Drinking Through Straws Speeds Up Lip Wrinkles
Photo: Unsplash
3-Line Summary
- Every sip through a straw repeats the same lip-pursing motion.
- Contracting those mouth muscles daily speeds up vertical lines around the lips.
- Sipping straight from the cup helps prevent mouth wrinkles.
Why Straws Cause Wrinkles
Expression wrinkles get etched in when the same muscle contracts over and over — the same way a habitual frown creates lines between the brows.
Drinking through a straw purses your lips into an “O,” contracting the orbicularis oris (the ring of muscle around the mouth). If you sip coffee and drinks through a straw several times a day, that motion repeats hundreds of times. When you’re young the lips bounce back, but as skin elasticity declines, vertical fine lines around the mouth gradually set in. It’s a similar reason smokers develop deep lip lines — repeated lip-pursing.
❌ Common Habit — Everything Through a Straw
- Habitually drinking water, coffee, and drinks through a straw
- Pursing the lips hard to suck
- Biting a tumbler straw all day long
⭕ Better Habit — Sip Naturally From the Cup
- Where you can, drink straight from the rim of the cup.
- If you must use a straw, avoid over-pursing your lips.
- Keep the lip area well moisturized to maintain elasticity.
Key Takeaways
- Lip wrinkles build up from repeated pursing of the mouth.
- Cutting back on straws is a small habit that pays off long-term.
- Reviewing your expression habits overall helps even more.
Make your next drink straw-free — sip it from the cup. 🥤