What Are Smile Lines and Eye Wrinkles?
Smile lines, also known as nasolabial folds, are the creases that run from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth. Eye wrinkles—commonly referred to as crow’s feet—form at the outer corners of the eyes and deepen with age, laughter, and sun exposure. Both types of wrinkles are dynamic, meaning they’re caused by repeated facial movements, and can become static over time, remaining visible even when the face is at rest.
Why Are Wrinkles Around the Eyes So Common?
The skin around our eyes has a reputation for being especially delicate—thinner and more fragile than the rest of the face. This makes it particularly vulnerable to early signs of aging, including those familiar fine lines known as crow’s feet.
But there’s more to it than just the skin’s texture. Every time we smile, squint at the sun (despite our best efforts to remember sunglasses), or burst into laughter, the tiny muscles encircling our eyes are hard at work. These repetitive movements gradually leave their mark, etching lines where the skin folds the most.
While there’s no one-age-fits-all moment for when eye wrinkles appear, most people notice them becoming more pronounced in their late twenties or early thirties. Several factors contribute to how early and how deep these lines develop, such as:
- Family history (yes, you can thank—or blame—your parents)
- How well you nourish and hydrate your body
- Smoking habits
- Your approach to daily skincare (or lack thereof)
- Sun exposure, especially if sunblock is just an afterthought
In short, wrinkles around the eyes are so common because both our genes and our daily habits team up to make them part of the natural story our faces tell.
Primary Causes of Smile Lines and Eye Wrinkles
- Aging and Collagen Loss
As we age, our skin produces less collagen and elastin—the proteins responsible for skin elasticity and firmness. This structural breakdown causes skin to sag and wrinkle.
- UV Damage
Prolonged sun exposure accelerates photoaging. UV rays penetrate the skin and damage collagen fibers, leading to premature wrinkles around the eyes and mouth.
- Facial Expressions
Repeated facial expressions such as smiling, squinting, and frowning create fine lines that deepen over time.
- Dehydration and Lifestyle Habits
Poor hydration, smoking, and a diet low in antioxidants contribute to reduced skin elasticity and wrinkle formation.
Preventing Smile Lines and Eye Wrinkles
Daily Skincare Routine
Incorporate anti-aging products with retinoids, peptides, and hyaluronic acid. These ingredients hydrate the skin and boost collagen production.
Sun Protection
Use a broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen every day, including around the eyes. UV-blocking sunglasses also reduce squinting and protect delicate skin.
Hydration and Nutrition
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day and eat antioxidant-rich foods like berries, leafy greens, and nuts to support skin health from within.
Professional Treatments That Target Smile Lines and Eye Wrinkles
At Aesthetic Island, we provide science-backed, minimally invasive treatments that help smooth, plump, and firm the skin.
Botox for Crow’s Feet and Dynamic Wrinkles
Botox is a neuromodulator that relaxes facial muscles, effectively reducing the appearance of crow’s feet and smile lines. Results last 3–4 months and are safe with repeated use.
Is Botox Right for Smile Lines and Crow’s Feet? What to Consider
Before deciding if Botox is the best approach for softening smile lines around the eyes, it’s helpful to weigh a few key factors:
- Personal Aesthetic Goals: Botox is ideal for targeting dynamic wrinkles—those formed by repetitive facial movements like laughing or squinting. If your lines are static (present even when your face is at rest), your provider might recommend combining Botox with other treatments for optimal results.
- Comfort with Injectables: Though minimally invasive, Botox is still an injectable. Most treatments are quick with little to no downtime, but it’s important to assess your own comfort level.
- Expected Results and Longevity: Botox offers noticeable smoothing for 3–4 months. Maintenance treatments are needed to sustain the effect, so think about your preference for ongoing upkeep.
- Safety and Medical History: Decades of clinical use and FDA approval make Botox one of the most studied options for wrinkle prevention. However, those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have specific neuromuscular conditions should avoid Botox and consult a qualified provider for alternatives.
- Consultation and Personalization: Since each person’s skin and aging process are unique, a consultation with a skilled provider—like those at medical aesthetics practices using FDA-approved products such as Botox Cosmetic—will ensure your treatment plan fits your needs and goals.
Exploring your options with a professional can help you feel confident in your decision—whether you’re new to Botox or considering alternative treatments for natural-looking rejuvenation.
