What are Marionette Lines?
Causes and Tips to Reduce Them
What are marionette lines?
Where does the name come from?
Marionette lines are wrinkles that start from the corners of your mouth and run vertically down toward your chin. You might also find them under the name of puppet wrinkles or melomental folds. Marionette lines are named after string puppets because they typically have noticeable vertical lines in the same place. These lines appear after a loss of elasticity in the skin and fall into the static wrinkles category.
They should not be confused with nasolabial folds that start from the corner of your nose, and go down to the corners of your mouth.
What causes Marionette Lines on the face and
when do they appear?
The consumption of tobacco creates physical tension in the muscles around your mouth, which speeds up the breakdown of Collagen and Elastin.
Loss of Collagen and Elastin: as you age, your skin naturally produces less of both. Collagen is one of the main supports for your skin to look plump. The less your skin produces it, the more sensitive it is to gravity. Your skin therefore tends to be saggier, which can make your marionette lines more noticeable.
Natural facial expressions: smiling and talking can accentuate marionette lines over time. This is due to your facial muscles creating a crease every time they contract. Since you lose skin elasticity as you age, your skin is no longer able to bounce back completely, which deepens the crease.
Sun exposure: can also be a reason for marionette lines to appear, especially when SPF isn’t applied enough.
Smoking: the consumption of tobacco creates physical tension in the muscles around your mouth, speeding up the breakdown of Collagen and Elastin. It also decreases your blood flow, which can increase the risk of skin infection. The actual smoke also contains substances known as Carcinogens, which can further harm your skin.
Lack of proper skin care: adopting a skincare routine that really suits you will help keep your skin happy for a longer period of time.
Lack of sleep: the production of Collagen increases at night, which gives you a great reason to make more time for a nice, long sleep.
Dehydration: staying hydrated is very important for your whole body and overall health, and it will make your skin look more radiant and healthy.
Weight loss: the loss of fat on your face is a factor in saggy skin since it’s less filled and tends to be more sensitive to gravity.
How can Marionette Lines around the mouth
be prevented?
Although you won’t be able to completely prevent marionette lines from appearing, you can still limit how deep they become. In response to the causes of marionette lines above, you can build better habits such as:
- Drinking water regularly and keeping yourself hydrated
- Eating fulfilling food so your body gets the right nutrients
- Not smoking
- Getting enough sleep
- Protecting your skin with SPF
- Building yourself a good skincare routine
Building a Skincare Routine to reduce
marionette lines
Wash your face twice a day using a gentle cleanser to avoid irritation, and remember to always remove your makeup before bedtime. NIVEA recommends cleansing your face in the morning as well as in the evening.
The morning cleanse is important because your skin regenerates during the night and dead skin cells should be removed. The evening cleanse is important to remove any pollution, sweat, and bad bacteria that could be sitting on your skin.
After cleansing, you can also apply a toner. Not sure what toner does? In short, it completes a thorough cleansing process and helps to prepare your skin to absorb the nourishing ingredients of your serum and moisturiser.
Using serums is beneficial for your skin since their light texture allows for quicker absorption. Serums such as the Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Power Replenishing Serum Pearl penetrate the skin quickly and bring moisture to your skin. Its formula contains skin-identical Q10 to help keep your skin firm and youthful.
Fillers can also be added to your skincare routine and used as a long-term process for better results. The NIVEA Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Power Expert Targeted Wrinkle Filler Serum penetrates skin 10 layers deep, filling and plumping wrinkles thanks to its Pure Coenzyme Q10 and Bioxifill Peptides formula.
Using a day cream hydrates your skin and helps protect it against external damage. Additional ingredients can also provide anti-ageing effects, helping to reduce marionette lines. NIVEA Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream SPF 15 is formulated with 100% skin-identical Q10 and Creatine to effectively reduce wrinkles, while keeping your skin nourished throughout the day.
Swapping a night cream in for your day cream as part of your evening skincare routine can give your skin an important boost. Your skin goes into its natural regeneration phase while you sleep, so using a night cream formulated to support this process, such as the NIVEA Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Power Revitalising Night Cream, will help rejuvenate your complexion overnight.
Sun exposure is one of the main factors in the premature appearance of marionette lines, so applying daily SPF is important for prevention. You should be mindful of your skin coverage when applying sunscreen.
You want to make sure that all exposed skin is sufficiently covered with sunscreen. Unprotected skin can be subject to sun-induced damage and further complications.
NIVEA Q10
to help reduce Marionette Lines
Other ingredients to help reduce Marionette Lines include:
Bakuchiol and Retinol
Bakuchiol and Retinol are frequently mentioned together because of the similarity of their effect on the skin, especially their anti-ageing benefits. Both ingredients help with skin regeneration and the stimulation of collagen production. However, Retinol is not friendly to everyone’s skin, which is where Bakuchiol comes in.
Bakuchiol is more sensitive-skin-friendly and is also safe to use during pregnancy, unlike Retinol.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic Acid is a key ingredient in anti-ageing skincare products. Your body produces it naturally to help keep your skin smooth and supple. This ingredient is a gel-like substance that’s able to retain moisture and help you fade fine lines and wrinkles.
Folic Acid
Folic Acid, also known as Vitamin B9, helps with the creation of new healthy cells, including red blood cells that carry oxygen. This ingredient also stimulates your skin to produce more Collagen, acting as a support to your cell function, growth and development. This therefore helps against skin ageing and marionette lines.
Add Bakuchiol, Hyaluronic Acid or Folic Acid to your skincare routine
You can introduce these ingredients into your anti-ageing skincare routine by using the NIVEA Cellular Expert products – this premium range offers NIVEA’s most efficacious anti-wrinkle treatment.
