This Calculator Analyzes if Your Lips Are Aging You
People tend to think about the eyes first when it comes to your physical appearance revealing your age. While it’s true that this is one of the most recognized areas of the face to show the signs of aging (we’re talking to you, crow’s feet), your lips could be giving your age away.
As funny as that seems, there is now actually a lip age calculator that virtually detects how old your lips appear.
In light of the launch of Dermalogica’s Nightly Lip Treatment, which helps restore the look of plump, younger-looking lips while you sleep, the brand created the calculator to give people an idea of how their lips are aging. You start by uploading a selfie, and in less than a minute, your predicted age — based on the look of your lips — is listed at the top of the page (such as: You are 45!). Toward the bottom of the page, the question “How accurate are we?” appears, along with the selections, “Too young, spot on, or too old.” If you select too old, it then brings you to a screen that reads, “Whoops! We may have been misled by your lip area.”
So what exactly causes your lips to age prematurely? New York-based celebrity dermatologist Whitney Bowe shared the common culprits with Yahoo Beauty: “dehydration, inflammation, exposure to environmental stressors such as UV rays and pollution, constant stress and strain on the lip area from chewing, smiling, talking, puckering, pouting, sipping through a straw, whistling and of course, smoking.”
Bowe also points out some common signs of an aging pucker, such as “lips always feeling dry, rough spots around the lips, developing fine lines or feathering around the lips, makeup gets caked into creases of the skin when you smile, or also if your lipstick starts to bleed outside the borders of your lips. You can also start to develop laxity to the jawline and marionette area [the lines that run straight down the outside of your mouth], where it does not look tight and smooth.”
By understanding what causes skin aging, you can begin taking preventive measures sooner rather than later. “Sun protection every morning is key for the lips and the area around the lips,” says Bowe. “Also, double cleansing at night to remove pollution from the skin, not drinking through a straw, and not smoking help.”
Of course, not everyone is ready to give up the straws in their iced coffee or those ubiquitous duck-face selfies, but if you really want to know how well your lips are aging, try playing around with the calculator. It just might motivate you to take better care of your lips.
Cheers to keeping your pucker forever young.
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