Dermal Fillers for Smile Lines
Hyaluronic acid-based fillers like Juvederm and Restylane restore volume to deep nasolabial folds and marionette lines, offering immediate results that last up to 12 months.
Morpheus8 Radiofrequency Microneedling
This hybrid treatment stimulates deep collagen regeneration using Morpheus8 and microneedling combined with radiofrequency energy. It tightens skin around the mouth and eyes with minimal downtime.
CO2 Laser Resurfacing
A CO2 laser resurfacing gently removes the top layer of skin and stimulates new skin growth underneath. It’s ideal for treating fine lines under the eyes and around the mouth, with long-lasting results.
PRP Therapy (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
PRP, drawn from your own blood, is injected around the eyes and mouth to promote natural healing and tissue regeneration. This method smooths fine lines and improves skin texture over several sessions.
At-Home Treatments That Complement In-Clinic Procedures
Retinol Eye Creams
Retinol helps promote cell turnover and fade fine lines. For sensitive eye areas, opt for formulations with encapsulated or slow-release retinoids.
Facial Massage
Gentle lymphatic drainage massage improves circulation and reduces puffiness around the eyes, contributing to smoother skin.
Overnight Hydration Masks
Weekly use of hydrating sleep masks enriched with hyaluronic acid can restore moisture and plump fine lines while you sleep.
When to Start Treatment
Preventative skincare and treatments can begin in your late 20s or early 30s. The earlier you start, the better the long-term results. However, it’s never too late—treatments are effective at any age when guided by a licensed professional.
While advanced in-clinic procedures can work wonders, daily habits still play a vital role in keeping fine lines at bay. Limiting excessive sun exposure is one of the most effective ways to protect your skin for the long haul. That doesn’t mean you have to live like a vampire, emerging only after sunset—UV exposure is simply a fact of life. But whenever possible, opt for shade, wear broad-spectrum sunscreen, and use hats or sunglasses to keep those delicate areas shielded.
Ultimately, prevention paired with professional guidance delivers the best results, so whether you’re just starting out or looking to refresh your existing routine, it’s always the right time to invest in your skin’s future.
Choosing the Right Provider
Look for board-certified specialists with experience in facial aesthetics. At Aesthetic Island, our providers customize every treatment plan based on your skin type, age, and aesthetic goals.
Combination Therapy: The Gold Standard in Wrinkle Treatment
Most patients benefit from a combination of Botox, dermal fillers, and collagen-stimulating treatments. This layered approach addresses wrinkles from multiple angles—relaxing muscle movement, replacing lost volume, and rebuilding dermal structure.
Side Effects and Recovery Time
- Botox: Minor swelling or bruising at injection site; no downtime.
- Fillers: Temporary swelling or firmness for 2–5 days.
- Morpheus8: Redness and sensitivity for 1–3 days.
- CO2 Laser: Peeling and redness for 7–10 days.
Why Wrinkles Deepen Over Time
Your specialist will provide a tailored recovery plan to ensure optimal healing.
Wrinkles deepen over time due to a combination of internal aging processes and external environmental factors. Here’s a breakdown of why this happens:
- Collagen and Elastin Loss
As we age, our bodies naturally produce less collagen and elastin—proteins that keep skin firm, plump, and elastic. With reduced support from these structural proteins, the skin becomes thinner and less resilient, making wrinkles more pronounced.
- Repeated Facial Movements
Every time you smile, frown, squint, or raise your eyebrows, your facial muscles contract and create lines in the skin. Over time, these repetitive motions cause the skin to crease permanently, especially if the skin is losing elasticity.
- Sun Exposure (Photoaging)
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun damages collagen fibers and leads to the buildup of abnormal elastin. This triggers the production of enzymes that break down collagen, accelerating the formation and deepening of wrinkles—particularly around the eyes, mouth, and forehead.
- Loss of Fat and Volume
With age, facial fat pads shrink and shift downward. This causes hollowing under the eyes and flattening of the cheeks, which emphasizes the depth of lines and folds, like nasolabial folds (smile lines).
- Slower Skin Cell Turnover
Younger skin renews itself quickly, keeping the surface smooth. As cell turnover slows with age, dead skin cells accumulate, and the skin becomes dull, rough, and more lined.
- Dryness and Dehydration
Older skin produces less oil, leading to dryness. Dehydrated skin lacks suppleness and is more prone to wrinkling, making existing lines appear deeper.
