Wrinkles At Home
While lip wrinkles are nothing to worry or be embarrassed about, some may want to address and decrease their appearance through means other than surgery. There are a handful of products, treatments, and tricks that are helpful in your journey on how to get rid of wrinkles on your lips naturally. They are not only great for potentially reversing lines, but also work as preventative measures. Here are the best lip line treatments for getting rid of vertical lip lines naturally.
Treat With a Fine-Line Serum
A fine line serum can work wonders on upper lip lines…but proceed with caution. Many of these serums are powered by harsh retinol, which shouldn’t be near the delicate lip area. Instead, choose a serum with a retinol alternative containing cranberry extract and sea fennel, which is still equally effective but not as intense on sensitive skin areas, like the upper lip. A serum targeting fine lines can support natural skin turnover and give the look of collagen-rich skin—even to the upper lip area.
Try: The Silk Serum
The Silk Serum
Wrinkle-Smoothing Retinol Alternative
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The Silk Serum is the best product for upper lip lines because it is specially formulated to be potent, yet non-irritating. It toes the line between supporting skin health while also addressing fine lines and wrinkles. The milky serum delivers the wrinkle-smoothing power of retinol, but in a hydrating, foolproof alternative. The Silk Serum also includes silk proteins, which nourish and soften for a healthy-looking complexion, as well as our beloved Hadasei-3 complex to hydrate and support the skin barrier. Together, the serum delivers the power of retinol without compromising, making it one of the best treatments for lip lines.
Hydrate Your Entire Face
Just how hydrating the skin with a moisturizer can not only give skin a healthy, radiant glow, but also aid in and support its long-term health—hydrating the lips can do the same thing. Keeping the lip area hydrated can most definitely address the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This can be accomplished with a lip balm or mask, applying as often as needed. But, surprisingly, a hydrating serum can also work wonders on the upper lip and the surrounding area—after all, the lips are just another type of skin and will drink up the moisture. An underrated hack for addressing lip lines (and plumping their appearance) is flooding the upper lip and surrounding area with hard-working hydration, from both essences and hyaluronic acid serums.
Try: The Essence
Tatcha’s proprietary essence is comprised of a simple—yet miraculous—formula of 100 percent Hadasei-3, a fermented complex of the very superfoods core to the Japanese diet: rice, algae (aka seaweed), and green tea. This potent formula resurfaces and hydrates for primed, plump, petal-soft skin—flooding the lip area with all of these brilliant benefits.
Try: The Dewy Serum
If you’re seeking plumper and dewier skin around the lips (and who isn’t?), consider this game-changing formula that resurfaces, floods the skin with hydration, and locks in moisture. The blend includes our proprietary Hadasei-3 complex, hyaluronic acid, and squalane for hydration that sticks around all day long (and helps keep upper lip lines at bay).*
*Based on bio-instrumentation study conducted on 25 people
Facial Massage
Massaging the face can be endlessly beneficial, helping to bring blood flow and flush out lymphatic drainage. In a 2017 study, researchers found that using a massaging device noticeably improved the appearance of skin elasticity and tone around the face, including the lip area. When used with a skincare routine, including a wrinkle-smoothing formula, the device was shown to even amplify the benefits of the product.
Our beautiful and hand-crafted massager is perfect for getting in smaller, harder-to-reach areas, like the eyes and lip area. This device, which doubles as a work of art, can help visibly lift and tone the skin, while also simultaneously improving the results of the other skincare products on this page.
Hydrate Your Lips
Don’t forget your lip balm, of course. Massage on as often as you’d like because our Camellia Gold Spun Lip Balm seals in moisture with camellia oil, renowned for centuries in Japan for its ability to curb dehydration. The formula is also packed with antioxidants and essential fatty acids to help nourish and protect. Additionally, the balm gives lips a hint of shimmer with 23-karat gold flakes.
Try: The Kissu Lip Mask
The luscious, jelly texture melts into lips to plump, hydrate, smooth, and soften. Perfect for overnight use, but beautiful any time of day, The Kissu Lip Mask features moisture-sealing squalane, revitalizing Japanese peach, and hydrating camellia oil for a revelatory experience.
