In short
- 🚨 A lip lift does not erase the barcode. It shortens the skin; it does not replace it or change its texture.
- 🔑 It can tighten it slightly and with that soften the most superficial lines a little, but that is not its purpose and it must not be sold as such. The deep lines are still there.
- They are a problem of three components at once: the quality of the skin, the repeated contraction of the muscle around the mouth and the loss of tissue support.
- The lip ages by rules of its own. It differs from facial skin in barrier function, melanin content, absorption capacity and fat distribution, and those differences determine what works.
- And there are differences by sex: women typically have more pronounced perioral lines than men.
- What the literature identifies as the priority for the perioral area is slowing the degradation of the extracellular matrix and adding tissue volume — not stretching.
- 🚨 Tobacco is the best-known accelerator, and it is also what compromises any surgery in the area.
- The treatments that do act on these lines work on the surface of the skin, on the muscle or on the support, and none of them is shortening surgery.
No. And it is worth saying so in the first line, because it is one of the most expensive mistaken expectations of this surgery.
The vertical lines that appear over the upper lip — the “barcode” — are not a problem of the length of the skin, but of its quality. And wrinkled skin, when stretched, is still wrinkled: it is higher up, but it is the same skin.
Why stretching does not erase them
It is the part that is hardest to accept and the most important.
A vertical line on the upper lip is in the skin: it is a groove that has gradually been etched in by the combination of repeated muscle contraction, loss of elasticity and accumulated sun damage.
A lip lift removes a strip of skin from the top and raises the rest. What is left below the incision is exactly the same skin you had, with exactly the same grooves, a little higher up.
🔑 The analogy that explains it well: if a shirt is creased, pulling it up by the shoulders does not iron it.
⚠️ What does happen, and it is worth saying honestly: removing skin creates some tension in the area, and that tension can slightly soften the finest lines. It is a minor and variable side effect — not a treatment for the lines, and not a reason to have surgery.
What they are really made of
The barcode does not have a single cause, which is why it rarely responds to a single treatment.
1. The quality of the skin. The 2025 review of lip ageing notes that in the perioral area the priority is to inhibit the degradation of the extracellular matrix — the scaffolding of collagen and elastin that holds up the skin — and to add tissue volume. In other words: the underlying problem is structural, in the tissue itself.
2. Contraction of the muscle. The orbicularis oris contracts thousands of times a day — talking, drinking, pursing — and each contraction folds the skin in the same direction. Over the years, that repeated fold becomes etched in.
3. Loss of support. The tissue underneath thins and the skin has nothing left to rest on, so the grooves deepen.
🔑 Almost no case involves a single component, and that explains why an isolated treatment usually falls short.
And one peculiarity of the lip worth knowing: the 2025 review stresses that the lip and the skin of the face are different tissues in barrier function, melanin content, transepidermal absorption capacity, frequency of physiological activity and fat distribution. That is why generic facial treatments perform unevenly here, and why the area has priorities of its own.
🚨 Tobacco
It is the best-known accelerator of these particular lines, to the point that in everyday speech they are called “smoker’s lines”.
And there is a second reason for mentioning it on a page in this series: tobacco is also what most compromises any surgery in the area. In facial surgery, the risk of a wound complication in active smokers is between 1.8 and 12 times higher according to a review of nine observational studies — with a wide range that is published as such. That is why we require one month without tobacco before surgery and two weeks afterwards.
🔑 In other words: for someone who smokes and is bothered by the barcode, tobacco is on both sides of the equation — it is part of the cause and it is part of the risk of treating it.
What really does act on them
Each component has its own territory, and none of them is shortening the skin:
On the surface and texture of the skin. The treatments that resurface — fractional laser, peelings — act on the quality of the tissue, which is where the groove is. They are covered in fractional CO₂ laser, CO₂ laser for wrinkles and photoageing and chemical peeling.
On contraction of the muscle. Neuromodulators reduce the repeated contraction that etches the fold. Our general page is at botulinum toxin. ⚠️ General information about the procedure; the indication and the regimen are for a professional to determine in consultation.
