- Smokers lines are fine wrinkles and lines on the upper and or lower lip that radiates out from the red lip border.
- Smokers lines are also known as perioral rhytides or “pucker lines”.
- The “smokers lines” are worsened when the mouth is puckered by the contraction of the Orbicularis Oris muscle that surrounds the mouth like a purse string.
- The Orbicularis Oris muscle is highlighted in the image below.
Technique
- The patient sits back on a bed with the backrest up.
- The area is cleaned.
- The skin overlying the muscles to be injected is marked out with a skin marker.
- The injections are placed in the area where the smokers lines are, close to the red border (vermillion border) of the lip.
- The injections sometimes also cause a slight eversion of the border of the lip, i.e. the lip can look slightly fuller.
- The muscles are injected. It takes about 30 seconds.
- Light pressure is applied to the area to prevent bruising.
- The skin marker marks are wiped off.
Botox dosage for Orbicularis Oris muscle injection (highlighted in the image above) for smokers lines:
- females: 1-2 units per injection spot
- males: 1-3 units per injection spot
Aftercare:
- Slight bruising can occur, but can be concealed with make-up. It resolves in a few days.
- The effect will kick in after 3-10 days and last between 2 and 7 months, depending on the Botox dosage used and the patients physiology. Some patients dissolve Botox faster than other patients.
- First time patients will sometimes be requested to return after 2-3 weeks for a check-up and top-up if required.
- Most patients have the injections repeated once or twice a year.