How to Get Rid of Marionette Lines: The Best Fine Line Treatment!
Marionette lines are wrinkles that appear on the lower half of the face, making vertical lines from the corners of the mouth down toward your chin. They get their name from marionette string puppets, which have characteristic split jaws controlled by puppeteers.
These aptly named wrinkles are a natural part of aging, but as one of the most prominent types of wrinkles on the face, they can be a real pain. The good news is that you can reduce the appearance of marionette lines and other facial wrinkles with some serious skin care products and treatments.
Here's your complete guide to marionette lines, what causes them, how to prevent them, and how to reduce their appearance.
What Causes Marionette Lines (& Other Facial Wrinkles)?
The unavoidable thing that will cause wrinkles like marionette lines is, of course, aging. No matter how many anti-aging products we use, the reality is that we will get wrinkles as we get older, and that's okay.
This happens because the structure of the skin changes over time. When we're young, our bodies produce a plentiful supply of collagen and elastin — the two proteins needed to support skin health. Collagen is what keeps your skin firm and taut, while elastin keeps it stretchy.
As we age, our natural collagen and elastin production declines, and the skin loses its structural integrity. This means that those wrinkles you'd only see during certain facial expressions start to become more permanent. Marionette lines, like smile lines, appear because we naturally move our mouths and stretch our skin when smiling, talking, laughing, and eating, and eventually, our skin loses its ability to bounce back from this. Gravity also draws loose sagging skin downwards, and this will show most prominently as folds around the cheeks and jawline.
Aside from the inevitable aging process, there are also some external lifestyle factors that contribute to the formation of marionette lines. Excess sun exposure, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol can all contribute to and accelerate the loss of collagen and elastin in your body.
More helpful reading: Losing collagen in face
How to Prevent Marionette Lines
Although we can't prevent wrinkles forever, there are a few ways we can protect our skin and maintain a youthful appearance for a little longer. Here are a few ways you can prevent premature marionette lines:
-
Wear sunscreen. Avoiding sun damage is key to maintaining a healthy supply of collagen and elastin in the skin.
-
Maintain a healthy diet. Nourish your body with foods that are good for your skin, too.
-
Keep skin hydrated. Moisturize your skin every day, and don't forget to drink plenty of water.
-
Avoid smoking. Cigarettes contain thousands of toxins that wreak havoc on your skin, causing wrinkled smokers' lips and marionette lines.
-
Limit alcohol consumption. Consuming alcohol can dry out your skin, cause inflammation, and enable free radicals to damage your collagen and elastin supplies.
-
Manage stress. Stress can lead to inflammation, weaken your skin barrier, and contribute to the skin aging process. 1
-
Get plenty of beauty sleep. Your body takes time to rest and repair while you sleep, and a regular lack of sleep can affect your skin tone and make your skin drier, duller, and more prone to wrinkles.
So although aging is inevitable, reducing skin damage with a healthy lifestyle can help prevent marionette lines and other wrinkles.
11 Ways to Treat Marionette Lines
When it comes to reducing the appearance of marionette lines, there are plenty of treatment options out there. Here are the best of the best treatments out there, as approved by experts and dermatologists:
1. Collagen Supplements
To address the root cause of marionette lines, you'll need to boost your body's ability to produce collagen and elastin. Collagen supplements are a great way to combat the collagen depletion that comes with age, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and preventing sagging skin. They work by giving your body a supply of collagen peptides, which can trigger your skin cells to produce more collagen. 2
When you use a collagen supplement, it's important to find one with hydrolyzed collagen peptides and other skin-supporting ingredients, without any harmful additives. Taut Liquid Collagen Drink is a great option — each serving contains 13 grams of hydrolyzed marine collagen peptides, which is the highest dose of collagen of any other supplement on the market right now.
Each bottle of Taut Liquid Collagen also contains elastin peptides, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and grape seed extract to support skin health. It's also free from any nasty additives, it's naturally sweetened with Stevia leaf, and it has a delicious flavor from real orange juice. A daily dose for three weeks, followed by a maintenance dose 3–4 times per week, will help rebuild the structure of your skin from the inside out, reducing wrinkles like marionette lines. The result is a naturally youthful appearance, without the need for any invasive or costly treatments.
2. Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a key component of plump, youthful skin. It sits alongside collagen and elastin in the foundations of your skin, adding essential lubrication between these two important proteins. HA functions as a humectant, which is like a sponge that attracts and retains water, plumping up your skin.
As we age, the body loses a lot of its natural moisture, resulting in thinner, duller skin that's more prone to wrinkles like marionette lines. You can find different forms of HA in skincare products — especially moisturizers, serums, masks, and supplements — which can be used in your daily skin care routine to replace lost volume and plump up your skin.
Taut Hydrate hyaluronic acid capsules are a great way to hydrate and smooth your skin, with a natural I-woke-up-like-this look. Unlike topical skin treatments, these HA supplements can replenish your skin's moisture from the inside out. Each capsule delivers HA and grape seed extract (a powerful antioxidant) to the foundational layers of your skin, where it can effectively combat volume loss and soften your skin. 3
3. Antioxidants
When it comes to preventing wrinkles, antioxidants are an essential set of ingredients to have in your skincare regime. Antioxidants play a key role in the body, neutralizing free radicals and preventing oxidative stress — which can be very destructive to your collagen supplies. Antioxidants also help reduce inflammation and protect your skin against sun damage.
You'll find a wide range of antioxidants in skincare products, the most common ones being vitamin C, vitamin E, resveratrol, and retinoids. Vitamin C is especially important for combatting fine lines and wrinkles like marionette lines, and this is because it's a key component in collagen production. Your body needs it to make collagen, and it also helps protect your existing collagen from damage by stress, inflammation, and toxins. 4
To nourish your skin with this vital vitamin, try Taut Collagen Mask — our luxurious sheet mask infused with vitamin C, collagen peptides, hyaluronic acid, and botanical squalene. Its rich formula works to plump up your skin, reduce sagging, boost radiance, and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
More helpful reading:
https://www.renewskinco.com/blogs/i/collagen-face-mask-benefits
4. Retinol
Retinol is a powerful ingredient to have in your skincare collection if you want to combat wrinkles like marionette lines — but it's also a harsh one. Retinol belongs to a family of ingredients known as retinoids, which are all derived from vitamin A and have the ability to increase skin cell turnover. The downside is that these ingredients can cause skin irritation, redness, and peeling, especially for sensitive skin types.
If your skin can tolerate it, retinol benefits your skin by boosting skin cell turnover, increasing collagen production, and unclogging pores. Use it as part of your evening skincare routine 2–3 times per week to help reduce the appearance of marionette lines.
5. Facial Yoga
Facial yoga is a natural way to tone your facial muscles and tighten your skin, giving your face a natural lift. They can be helpful for marionette lines and nasolabial folds (the vertical lines from your nose down to the corners of your upper lip), as there are plenty of exercises that target the mouth, cheeks, and jawline in particular.
By regularly exercising your jaw with these face yoga exercises, you can start to gently contour your facial shape. It's also said to help improve blood flow and wake up underused facial muscles for a healthier, more vibrant complexion. Try a few movements every day to help treat marionette lines, smile lines, and other wrinkles.
6. Chemical Peels
Aside from your home skincare regimen, you may also want to seek out professional skin treatments for treating marionette lines. One of the best anti-aging treatments you can get from your dermatologist is a chemical peel — a deeply exfoliating treatment that removes dead skin cells to rejuvenate your complexion.
There are a few different types of chemical peels:
-
Superficial — light exfoliation, best for shallow marionette lines.
-
Medium — deeper exfoliation, better moderate marionette lines.
-
Deep — best for deeper lines and wrinkles, but also a more invasive treatment with a longer recovery time.
Your dermatologist will use exfoliating acids to dissolve away dead skin cells, essentially peeling away the outer layer of your skin to reveal a fresher and more youthful layer below. The result is smoother, tighter skin, and a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles.
7. Microneedling
Microneedling is another professional treatment option to treat marionette lines. It's a form of collagen induction therapy, which means that it boosts your natural production of collagen to give your skin a more youthful appearance.
In this treatment, a skincare professional will roll a handheld microneedling device to gently roll tiny needles over the surface of your skin. This creates microscopic punctures in your skin, triggering a natural wound repair response where your body produces more collagen in order to heal the skin. This collagen is where all of the microneedling benefits lie — it doesn't just heal your skin, it also plumps up your complexion, combats volume loss, reduces sagging, and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles.
