• Why your lips age faster than the rest of your face and what aging lips look like.
  
  
• A 5-step daily routine plus an at-home protocol that only takes a few minutes.
  
  
• Master Esthetician-approved anti-aging lip treatment you can complete at home.

Your lips are aging faster than your face, and it's not your imagination. As a Master Esthetician of 25 years, lip care has always been a passion of mine. Until recently, lips were a mere afterthought, centered mostly around preventing and healing chapped lips. I’m excited to see that lips are finally getting the attention they deserve. Below, I explain why your lips age faster, and share my anti-aging lip protocol for restoring volume loss and smoothing vertical lip lines.

WHY YOUR LIPS AGE FASTER THAN THE REST OF YOUR FACE

The skin on your lips is completely different than the skin on the rest of your face. This Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology article explores the differences in detail, but here’s a quick breakdown. Lips don’t have oil glands, lip skin is paper-thin, and there’s less melanin to protect your lips. With the right protocol, you can easily address these differences.

• No oil glands: Without oil glands, your lips can’t self-moisturize the way the skin on your face does. That means plumping hydration must come from your lip care products.
  
  
• Paper-thin lip skin: Thinner skin loses moisture faster and is more sensitive to wind and weather. Lip care products penetrate thin skin faster, so investing in quality is essential.
  
  
• Lower melanin: Less melanin means less natural UV protection, so the sun damages lip skin faster. UV damage breaks down collagen and elastin, which contributes to fine lip lines and volume loss.
  
  
• Repetitive movement: Between talking, eating, and facial expressions, your lips move constantly. Repetitive movement etches lines into the lips, above the lips, and on the corners of your mouth. 

SIGNS OF LIP AGING

Most of my clients notice one or two lip aging signs gradually, then all of them at once. If you’re seeing more than one of the signs below, it’s time to add targeted lip care to your anti-aging routine.

• Thinning, flattening lips with less natural volume.
• Loss of a defined lip border (vermillion line blurs).
• Vertical lip lines above and at the corners of your mouth.
• Persistent dryness or flaking, even with regular lip balm use.
• Uneven tone, duller lip skin, or a change in your natural lip color.

5-STEP DAILY LIP CARE ROUTINE

These 5 steps hydrate, restore, and protect your lips. If your lipstick or balm is multi-tasking (combines moisturizer, lip color, or SPF), adjust steps 3, 4, and 5 accordingly.

1.     Cleanse: Don’t forget to cleanse your lips AM and PM. Even if you aren’t wearing lipstick, you need to cleanse away external toxins and bacteria from food. Use a gentle, acid-free cleanser and grapeseed oil to dissolve long-wear lipstick or stubborn lipstick stains.

2.     Treat: Apply a thin layer of lip or eye serum. Wait 2 to 3 minutes for it to absorb, and don’t lick your lips while it absorbs.

3.     Moisturize: Keep lips soft, smooth, and protected with TONY MOLY Intense Care Gold 24K Snail Lip Treatment. This luxurious lip treatment combines snail mucin and 24K gold to lock in moisture, while SPF 15 helps protect delicate lip skin from UV damage. Reapply throughout the day for nourished, hydrated lips and a luminous finish.

4.     Lip Color: If you wear lipstick or lip stain, layer it on 2 to 3 minutes after your balm, and 2 to 3 minutes before applying your lip gloss. Bonus points if your lip color contains anti-aging ingredients or UV protection.

5.     Protect: If your lip color or balm doesn’t include UV protection, layer on a moisture-rich formula every 2 hours.

Pro Tip: Licking Your Lips Accelerates Aging

Licking your lips is something you do subconsciously dozens of times each day. It provides a split second of moisture when your lips feel dry, but only dries out your lips more. Saliva contains digestive enzymes that strip away your lip's barrier. Applying balm or gloss minimizes lip licking. 

MY AT-HOME ANTI-AGING LIP CARE PROTOCOL

My lip treatments are as sophisticated as my facials, and easy to complete at home. The treatment includes a weekly buccal massage with serum, a lip device, and moisture layer. Follow the steps below to plump out lips and reverse and slow lip aging.

STEP 1: GENTLE WEEKLY BUCCAL MASSAGE

Buccal massage benefits are immediate: improved circulation, tension release, and lymphatic drainage around the mouth. You don’t massage your lips, just the skin around your lips.