- Lifestyle and Environmental Factors
Smoking, stress, poor sleep, and a diet low in antioxidants accelerate oxidative damage to skin cells, weakening the skin’s ability to repair itself. Pollution and toxins further degrade collagen, making wrinkles worse.
- Gravity
Over time, gravity pulls on the skin, causing it to sag and fold in areas with weaker support—like the jowls and under the eyes—leading to deeper lines and furrows.
Does Smiling Cause Wrinkles? The Truth Behind Expression Lines
It’s one of the most frequently asked questions in aesthetic dermatology: “Does smiling cause wrinkles?” The answer isn’t as straightforward as “yes” or “no,” but rather lies in understanding how facial expressions interact with skin aging over time. Smiling, while a beautiful and emotionally beneficial human behavior, does play a role in the formation of certain types of wrinkles—specifically dynamic wrinkles—but this doesn’t mean you should stop smiling to preserve your skin.
Let’s take a closer look at the science, myths, and what you can do to protect your skin while still expressing joy.
Understanding Dynamic vs. Static Wrinkles
Before diving into the role of smiling, it’s important to differentiate between the two main types of wrinkles:
- Dynamic wrinkles are caused by repeated facial movements like smiling, squinting, frowning, or raising your eyebrows. These lines appear only when the muscle contracts and typically disappear when the face is at rest—especially in younger individuals.
- Static wrinkles are permanent lines that are visible even when your face is relaxed. Over time, dynamic wrinkles can evolve into static wrinkles as collagen loss and reduced skin elasticity set in.
Smiling contributes specifically to dynamic wrinkles. These often appear as crow’s feet at the corners of the eyes, laugh lines (nasolabial folds), and fine creases around the mouth. While these wrinkles are a natural part of aging, their depth and visibility are influenced by a variety of internal and external factors—not just how often you smile.
Why Smiling Affects the Skin
Each time you smile, dozens of facial muscles contract to move your lips, cheeks, and eyes. This contraction compresses the skin, and over years of repeated motion, the skin forms creases in areas of frequent movement. Younger skin bounces back quickly, thanks to abundant collagen and elastin. But as these proteins decline with age, the skin doesn’t recover as easily from that compression, leading to visible lines.
Smiling specifically activates the zygomatic major and minor muscles (which lift the corners of the mouth) and the orbicularis oculi muscle (which contracts the skin around the eyes). These muscular actions are responsible for the expression of joy, but also the formation of smile-related wrinkles.
Is Smiling the Main Culprit? Not Exactly.
While smiling does contribute to wrinkle formation, it’s not the primary cause of wrinkles. In fact, if smiling were the biggest risk factor for wrinkles, we’d all have deeply lined faces by our mid-20s. The reality is that several other factors work in tandem with facial expressions to cause wrinkles, such as:
- Aging: Natural aging slows collagen and elastin production, making skin less resilient.
- Sun Exposure: Ultraviolet (UV) damage is a leading contributor to premature aging and wrinkle formation, particularly around the eyes and mouth.
- Genetics: Some people are genetically predisposed to develop deeper wrinkles, regardless of facial movement.
- Smoking: Reduces blood flow and depletes nutrients in the skin, weakening its structure.
- Sleep Position: Pressing your face into a pillow nightly can lead to sleep wrinkles over time.
In this context, smiling is just one component of the aging puzzle. It’s the cumulative effect of lifestyle, environment, and time that transforms temporary expression lines into permanent wrinkles.
Should You Stop Smiling to Prevent Wrinkles? Absolutely Not.
The emotional and social benefits of smiling far outweigh the aesthetic concern of a few fine lines. Smiling:
- Reduces stress and lowers cortisol levels
- Improves mood and boosts serotonin
- Strengthens relationships and enhances social connection
- May even contribute to longevity
Suppressing your emotions to preserve your appearance is not a healthy or sustainable strategy. Instead of avoiding smiling, the better approach is to support your skin with proactive anti-aging care.
How to Smile Without Accelerating Wrinkles
There’s no reason to hold back your smile if you take steps to protect your skin. Here’s how to support healthy, youthful skin without sacrificing joyful expressions:
- Use Sunscreen Daily
Apply a broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen every morning to prevent photoaging. The skin around the eyes is particularly delicate and prone to crow’s feet from both UV exposure and smiling.
- Invest in Retinoids and Peptides
Topical retinoids stimulate collagen production and improve skin texture, reducing the appearance of fine lines. Peptide serums help rebuild the skin’s structure and support elasticity.