If you want to reduce marionette lines, you can opt for a microneedling session for your face every 4–6 weeks.
8. Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers are injectable treatments used to plump up your skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles like marionette lines and forehead wrinkles. There are 2 main types of dermal fillers: hyaluronic acid fillers and poly-L lactic acid fillers.
Hyaluronic acid fillers work instantly, using the acid to inflate the area below a wrinkle or scar, creating a smooth look. These dermal fillers can be injected directly into each marionette line for an instant treatment, and they're also good for nasolabial folds, frown lines, crow's feet, smile lines, and acne scars.
A poly-L lactic acid dermal filler takes longer to show results. It works by stimulating the production of collagen over time, so the effect takes a few months. This type of dermal filler is less efficient, but it can still be used as an effective marionette lines treatment.
9. Botox
Botox is another form of anti-aging injection that can be used to treat marionette lines. Unlike a dermal filler, Botox targets the muscles in your face rather than the wrinkle itself. It uses a neurotoxin (botulinum toxin) to prevent specific facial muscles from contracting which in turn prevents the skin from moving and forming wrinkles. It's better used as a preventative treatment, but it can also reduce the appearance of existing marionette lines.
To prevent and reduce wrinkles like marionette lines, nasolabial folds, and forehead wrinkles, you'll need to repeat Botox injections in these areas every 4–6 months.
More helpful reading: How long does Botox last?
10. Laser Treatments
Laser treatments are some of the more invasive treatment options for wrinkles, but they can be very effective. Laser resurfacing uses laser light to remove the top layers of the skin, creating a controlled wound that encourages the growth of new collagen. The result is tighter, smoother skin with a more radiant glow.
While laser resurfacing can be a very effective marionette line treatment, you will need to repeat it every few months ot maintain your results. It's also an invasive treatment, meaning that you'll experience, redness, swelling, pain, and tenderness for up to 2 weeks post-treatment. It's also crucial that you get your treatments from a properly trained cosmetic dermatologist, to avoid any complications from the procedure.
11. Cosmetic Surgery
It's also possible to treat marionette lines by going under the knife for a facelift — but this is the most invasive (and expensive) treatment option. That said, it's the only permanent treatment for marionette lines.
In a facelift for marionette lines, your doctor will make incisions, remove fat and excess skin, and then pull the skin up and backwards for a firmer look. This smooths out the wrinkles around your mouth, corrects jowls, and enhances the contours of your jawline.
A facelift is the only way to alter your facial shape and treat deep lines in the long-term, but it's also one of the most invasive cosmetic procedures out there. The immediate after effects can be painful, and recovery takes at least 2 weeks.
The Bottom Line
There are plenty of ways to prevent and reduce marionette lines, and the best approach will combine a number of them. With healthy lifestyle habits like wearing sunscreen, avoiding smoking, staying hydrated, and getting plenty of sleep, you can give your body a helping hand to prevent the formation of wrinkles. Supplements can help boost your body's ability to produce collagen even further, for even better skin.
Follow this up with a great at-home skincare routine using collagen peptides, hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants, and visit your dermatologist to decide which in-office treatments are right for you. You'll probably find that marionette lines can be treated pretty effectively with non-surgical treatments like dermal fillers or laser treatments, but you can opt for a facelift if you're willing to go under the knife.
A Quick & Natural Way to Transform Your Skin
If you'd prefer to take the natural route to youthful skin, collagen supplements are a great place to start. Of all of the treatment options out there, supplements are a simple, non-invasive, and effective way to nourish your skin and significantly boost your production of collagen.
With Taut's Intense Transformation Program, you can see results for your skin in as little as 3 weeks. This beauty bundle contains 3 boxes (24 bottles) of Taut Liquid Collagen, which you take every evening to kickstart your body's production of collagen and tone up your skin.
Each bottle of Taut Liquid Collagen packs a punch, with 13 grams of hydrolyzed marine collagen peptides, elastin peptides, grape seed extract, hyaluronic acid, salmon DNA, ceramide, and vitamins B and C. It's a powerful formula that tackles aging from all angles, supporting collagen in the dermis while also protecting it, hydrating your skin, and boosting your radiance.
Subscribe to our skin care subscription service to save up to 15% on Taut Collagen products!
References:
