From fillers to creams, there are many treatments that promise to help prevent wrinkles around the mouth.
Many older women now regret their smoking habits in their youth, where years of pursed lips have left them with so-called barcode lines above their upper lips.
And while Gen Z may have turned their backs on smoking, drinking, and other bad behaviors, there’s another habit they’ve picked up that’s clearly causing their own lip problems: strawberries. It is a cup with a built-in.
Last year’s breakout, and somewhat puzzling, trend was the Stanley Cup, a combination of a thermos-style flask and a children’s sippy cup. Celebrities and his TikTok-obsessed 20-somethings hugged the cups in droves, extolling the fact that they “keep you hydrated.”
The straw is bent sideways and has a hole in the top.Loosely wrap your lips around it and suck it, like playing a flute in reverse.
It also keeps cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. This is clearly revolutionary. What’s sexy is sipping through a straw and walking around with it.
Now, to avoid the straw disaster that aesthetic doctors call “mouth lines” (and to make a quick buck), research shows that Gen Z consumes more skin care than any other generation. There are people who have succeeded in persuading Other generations claim they need to invest in “anti-wrinkle straws” to keep their mouths “forever young”.
The straws, which are available on Amazon in multi-packs of various brands from £5 for a pack of four, are curved on the side and have a hole in the top. Inhale while wrapping your lips loosely, as if playing a flute. The idea is that you won’t have to purse your mouth excessively around the small tube.
On TikTok, videos tagged “Anti-wrinkle straws” have been viewed more than 600 million times, with enthusiastic, mostly young drinkers hooked on the straws. With typical understatement, one 20-something influencer declared it “probably the best anti-aging invention of all time.” So are they on to something?
Hey guys, I’m all for taking care of your health and skin and halting the aging process to a large extent. I haven’t sunbathed in 30 years, never go to bed without cleansing my face, have a careful skincare regimen, exercise and eat five meals a day. But anti-wrinkle straws are unacceptable to me.
“What’s next? Anti-wrinkle cigarettes?” said Dr. Wasim Taktuk, a cosmetic doctor and skin care expert, when explaining the straw. “What awful nonsense.
“Yes, if you purse your lips all your life, eventually you’ll start to see boundaries, just like you’ve been talking, laughing, and expressing yourself for 40 years. On the odd occasion you use a straw. , creating a weird duck lip instead of a perfectly pursed duck lip doesn’t actually slow this process down.”
Anti-wrinkle straws start from £5 for four on shopping sites like Amazon, but skincare experts say claims that they can prevent wrinkles are questionable.
The main causes of wrinkles are collagen loss and cell damage caused by sun damage, a non-nutritious diet, bad habits such as smoking (more likely to be caused by inhaling poison than a nagging wallet) and drinking alcohol. Destruction, he added.
He says using a high SPF moisturizer daily (I like No7 Future Renew Disaster Protection Defense Shield SPF50, £24.95) will help prevent this generation’s wrinkles.
He recommends SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic High Potency Triple Antioxidant Treatment, £165. This is because retinol is proven to neutralize harmful pollutants and may be skin regenerating for those approaching their 30s (Elizabeth Arden Retinol + HPR Ceramide Rapid Skin Renewing Water Try Cream, £60) ).
“These are amazing skin building blocks that make a difference in how your skin ages,” he says. “There’s no point in following trends.”
So this is one thing you can cross off your beauty shopping list, no matter your age.
