You know those lines? The ones that start at the corners of your nose and dive straight down toward your mouth? Most people call them "smile lines" or "laugh lines," but if you’re reading this, you probably know the clinical term: nasolabial folds.
They happen. It sucks, but it’s a biological reality. For some, they’re barely a shadow. For others, they show up early—sometimes in your 20s—and stay for good.
Let's get something straight right now. You cannot "erase" a fold that is part of your natural anatomy. Humans aren't made of plastic. Even babies have faint nasolabial creases when they smile. But if you’re seeing them deepen while your face is at rest, that’s a different story.
Learning how to prevent nasolabial folds isn't just about slathering on expensive cream. It’s a game of physics, fat pads, and lifestyle choices that most people get wrong.
Why your face is actually dropping
To stop the fold, you have to understand what causes the sag. Most people think the skin is the problem. It’s not. Or at least, it’s only a small part of it.
Your face is built like a house. The bones are the foundation, the fat pads are the insulation, and the skin is the siding. As we age, the foundation shifts. Research published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery shows that mid-facial bone resorption—literally your skull shrinking slightly—removes the support your cheeks need.
When the cheek loses its "shelf," the fat pads (malar fat) slide down. Gravity pulls them toward the mouth. They hit the "retaining ligaments" around your lips, and the skin bunches up. That's the fold.
It’s a volume problem.
And then there's collagen. Or the lack thereof. After age 25, you lose about 1% of your collagen every year. If you smoke or bake in the sun, that rate skyrockets. Sun damage is basically a jackhammer to your skin's structural integrity.
The sun is your absolute worst enemy
I’m being serious. If you are trying to figure out how to prevent nasolabial folds but you aren't wearing SPF 30 every single day, you’re wasting your time.
UV rays trigger an enzyme called collagenase. Its only job? To break down collagen. When you go out unprotected, you’re essentially telling your body to dissolve the very thing keeping your face tight.
Look at the famous "truck driver" study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It showed a 69-year-old man who had driven a delivery truck for 28 years. The left side of his face—the side by the window—looked 20 years older than the right. The nasolabial fold on the left was deep, sagging, and heavily wrinkled. The right side was relatively smooth.
Use a mineral sunscreen. Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Every morning. Even if it’s raining. Even if you’re sitting inside by a window.
Sleep, side-sleeping, and the "crush" factor
Here is a weird one: your pillow might be aging you.
If you’re a side sleeper, you are spending eight hours a night smashing your cheek into a pillow. This mechanical pressure literally folds the skin. Over time, these "sleep wrinkles" turn into permanent creases.
Dr. Goesel Anson, a plastic surgeon who has studied this extensively, notes that sleep position is a huge, underrated factor in facial aging. When you press your face into a pillow, you’re creating a "shear force" that pushes the cheek fat toward the nose.
Try to sleep on your back. It sounds impossible if you’re a lifelong side-sleeper, but there are specialized pillows—sometimes called "beauty pillows"—that have cutouts to prevent your face from touching the surface.
Honestly? It’s a cheap way to save your face.
The role of weight fluctuations (The "Ozempic Face" phenomenon)
We’ve seen a lot of talk lately about "Ozempic face." While that’s a specific side effect of rapid weight loss from GLP-1 medications, the principle applies to everyone.
Fat is what keeps you looking young.
In your 20s, you might hate your "chubby" cheeks, but those fat pads are what keep the nasolabial area smooth. If you lose weight too quickly, or if you constantly yo-yo diet, those fat pads shrink. The skin, which may have lost some elasticity, doesn't bounce back. It hangs.
Maintaining a stable weight is one of the most effective ways to keep those folds at bay. Extreme dieting is the enemy of a smooth face.
Retinoids and Vitamin C: The only topicals that matter
Don't buy into the "miracle" snake oils. Most over-the-counter creams don't penetrate deep enough to do anything about a deep fold.
However, two ingredients have the science to back them up:
Retinoids (Tretinoin/Retinol): These are the gold standard. They tell your cells to turn over faster and stimulate collagen production. Tretinoin (prescription strength) is significantly more powerful than the retinol you find at the drugstore. It takes months to see a difference, but it’s real.
Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid): This is your antioxidant shield. It neutralizes the free radicals from pollution and sun that eat your collagen. It also helps in the actual synthesis of collagen.
When you use these, apply them to the cheek area, not just the fold itself. Remember: the fold is caused by the cheek sagging. You want to strengthen the skin above the fold to provide better lift.
Facial Yoga: Does it actually work?
Kinda. But be careful.
There’s a study from Northwestern Medicine that suggests 30 minutes of facial exercises daily can make middle-aged women look about three years younger after 20 weeks. The idea is that you're "bulking up" the facial muscles, which then fill out the skin.
However, there’s a catch.
If you do the exercises wrong, you might actually be creating more wrinkles. Think about it: wrinkles are caused by repetitive muscle movements. If you’re constantly scrunching your face to "tone" it, you might be deepening the very lines you’re trying to avoid.
If you want to try it, focus on "cheek lifters." Exercises that target the zygomaticus muscles (the ones that pull the corners of your mouth up) can help maintain the volume of the mid-face.
Professional interventions (Before you go under the knife)
If you're already seeing the lines deepen and you want to know how to prevent nasolabial folds from getting worse, you might look at professional treatments.
- Microneedling: This creates tiny "micro-injuries" in the skin. Your body panics and floods the area with collagen to heal it. It’s great for overall skin thickness.
- Radiofrequency (RF) Therapy: Devices like Thermage or Morpheus8 use heat to tighten the existing collagen fibers and trigger new ones. It’s not a facelift, but it can provide a subtle "shrink-wrap" effect.
- Filler (The controversial choice): Injecting hyaluronic acid (like Juvederm or Restylane) is the most common "fix." But modern injectors are moving away from putting filler directly into the fold. Instead, they put it in the cheeks to "lift" the skin back up. This looks way more natural. Overfilling the fold itself can lead to a "snout" look. Nobody wants that.
The sugar connection
Glycation. It’s a fancy word for what happens when sugar attaches to proteins in your bloodstream.
When you eat a high-sugar diet, those sugar molecules bind to your collagen and elastin. This creates "Advanced Glycation End-products" (appropriately called AGEs). These AGEs make your collagen brittle and weak.
If your collagen is brittle, it can’t hold up your cheeks.
Cutting back on processed sugars isn't just about your waistline; it’s about the structural integrity of your face. It’s one of those "boring" tips that actually yields long-term results.
Hydration: The "Plump" Factor
Hyaluronic acid is a molecule in your skin that can hold 1,000 times its weight in water. If you are chronically dehydrated, your skin looks "deflated."
Think of a grape versus a raisin.
When you’re hydrated, your skin is a grape. The cells are plump, which naturally pushes out the skin and makes folds look less prominent. Drink water, sure, but also use a topical hyaluronic acid serum on damp skin to lock that moisture in. It won't stop the biological process of aging, but it will make the folds look significantly shallower today.
Actionable steps for your routine
You can't stop time. But you can definitely slow it down.
First, get a dedicated broad-spectrum sunscreen and use it like your life depends on it. This is non-negotiable. If you skip this, the rest of the steps are basically useless.
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Second, start a Retinoid tonight. If you’ve never used one, start twice a week and work your way up. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You won’t see anything for twelve weeks. Be patient.
Third, stop sleeping on your side if you can. Try a silk pillowcase if you absolutely can't switch to your back; it causes less "friction" and "drag" on the skin than cotton.
Fourth, watch your sugar intake. Those spikes in blood sugar are slowly degrading the scaffolding of your face.
Finally, if you’re considering more "intense" options, talk to a board-certified dermatologist about collagen stimulators like Sculptra rather than just "filling" the lines. Sculptra works by subtly encouraging your own body to build back the lost volume in your cheeks over several months.
Aging is a privilege, but we don't have to make it easy for gravity. Focus on the mid-face, protect your collagen, and keep your skin hydrated. That’s the real secret.