- Hydrate and Moisturize
Well-hydrated skin is more supple and less prone to creasing. Use hyaluronic acid-based products and drink plenty of water to maintain hydration from the inside out.
- Consider Preventive Botox
Botox relaxes the muscles responsible for dynamic wrinkles, especially around the eyes and mouth. Many patients opt for “Baby Botox” in their late 20s or 30s to prevent smile lines from becoming permanent.
- Use Eye Creams with Antioxidants
Antioxidant-rich eye creams help protect the fragile eye area from environmental damage and reinforce the skin barrier, minimizing wrinkle formation from both movement and UV exposure.
Smile Freely, Treat Smartly
Yes, smiling contributes to the development of dynamic wrinkles, but it’s only one piece of a much larger puzzle. Wrinkles are the result of time, muscle movement, environmental damage, and internal aging processes—not just joy. At Aesthetic Island, we believe you should smile proudly and let your expressions reflect your personality. With the right preventative skincare and professional treatments, you can keep smiling while preserving smooth, youthful skin.
There’s beauty in your smile—and with thoughtful care, there can be radiance in your skin, too.
Can You Actually Get Rid of Smile Lines?
Smile lines—also known as nasolabial folds—are a natural part of aging, but they can become deeper and more prominent over time, leading many people to wonder: Can you actually get rid of smile lines? The honest answer is that while completely eliminating smile lines isn’t always possible without surgical intervention, there are a variety of highly effective treatments—both non-invasive and minimally invasive—that can dramatically soften, reduce, and in some cases almost erase their appearance.
Whether you’re in your late 20s and noticing early creases or in your 50s and dealing with deeper folds, today’s advanced aesthetic technologies and skincare innovations offer multiple solutions tailored to your goals and comfort level.
Smile lines are the creases that extend from the sides of your nose to the corners of your mouth. They’re formed by repeated facial expressions—like smiling and laughing—but become more pronounced due to volume loss, skin laxity, and reduced collagen production as we age. Over time, fat pads in the mid-face shift downward, making these folds appear deeper and more fixed.
Because smile lines are both structural (caused by fat movement) and dynamic (caused by muscle movement), treating them effectively often requires a combination of therapies.
Top Professional Treatments to Reduce Smile Lines
- Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers are the gold standard for reducing smile lines. These injectable gels—typically made of hyaluronic acid—work by restoring volume under the skin and physically lifting the creases.
- Popular options: Juvederm, Restylane, Belotero
- Benefits: Immediate results, minimal downtime, lasts 6–18 months
- Best for: Moderate to deep nasolabial folds
Fillers also stimulate collagen production, so with consistent treatments, the skin’s natural structure can gradually improve.
- Radiofrequency Microneedling (Morpheus8)
This innovative treatment combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy to stimulate deep collagen production and tighten skin around the mouth and cheeks. It doesn’t add volume like fillers but rebuilds the skin’s internal scaffolding, reducing the depth of smile lines over time.
- Best for: Mild to moderate wrinkles, skin tightening
- Benefits: Long-term collagen remodeling, no volume distortion
- Laser Skin Resurfacing (e.g., CO2 or Erbium Lasers)
Laser treatments help resurface the top layers of skin and encourage new collagen formation in the deeper layers. This improves texture, elasticity, and reduces fine lines, including superficial smile lines.
- Best for: Surface-level smile lines or patients with photoaging
- Recovery: May involve 5–10 days of downtime depending on intensity
- Botox (Limited Use for Smile Lines)
While Botox is not a primary solution for nasolabial folds, it can be used off-label in select cases to relax surrounding muscles and soften the appearance of lines. More often, it’s used in combination with fillers for a balanced outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are smile lines a sign of aging?
Yes, but they can also appear in younger individuals due to genetics and lifestyle habits. Early care can minimize their appearance.
Is it safe to use Botox near the eyes?
Yes, when administered by trained professionals. Botox is FDA-approved for treating crow’s feet.
How long do results last?
Results depend on the treatment—Botox lasts 3–4 months, fillers up to a year, and CO2 laser effects can last 2–3 years.
Can I combine treatments?
Absolutely. In fact, combining Botox and fillers often produces the most natural-looking, long-lasting results.
Book a Consultation at Aesthetic Island
Located in Brooklyn, NY, Aesthetic Island is the premier med spa for non-invasive wrinkle treatments. We offer customized plans, advanced technologies, and a compassionate team ready to help you look and feel your best.
