Mature Skin · Guide
Fine vertical lines above your lip, lipstick that feathers, lips that look thinner every winter. Here is why the mouth area changes so quickly after menopause, what the research shows, and a simple routine that visibly softens the area.
The short answer
Lines around the mouth deepen after menopause because skin loses about 30% of its collagen in the first five years1, women's upper-lip skin has fewer oil and sweat glands than men's2, and the upper lip itself gets thinner and longer with age3. No cream refills lost volume. What a routine can do: a retinoid used consistently to visibly soften fine lines45, a ceramide moisturizer and a plain balm to protect the thin lip barrier67, and an SPF 30 lip balm every day, even in winter.7
01Why do lip lines appear after menopause?
Lip lines are the fine vertical creases that form on the upper lip and, less often, the lower one. You may hear them called smoker's lines, lipstick lines or perioral wrinkles, but you do not have to be a smoker to get them. For many women they show up, or suddenly look deeper, in the years around menopause.
The main reason is collagen. Estrogen helps skin make it, and when estrogen falls, collagen falls with it: skin loses about 30% of its collagen in the first five years of menopause, then about 2% a year after that.1 Thinner skin creases more easily. Around the mouth it also has to fold every time you talk, smile, eat or sip, so the lines set faster there than almost anywhere else on the face.
of women aged 45 to 60 reported lines and wrinkles on the face in a 2026 survey of more than 4,300 women in nine countries, making it the most common facial skin change they noticed.8
02Why do women get more lines around the mouth than men?
It is not your imagination. When researchers compared upper-lip skin from men and women, the women had more and deeper wrinkles around the mouth.2 Under the microscope, the men's skin had significantly more oil glands and sweat glands and a richer blood supply relative to its connective tissue.2
The authors concluded that having fewer of these structures may partly explain why women's skin in this area is more prone to wrinkling.2 Add the collagen loss that comes with menopause, and the upper lip becomes one of the first places where it shows.
03Why do lips get thinner with age?
Lines are only part of the picture. The lip itself changes shape. In an MRI study of 200 adults, women aged 65 to 80 had an upper lip about 19% longer than women aged 20 to 30, with soft tissue about 41% thinner.3 The authors concluded that the aging upper lip loses volume, not just firmness.3
A longer, flatter upper lip shows less of its pink border, which is why lips can look thinner even when you have not lost weight. It also leaves more skin above the lip to crease, and gives lipstick an easy path into those fine lines.
04Why are my lips so dry in fall and winter?
Lip skin is built differently from the rest of your face. Its outer protective layer is very thin, so lips hold water poorly and tend to lose more of it than cheek skin. Research has also linked the amount of ceramides in that layer to how rough lips feel.6
Cold air outside and heated air indoors pull even more moisture out. Dry, flaky lips and the skin around them make every line look deeper, so the first fix for lip lines in winter is often simply better moisture. With steady care, most chapped lips improve within two to three weeks.7
What actually helps
- A plain, thick balm several times a day and at bedtime. White petroleum jelly holds moisture in longer than waxes or oils.7
- Ingredients that soothe rather than sting. Look for ceramides, shea butter, dimethicone, mineral oil or petrolatum.7
- Skip the tingle. Menthol, camphor, eucalyptus, fragrance and flavors such as cinnamon, citrus or mint can irritate dry lips.7
- A humidifier at night, especially if you sleep with your mouth open.7
05Can a cream soften lip lines?
Let us be clear about what a cream cannot do: it cannot put back the volume the upper lip loses with age. What it can do is improve the fine, crepey lines in the skin above the lip, and the ingredient with the best evidence for that is a retinoid.
- Retinol in very mature skin: in a study of people with an average age of 87, a 0.4% retinol lotion used up to three times a week for 24 weeks significantly reduced fine wrinkles compared with a plain lotion on the other arm. Skin samples showed more procollagen and more glycosaminoglycans, the molecules that help skin hold water.4
- Retinal (retinaldehyde): in a 44-week study, 0.05% retinaldehyde significantly reduced wrinkles and roughness measured with skin replicas, as did prescription retinoic acid at the same strength, and retinaldehyde caused less irritation.5
Neither study looked at the lip area specifically. They measured fine lines on the arm and around the eyes. But the skin above the lip loses collagen the same way, which is why a retinoid is the place to start.
Our pick for fine lip lines
Retinal 0.2% Barrier Serum
Retinaldehyde in a ceramide-supported base, made for thinner, more reactive skin. Smooth a small amount over the upper lip and around the mouth two or three nights a week for visibly softer lines over time.
Shop Retinal 0.2%How to use it around the mouth. Keep the retinoid off the lips themselves and out of the corners of the mouth, where skin cracks easily. A thin layer of petrolatum on the lips first acts as a buffer. If the area stings or peels, drop back to twice a week.
Our pick for smoother, plumper-looking skin
PDRN Exosome EGF Skin Renewal Serum
2,000 ppm PDRN with exosomes, EGF and a peptide. Use it after retinal and before moisturizer for skin around the mouth that looks smoother and more cushioned. Read what biotech skincare can and can't do.
