Issue 7: Barcode & Mouth Area Enhancing

Explanations, Techniques and Products Used

The mouth and the lips have always been considered a symbol of youth and attractiveness.

Due to anatomical reasons, aggressive environmental factors, and smoking this area often ages more than the rest of the face. As a result, women look more tired and develop an unintentional expression of seriousness and sadness.

This patient has smoked for many years and, as a consequence, had severely marked lines above her lip.

This very unpleasant defect, better known as « barcode » or « smoker’s lines »,  is due to dermal breakage. It is caused by repeated movements and contractions of the mouth muscles.

To reduce these wrinkles a combination of treatments is often necessary.

I chose to combine Hyaluronic acid injections and PDO threads.

Regarding the filler, a feebly reticulated product must be used by the « bleaching technique » or, in case of prominently marked lines, « cross-hatching » with a cannula in the prolabium, perpendicular to the lines.

I opted for Apriline Hydro, which is an effective skin-boosting biorevitalization treatment that provides hydration and improves tone and elasticity. It is not cross-linked, but still able to fill the very fine lines of the upper lip.

The technique I adopted is the blanching technique, whose effects you are able to see in the pictures.

The procedure usually needs to be repeated 2-3 times to achieve full effect. However, I’m already satisfied with this first session and the patient was really radiant and pleasantly surprised.

Dr. Marianne AUQUE
Aesthetic Physician, Nice, FRANCE