Restore With a Plumping Lip Serum
Lip plumpers can surprisingly help disguise the look of lip lines temporarily by pumping up the lips and making the pout look fuller and lines less noticeable. But this is only a temporary benefit. Instead, for a more long-term solution, grab a lip treatment, which works to plump lips, but also restores the lips’ color, hydration, volume, and definition over time. Think of lip treatments as a super-charged lip balm, helping the overall health and look of lips with continued use—making it the best lip treatment for lines.
Say hello to your newest obsession, the best treatment for lip lines, The Kissu Lip Treatment. This daily lip serum is clinically proven to instantly plump, while also restoring natural volume, reviving lip color, and improving the lip’s natural definition over time. It’s packed with botanical ingredients (including sea fern, sea kelp, and carob fruit extract) that help smooth the look of fine lines and support healthier-looking lips with continued use.
Exfoliate Your Lips
Dead skin cells can dull the look of lips, just as it does for the rest of the face. Not only does exfoliating the lips alleviate dry patches and chapping, but it also can minimize the appearance of fine lines. This is because the gentle scrub first removes dryness, which can make fine lines less visible, and then stimulates the skin by both increasing circulation and boosting new cellular growth. You could use the same exfoliant you use on your face, but it’s really ideal to utilize a lip-designated scrub, which is specifically designed with ingredients for the delicate lip area.
Try: The Kissu Lip Scrub
Tatcha’s first foray into lip scrubs, The Kissu Lip Scrub gently scrubs with two exfoliating ingredients: konjac and peach seed. Konjac refines and smooths skin for a brighter appearance, while peach seed removes flakes for more hydrated and refined lips. The formula also includes intensely hydrating camellia oil to seal in moisture. Together, The Kissu Lip Scrub effectively sloughs away flakiness and removes dullness while locking in moisture for smooth, supple lips.
Preventing Lip Lines & Lip Wrinkles
Life is for living! But…there are a few conscious choices you can make to lessen the chance of lip lines appearing prematurely.
Protect With SPF
Arguably the most important thing you put on your face every morning is sunscreen—and that’s no different for the delicate lip area, too. This is especially important if you’re looking to get rid of lip wrinkles because the most direct cause of lines anywhere on the face is sun exposure. UV radiation damages the skin’s collagen and elastin, which leads to premature aging and wrinkles (or even much worse things, like skin cancer). Protect the area with SPF—use facial sunscreen on the upper lip and an SPF-included lip product on your pout. Sunscreen-included lip products have been rising in popularity in recent years – thank goodness – and have become multipurpose, often including other benefits like hydration and a flush of color.
Want your lip product to do it all and provide SPF coverage too? Swipe on the Kissu Lip Tint, which hydrates lips and seals in moisture with silk protein and botanical lanolin, protects the delicate skin from sun damage with SPF 25 coverage, and provides a buildable flush of color (available in three shades). Keeping lips shielded with SPF is endlessly beneficial, and this new lip tint makes protecting your pout easier – and prettier – than ever before.
The Silk Sunscreen SPF 50
Weightless Mineral Sunscreen
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Don’t forget the often-overlooked upper lip, which is quick to burn (or even get dark spots or melasma, if you’re prone). Find a facial sunscreen you enjoy wearing and it’ll be a pleasure to apply (and re-apply) as often as you’d like. We’re partial to The Silk Sunscreen for a silky feel and the Silken Sunscreen SPF 35 for a soft matte finish.
Drink Plenty of Water
Avoid drinking from straws, which can lessen that repetitive daily movement that leads to lip lines.
Stay In the Shade
Reduce your time in the sun or use items that shield the sun when outside for long periods of time, like wide-brimmed hats.
Prioritize Quality Sleep
Aim for 7–9 hours each night; adequate rest supports collagen repair and keeps lips smoother longer.
Skip Smoking
Cigarette chemicals break down collagen and the repetitive pursing motion deepens vertical lines—quitting is one of the quickest ways to safeguard lip skin.
Limit Alcohol
Excessive drinking dehydrates tissues and accelerates wrinkle formation; moderate intake and follow with plenty of water.