Beauty Alert: Straws make your lips permanently wrinkly — Here's how to deal with it

 Against wrinkle straws like those presented by Stanley Tumbler creator are freshest hydration pattern on TikTok

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

In the United States, the Stanley Tumbler has become a popular status symbol due to its viral nature. Young folks who are health-conscious and mindful are always looking for the newest and coolest ways to stay hydrated.

Although the side handle and straw of the 40-oz Stanley Quencher Tumbler are among its primary selling qualities, some TikTok users are now cautioning against repeatedly drinking from the slurping utensil due to one concern, which is lip wrinkles.

According to Healthline, lip wrinkles are vertical furrows that form along and above one's upper lip. They are also known as smoker's lines, lipstick lines, or lip lines.

Anti-wrinkle straws are the newest hydration trend, and TikTokers have been buying an extra accessory for their Stanleys to preserve the attraction of a straw while attempting to prevent lip creases.

“The long-term effect of repeated pursing and drinking through a straw or other movements that cause pursing of the lips is the development of fine lines in that area,” American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) member surgeon Lara L Devgan, MD, confirmed to New York Post.

The reason it happens, Devgan explained, is that “the skin is like a piece of paper.”

“If you repeatedly fold it over and over again in the same folding patterns, you will get etched lines, and it becomes progressively harder for those to go away,” she said. “When we see people who drink through straws repeatedly, those lines become deeper and deeper.”

While these lines have been referred to as smoker’s lines in prior eras, they can appear in anybody — whether you smoke or not and whether you drink through a straw or not, Devgan clarified — “just in virtue of making the pursing movement of the lips.”