Facial Ageing
Creases around the mouth, from the nose to the mouth corners and from the mouth toward the chin, that deepen with movement, volume change, and tissue descent.
Physician-led assessment · individualized care · Vancouver clinic
Understanding Smile Lines and Marionette Lines
Maybe you've caught yourself looking tired or a bit cross in photos when you felt perfectly happy, or noticed the lines from your nose to your mouth looking deeper than they used to. It's one of the most common changes people ask us about.
These folds form where the moving tissue around your mouth meets firmer tissue, so everyone has them to some degree. They tend to deepen mainly because the cheek above has lost a little fullness and settled lower, leaving less support behind the fold. That's the key to a natural result. Gently restoring support in the cheek and along the jaw often softens the folds beautifully, with only a light touch in the line itself where it helps. We look at your whole midface, so you come away looking refreshed and still completely like you.
Related Presentations
These focused pages explain different patterns within this concern.
Causes and Contributing Factors
These folds form where mobile tissue around the mouth meets more fixed tissue, so they naturally deepen with years of normal expression. Age-related loss of collagen and skin elasticity, reduction and downward shift of cheek fat, loosening of facial ligaments, and loss of bone around the midface and jaw all contribute. Sun exposure, smoking, sleeping position, and significant weight change can add to the effect. Genetics and facial shape strongly influence how prominent the lines become and when.
Signs and Symptoms
Assessment
At your consultation, our physicians look beyond the line itself. We check how full your cheeks are and where they sit, your skin quality, any settling of tissue, the balance between midface and jawline, and how the folds change as you smile and talk. That shows whether lost fullness above, tissue settling or the skin crease is doing most of the work, so each treatment has a clear purpose. Then we design a plan that brings your cheeks, jawline and folds into balance, at a pace and budget that suit you.
Cosmetic consultations are complimentary.
Prevention and Ongoing Care
A good home routine helps the skin around your mouth stay smooth and resilient between treatments. Daily broad-spectrum sun protection preserves collagen, a retinoid improves texture over time, and a rich moisturizer keeps the skin hydrated and supple. Our team can recommend products from our online shop that suit your skin.
Treatment Options
These are some of the options connected to this concern. The appropriate plan depends on assessment, suitability, and your goals.
At our clinic, smile and marionette lines are usually softened by first restoring the support around them, with a light touch in the line itself where it helps.
Our experienced physicians perform all of these treatments.
Uses botulinum toxin type A to temporarily relax selected muscles, softening dynamic lines and helping certain muscle- or sweat-related concerns.
Uses injectable fillers to restore or reshape facial volume and contour, selected for the structure and balance each area needs.
Places small amounts of injectable hydrating or regenerative product within the skin to improve its quality, hydration and smoothness.
Uses absorbable barbed threads to reposition and lift facial tissue, with a gradual collagen build as the threads absorb.
For the fuller picture, explore the treatment pages above or discuss the options during a consultation.
Many patients need only one of these. Your plan combines them only when a combination adds to your result.
Medical Assessment
These folds aren't usually a medical concern. See a doctor promptly if you notice new one-sided drooping or weakness of the face, trouble moving part of the face, sudden asymmetry, or a lump or skin change near the fold, since these suggest something other than ordinary aging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Smile and marionette lines are often deepened by lost support in the cheek and midface above them. Restoring that fullness softens the fold in a natural way and avoids an over-filled look in the crease. Your physician will show you where support helps most for your face.
These folds are part of how your face moves, so the aim is to soften them and bring the lower face back into balance. Results vary from person to person and are kept up with maintenance. At your consultation we'll show you the kind of change that suits your face.
Cost depends on which treatments suit you and how much product your plan needs, and some patients need only one treatment. You'll get clear pricing for your own plan at your consultation before you decide anything.
Physician Assessment
An assessment can help clarify what may be contributing, which options may be appropriate, and what a reasonable next step could look like for you.
Visit Our Clinic
Anti-Aging Medical & Laser Clinic combines medical assessment, individualized planning, physician oversight, and a broad range of treatment options in its Vancouver clinic.
Bring your questions, treatment history, and goals. Your provider can help you understand appropriate options, expected recovery, and realistic outcomes.
Make an Appointment
Use our consultation form below and the clinic can guide you toward the appropriate starting point.
