Don't do this and you'll look just a little bit more like Ariel Lin!
My Mum must be feeling so very vindicated right now. For years she’s been begging me not to gnaw at my drinking straws – and by golly, she was right all along.
Alas, that old chestnut contains a kernel of terrible, terrible truth. Sipping from straws – hell, sipping from any narrow receptacle requiring you to purse your lips – will cause premature aging (read: wrinkles) around your lips and mouth.
But how? Why? Take it from New Jersey-based cosmetic dermatologist Dr Mitchell Chasin, who says that straw-sucking is akin to puffing on a ciggy: “When you're drinking from a water bottle, you're pretty much making the same face as you are when you're smoking a cigarette.”
The entirely unwelcome result? You get the same creases you see lining the lips of some of the most hardcore nicotine addicts.
Want even worse news? Makeup artist Larry Yeo notes that besides the wrinkles wrought from sucking on a straw, slapping on the wrong sort of product can also contribute to fine lines: “Besides repetitive muscle movement, using lip balms that contain strong stuff like camphor may worsen wrinkles due to secondary irritation.” Bummer.
If all of this is leaving a bad taste in your mouth, know that all is not lost. The key to ironing out the kinks in your kisses? Switch to good ol’ fashioned mugs, and make a conscious effort to stop sulking and smirking. (My personal beauty regimen involves not smiling or moving my face unless absolutely necessary.)
Oh, and do as I do and invest in a preventative lip treatment, stat. I’m putting money where my mouth is with Kose’s top-of-the-line Infinity Beauty Lip Serum – and no, I’m not paying lip service! This super serum (there’s a “serum” for everything these days, it seems) is awash with astaxanthin, an antioxidant said to sop up harmful free radicals.
And because this is Kose we’re talking about, there’s also an Asian slant by way of premium goji berry and safflower oil, both of which promise to soothe and smoothen your smackers. Beauty bonus: I’ve found that this serum can be used “neat”, as a primer or even over your lippie, so there’s really no excuse for not doing a quick touch-up after every gulp from your glass!
I’ll sign off by noting that sipping from a straw used to be standard dental advice for staving off teeth stains. Sigh, the more we know ...
Larry Yeo can be contacted at www.larryyeo.com.
Kose Infinity Beauty Lip Serum, $22 for 10g, is available from October 2014 at all Kose counters. For more information, visit www.kose.com.sg and follow Kose Singapore on Facebook.