This intraoral technique works beautifully for relaxing lip lines by releasing the muscles that pucker your lips and etch lines deeper into your lip skin. As an added bonus, it decreases nasolabial folds and smooths "orange peel" chin.

1.    Cleanse first and apply grapeseed oil to your skin before your massage. Complete a full-face massage if you have time. Here’s  my video on how to do it right!

2.    Double cleanse to dissolve the grapeseed oil and apply serum to prep your skin for your skincare device.

Pro Tip: Once a Week Is Enough

Intraoral massage is powerful, but more isn't better here. Once a week is plenty. Daily is where "good pain" turns into irritation.

STEP 2: HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIP SERUM

Massaging your lips increases hydration, priming your lips to absorb the products you layer on next. You can use any eye serum on your lips. The PLLA lip treatment below is part of Korean skincare brand HOP+’s facial filling line.

• HOUSE OF PLLA® HOP+ CAVIPLLA+O2® Advanced Volumizing Serum is my preferred thin lips treatment. PLLA is a biostimulator that plumps out your lips by prompting collagen production. Apply daily for maximum volume.

Pro Tip: You Can Apply Eye Serums to Your Lips

Eye skin is thin too, and being close to the eyes, ingredients are ultra-gentle. Using a lip care device drives active ingredients deeper into your skin. This makes your eye serums gentle enough for the lips, and thin enough for your lips to absorb. So, don’t limit yourself to lip care products.

STEP 3: ANTI-AGING LIP DEVICE

This is where lip-specific anti-aging really separates itself from balms and topicals. Most devices you use on your face are too powerful for the ultra-thin skin on your lips. Only use lip skincare devices formulated for this thinner skin.

• CBE Eye & Lip Pro+ combines RF to boost collagen production and soften smile lines, gentle EMS to plump and firm lip contour, and red LED to lock in moisture. This 3-minute treatment is gentle enough for daily use. Use it around the lips and take a few quick passes directly on your lips for instant plumping.
  
  
• Skin Wand Pro is my recommendation for smoothing those stubborn vertical lines that sit right above the lip border. These are the lines that your lip color sinks into and is difficult to remove. Complete a few quick passes of the Skin Want Pro on the lowest setting on your lips, but use it mostly above and around your lips. It smooths lines and breaks up upper lip pigmentation (aka. melasma mustache). The Skin Wand Pro also provides gentle exfoliation. And yes, you can use it on your whole face.

STEP 4: MOISTURIZE AND PROTECT

Complete your treatment by layering on an anti-aging lip cream and moisturizing lip balm. Ensure your balm or lipstick includes UV protection.

• HOUSE OF PLLA® HOP+ Promoter Volumizing Eye & Lip Cream locks in hydration. It contains the injection-free filler Volufiline and another layer of PLLA. The 4GF and PDRN within support maximum rejuvenation. Layer on lipstick and UV lip protection after waiting 2 to 3 minutes between layers.

SKINCARE BEYOND ANTI-AGING LIP TREATMENTS

Lips are just one piece of your anti-aging skincare routine. If you want help tailoring your skincare routine, join the  CBE Rewards Club. As a member, you’ll receive $10 in cash rewards each month, 10% off CBE Botanicals products, and exclusive BOGO events, flash sales, contests, and prizes. Membership includes access to the Rewards Club Lounge, where you can ask me your most pressing skincare questions!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need lip filler or will an anti-aging lip routine be enough?

This is entirely up to you, and you might use both. As a lip filler alternative, combining massage with PLLA and Volufiline-infused lip care products and anti-aging devices may be enough to smooth lip lines, restore lip volume, and slow further aging. If you've already lost significant structural volume, filler and topical care work well together rather than as either/or.

Can I use an anti-aging lip care protocol if I have lip filler?

Yes. Buccal massage, lip serum, and topical PLLA and Volufiline work beautifully with lip filler. They support natural collagen production and hydration maintenance. Wait at least 2 weeks after filler to complete your weekly buccal massage. Also wait 2 weeks to use a lip care device, only after confirming that your device is filler-safe. Some devices break down filler faster.

How often should I use the Eye & Lip Pro+ device on my lips?

Daily use is safe, but I suggest using the  CBE Eye & Lip Pro+ at least 2 times a week. Treatment only takes 3 minutes per treatment area. For best results, complete a weekly intraoral massage, and apply an anti-aging lip serum before your treatment. Apply PLLA-infused lip serum and Volufiline-infused cream for maximum volumizing.