Thinning Lips Exercise — Does It Work?

Author

Dr. Stephen Cosentino

The body’s natural production of collagen declines with age. The eventual result is a noticeable volume decrease in the face and lips as the collagen underlying the top layers of skin withers away.

Lips come in all different shapes, and thin lips can be just as beautiful as full ones, but let’s be honest: “Mainstream” notions of beauty (largely driven by social media) are all about full, round lips. So if you have thin lips — whether due to natural aging or because you were born with them — you have the right to wonder whether there’s anything you can do about it.

Fortunately, there is something you can do about it, and it doesn’t require painful, risky plastic surgery. Here’s how to fix thin lips with targeted exercise.

What Does Thinning Lips Exercise Entail?

Thinning lips exercise is a type of facial exercise that focuses on the lips and the facial muscles immediately around them. It’s popular with middle-aged celebrities known for full, pouty lips, like Angelina Jolie.

One type of lip exercise that people swear by is facial yoga. Like “body yoga,” facial yoga involves smooth, slow, repetitive facial movements, sometimes with assistance from your hands. Examples include:

Tongue Twister: Roll your tongue around the inside of your lips clockwise, then counterclockwise, in sets of 3 reps each. Repeat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Kiss: Pucker your lips firmly against your hand for 3 seconds, then remove your hand and make an air kiss. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

Mouth Stretch: Place your index fingers at the corners of your mouth and push upward into a smile position. Hold for 5 seconds, then return to resting position.

Pout: Move your lips into an “O” shape while holding your breath. Hold for 10 seconds, then exhale while keeping the “O” shape. Relax after fully exhaling.

Don’t overdo it, though. Repeated mouth movements, especially “puckering” and “pursing” type movements, can actually increase the rate at which fine lines form around your lips. This can add to the appearance of aging.

Does Thinning Lips Exercise Work?

There’s limited evidence that thinning lips exercise works over the long term. We need more high-quality peer-reviewed studies to isolate the effects of lip yoga from other environmental factors in lip shape changes.

That said, proper lip exercises do increase blood flow to the lips, which may help stimulate collagen production. Like exercise elsewhere, lip exercise can also help build muscle around the lips.

Alternatives to Thinning Lips Exercise

Lip exercises can help slow and even reverse natural age-related declines in lip volume, but they’re best understood as a starting point. For more noticeable, longer-term results, medical interventions may be warranted.

Dermal Fillers for the Lips

Injectable hyaluronic acid fillers can temporarily add volume to the lips, making up for declines in collagen volume. The procedure needs to be repeated every 12 to 18 months, depending on your lip shape and other factors. If you’re unhappy with the results, they can be reversed with a compound called hyaluronidase.

To reduce the risk of preventable side effects and complications, always work with a board-certified dermatologist, plastic surgeon, or other medical provider who has completed an accredited dermal filler training program. Don’t self-inject fillers and never use fillers purchased online.

“Permanent” Lip Implants

Permanent lip implants have higher complication risk and aren’t reversible without a second surgery. They’re more expensive than hyaluronic acid fillers as well. The upside is that they last much longer: Five years at least.

Plastic Surgery for the Lips

If your overall health and age makes you a suitable candidate, traditional plastic surgery may be an option. However, this is expensive and has a higher risk of complications, so it’s not always appropriate.