Shop PDRN serum06Which habits deepen lines around the mouth?
- SmokingSmoking greatly speeds up skin aging and causes wrinkles.9 Around the mouth, every puff also means pursing the lips.
- Repeated pursingDermatologists note that when you contract the same muscles for many years, the lines they form become permanent.9 Sipping through a straw uses the same pursing movement.
- Licking your lipsSaliva evaporates and leaves lips drier than before. Reach for a balm instead.7
- Skipping SPF on the lipsLips burn too. Use a lip balm with SPF 30 or higher and zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, even in winter, and reapply every two hours outdoors.7
- Products that stingStinging and burning mean irritation, and irritated skin can look older.9 That includes lip plumpers and balms that tingle.7
07A routine for the mouth area
You do not need a separate lip-line product. Your face routine already covers the area if you take it all the way to the lip line, then add a balm on the lips themselves.
Morning
Cleanse, cushion, protect
Evening
Smooth, renew, seal
Our pick for dry skin around the mouth
Ceramide+ Barrier Repair Moisturizer
Fragrance-free and rich in ceramides, the barrier lipids linked to smoother lips and skin.6 Use it morning and night, right up to the lip line, as the base under everything else.
Shop the moisturizerGet the whole evening routine in one box. The sets cost less than buying each product separately.
08When to see a dermatologist
Skincare works on the surface: fine lines, dryness, texture. If the lines are deep even when your face is relaxed, or your main concern is lip volume, a cream will not get you there. That is a conversation for a board-certified dermatologist, who can talk you through in-office options.
See a dermatologist sooner if dry, cracked lips do not improve after two to three weeks of good care. Allergic reactions, yeast infections and actinic cheilitis, a precancerous condition, can all look like ordinary chapped lips.7
Key takeaways
- Skin loses about 30% of its collagen in the first five years of menopause, and the thin skin above the lip shows it early.1
- Women's upper-lip skin has fewer oil and sweat glands than men's, which may help explain why it wrinkles more.2
- With age, the upper lip gets longer and its soft tissue thinner, so lips look flatter.3
- A retinoid is the best-studied way to visibly soften fine lines; retinal is a gentler option.45
- Protect the lip barrier: ceramides around the mouth, a plain balm on the lips, SPF 30 lip balm every day.67
09FAQ
Can you get rid of lip lines without fillers?
You can visibly soften fine lines with a retinoid, steady moisture and daily sun protection.45 Deep lines and lost lip volume are a different problem: creams cannot refill volume, so talk to a dermatologist about those.
Is it safe to use retinol or retinal around the mouth?
Yes, on the skin around the mouth, but keep it off the lips and out of the corners, where skin cracks easily. Start two or three nights a week, follow with moisturizer and put a little petrolatum on your lips first.
Why does my lipstick bleed into lines now?
As the upper lip thins and lengthens, its border becomes less defined and fine lines form above it.3 Lipstick travels along those lines. Moisturizing the area and using a lip liner can help it stay put.
Do straws really cause lip lines?
Any movement you repeat for years can leave lines that become permanent.9 Pursing around a straw is one of those movements. It is a small factor next to collagen loss and sun, but an easy one to cut down on.
What is the best lip balm for dry lips after menopause?
A fragrance-free balm without menthol, camphor or flavors. Petrolatum, ceramides, shea butter and dimethicone are good signs, and choose one with SPF 30 or higher for daytime.7
Keep reading: A winter plan for dry, tight menopause skin · Retinal vs retinol vs tretinoin after 50
References
- American Academy of Dermatology. Skin care during menopause.
- Paes EC, Teepen HJ, Koop WA, Kon M. Perioral wrinkles: histologic differences between men and women. Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 2009;29(6):467–472.
- Tonnard PL, et al. Aging of the upper lip: Part I. A retrospective analysis of metric changes in soft tissue on magnetic resonance imaging. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2019. doi:10.1097/PRS.0000000000005190.
- Kafi R, Kwak HS, Schumacher WE, et al. Improvement of naturally aged skin with vitamin A (retinol). Archives of Dermatology. 2007;143(5):606–612.
- Creidi P, Vienne MP, Ochonisky S, et al. Profilometric evaluation of photodamage after topical retinaldehyde and retinoic acid treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 1998;39(6):960–965.
- Subramanyam C, Gunt HB, Sivamani RK. Clinical features and biophysical characteristics of lips of South Asian women. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology. 2023;16:1955–1961.
- American Academy of Dermatology. How to heal dry, chapped lips.
- Galderma global survey of more than 4,300 peri- and postmenopausal women, presented at IMCAS World Congress 2026. Reported in Plastic Surgery Practice, February 2026.
- American Academy of Dermatology. 11 ways to reduce premature skin aging.
Written by MISOORA Editorial. This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Product results are cosmetic and vary from person to person. If you have a skin or lip condition that does not improve, see a board-certified dermatologist.
