Are Anti-Wrinkle Straws Worth It? I Tested One Out
It's never too early to start thinking about stocking stuffers.
Love drinking out of silicone or metal straws? We can’t blame you. They’re great substitutes for plastic straws, which are bad for the environment, and they elevate iced drinks like no other gimmick. So, we’re not here to tell you to ditch your favorite sipper completely. But we do have a bit of unfortunate news: Using a straw could contribute to wrinkles around your mouth. While there’s nothing wrong with smile lines and mouth wrinkles, there’s also nothing wrong with wanting to prevent them, especially if you use a straw daily.
Why can straws cause wrinkles?
“The repeated pursing movement of the muscle around the mouth (the orbicularis oris) can lead to wrinkle formation,” Dr. Kimberly Lee, board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, tells First. “So unfortunately, regardless of the type of material the straw is made of, repetitive pursing of the lips can lead to unwanted wrinkles around the mouth.”
Once mouth lines set in, they like to stay. “The wrinkles around the mouth can be challenging to address,” says Dr. Lee. “Very small amounts of Botox, along with radio frequency tightening of the skin, can help counteract wrinkles around the mouth. If wrinkles are deep, small aliquots of filler can also help fill them in, but caution is necessary to avoid getting a duck-like appearance.”
What if you love your reusables straws but don’t want Botox? Take heart — there’s an inexpensive anti-wrinkle straw topper you can buy for under $10, and I tried it myself.
Are anti-wrinkle straw toppers worth it?
Curious about anti-wrinkle straws and toppers, I tried out the Pixie Tip (Buy from PixieTip.com, $8.50). It’s a silicone straw topper in the shape of a bow, and it fits conveniently over the top of small straws so that you no longer need to purse your lips while drinking from them. (For larger straws, Pixie Tip also sells a size large.) So far, I’ve had nothing but success. The straw topper is comfortable to use and easy to clean — I scrub the short inner tube with a straw cleaning brush. My only complaint is that I wish it came in an even larger size; the small fits straws between 6 and 8 millimeters (mm) in diameter, and the large fits 8 to 10 mm straws. But the straw on my beloved reusable water bottle is somewhere between 15 and 20 mm, so I’m out of luck there.
The Pixie Tip isn’t the only anti-wrinkle drinking gadget out there. There’s also the Lip Sip (Buy from Amazon, $14.95), a silicone topper and straw combined. Another simple wrinkle prevention method? Topical treatments, such as Fleur & Bee’s One Lip Wonder ($24) for instant lip hydration and Yeouth’s Retinol Serum ($21.95) for the area around your mouth.
Bottom line? The Pixie Tip and the Lip Sip do reduce the amount of tension around your mouth, and they make for great stocking stuffers. If you rarely use a straw, skip the purchase — but if you use one all the time, go for it; it can’t hurt, and it might help you avoid some fine lines.
