Vertical wrinkle lines around the border of the mouth are known as barcode lines or smoking lines. These lines develop with age from loss of skin volume and elasticity. Sun damage and smoking accelerate the formation of these lines by causing the breakdown of collagen and elastin. As a result of skin collagen loss and skeletal support, the area above the lips becomes wrinkled and sunken. This is particularly noticed when applying lipstick since the color tends to "bleed" into the lines. These lines then have a premature aging impact on your entire facial appearance.
These vertical upper lip lines rarely come to mind as the first area to treat lines and skin texture. The reason is that people focus on other aspects of skin and facial features so much so that this issue usually sneaks up on people. Most do not consider this a major skin issue until after lines have become obvious and deeply ingrained. At this point, it may mean requiring more intensive treatments or less satisfactory results. If not treated in time, the problem of these lip lines can become very difficult to treat.