On support. Fillers add volume to tissue that has lost its underpinning. They are covered in hyaluronic acid treatments.
And on prevention, which is the most underrated of all: sun protection — the review of lip ageing identifies preventing photoageing as a priority for the vermilion — and not smoking.
🔑 And all four are offered here: laser, peeling, toxin and hyaluronic acid, as well as surgery. If what suits you is one of those and not a lip lift, that is what will be recommended — which is exactly what this page has been saying since the first line. Which combination is right for each case is a clinical decision and is taken by examining.
So what is a lip lift for?
For something else, and it is worth being clear about it before deciding anything: it shortens the distance between the nose and the lip, unfurls the red border and brings back the tooth visible at rest. All of that has been measured, and it is in the lip lift guide.
🔑 And quite a few cases need both: surgery for the position and a surface treatment for the texture, in whatever order is right. What does not work is expecting one to do the other’s job.
Book an appointment
You can book your own appointment. Pick the day and time from the free slots in the diary, in a panel that opens right here, without leaving this page.
Frequently asked questions
If I have a lip lift, will my lines show more?
There is no mechanical reason for them to get worse: the skin ends up slightly tighter, not looser. What does happen is that with more red lip and more tooth on show, the eye goes to that area, and some people then notice lines that were already there.
Can I have laser over the lip lift scar?
Treating the scar has its own calendar and its own window, and it is covered in the post-surgical scar protocol. Treating the scar and treating the lines around it are not the same thing and they do not have to coincide in time. Which comes first and how far apart is set by the surgeon in your case.
Are creams any use?
They can act on the quality of the skin and on the finest lines, and preventing photoageing is a recognised priority for this area. What they do not do is erase an established groove.
Why do men show them less?
The review of lip ageing notes that women typically have more pronounced perioral lines. It is a described difference, and one of the reasons demand for treatment in this area is so asymmetrical.
In what order should I do things?
It is decided in the consultation, because it depends on what weighs most in your case. What is general is this: surgery has its own healing period and treating the surface of freshly operated skin is not a neutral matter.
Sources
- Chouksey G, Agrawal A, Bhargava S, Karna ST. Review on the impact of smoking on wound healing following facial procedures. Archives of Craniofacial Surgery, 2026;27:1-9. PMID 41787902. — Nine observational studies screened from 129: in active smokers the risk of a wound complication is between 1.8 and 12 times higher. Several of the included studies found no significant association in their own particular setting.
- Sun F, Liu Y, Zhang T. Aging of the Human Lip: Current Knowledge and Clinical Implications. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025. PMID 40735924. — Review of lip ageing: the lip differs from facial skin in barrier function, melanin content, transepidermal absorption capacity, frequency of physiological activity and fat distribution, so its ageing features are its own; there are differences by sex, with perioral lines typically more pronounced in women; the priorities identified are restoring the barrier and preventing photoageing for the vermilion, and inhibiting degradation of the extracellular matrix together with adding tissue volume for the perioral area.
- Komisarek O, Banasiak Ł, Olichwer V, Burduk P. The Bullhorn and Beyond: Evidence-Based Review and Clinical Recommendations for Lip Lift Techniques. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2026. PMID 41731334. — PRISMA 2020 systematic review of 7 studies and 1,754 patients; it describes the effect of the surgical lip lift as shortening of the cutaneous upper lip and increased vermilion show, with no effect on perioral lines among the outcomes measured.
Book your consultation
If what bothers you when you look at yourself is the vertical lines and not the position of the lip, this surgery is not your answer — and knowing that beforehand saves a good deal. An in-person assessment exists precisely to separate the two problems and tell you which one you have, to what degree, and what acts on each.
Clinical confirmation by the surgeon
Registration no. 46/4624503
Registration no. 46/4623604
Registration no. 46/4624077
Last reviewed: 19 September 2026. This content is for information only and does not replace an individual assessment by a healthcare professional.
