Gen Z’s latest obsession with ‘anti-wrinkle straws’ ‘lacks scientific basis’, claims skincare expert

Gen Z has popularized yet another trend, and this time it involves an oddly shaped straw.

In their never-ending race to turn back the clock on aging, the generation has gained momentum TikTok revealing what they say is the latest anti-wrinkle weapon, reports The telegraph.

The latest fad is a modern take on the standard straw, and instead of sucking through a vertical tube, influencers suggest using a version with a question mark.

While some content creators from the UK and US insist that using the unique straw avoids tension or contraction of the lips – and therefore reduces facial lines – experts warn that there is ‘no scientific evidence’ that anti-wrinkle straws prevent the appearance of wrinkles.

Dr. Leah Totton from Dr. The Leah Cosmetic Skin Clinics chain told the publication: ‘There is no scientific evidence as to whether anti-wrinkle straws are an effective method of preventing perioral wrinkles – even a slight puckering of the lips is still involved.’

This advice hasn’t stopped influencers like Michaela Scott, who said the straw prevented users from having to “tongue” their lips.

The aesthetic school graduate from California also explained how to use the straw.

She pointed to its top surface and said, ‘The hole is right here, so you drink like this. But it’s like you’re not like pursing your lips… you’re not pursing your lips as hard when you’re drinking through it sideways like this.’

She then gently sucked through the hole in the straw as she demonstrated its use to her followers.

Nearby in Orange County, a dentist took over TikTok advising that anti-wrinkle straws ‘help prevent the formation of wrinkles around the lips called “smoker’s lines”‘.

Meanwhile in Washington, an influencer who tried the device for the first time labeled it “effective.”

She said: ‘Do I think it’s effective? A little yes – because I don’t purse my lips. I do not persecute them’.

She also said she would use them again as her current ‘lip wrinkles’ and ‘smoker’s lines’ were from using standard straws.

Instead of sucking through a vertical tube, influencers suggest using a question mark version instead

Dr. Daniel Hunt, the founder and director of Imperial Aesthetics, cautioned that the straws wouldn’t ward off facial lines on their own—especially if you weren’t an avid straw user.

He said, ‘Do it I think they will cause dramatically fewer of these lines in 30 years? None. It really depends on how much you use a straw in the first place. If we’re just talking about a drink on a Friday or Saturday night, then using the anti-wrinkle straw won’t do much for you.

The anti-wrinkle straws are usually sold in sets and can be found on Amazon from up to $8 to $10.

While some are made from disposable materials, variations of the product are also made from stainless steel and glass.

Earlier in the year, Dr. Lara Devgan, a plastic surgeon, entered the debate and warned that ‘repeated burping and drinking through a straw’ could contribute to ‘the development of fine lines in that area’.

This happens because the skin is ‘like a piece of paper’, she told the New York Post.

The anti-wrinkle straws are usually sold in sets and can be found on Amazon from up to $8 to $10

‘If you repeatedly pucker (lips) over and over again in the same puckering patterns, you will get etched lines and it will gradually become harder for them to go away. When we see people drinking through straws repeatedly, these lines get deeper and deeper,” she added.

Celebrity esthetician Reneé Rouleau also told Marie Claire that pursing your lips ‘will promote the breakdown of collagen and elasticity more quickly,’ which can lead to wrinkles.

Folds around the mouth are often referred to as smoker’s lines because it’s common for people who smoke to develop them from repeatedly drawing their lips around a cigarette – but smokers aren’t the only ones at risk.

Anyone who purses their lips frequently can develop the marks, including people who make duck faces for selfies or while applying makeup.

The muscle that surrounds the lips, known as the orbicularis oris, controls their shape and movement and is shaped like purse strings.

Narrowing your lips causes more tension in the skin, which leads to wrinkles, explained Dr. Devgan.