Beauty Clinic: Help with 'marionette' lines

Q. I am looking for a good face cream filler for marionette lines down the side of my mouth. I don't have many wrinkles round my eyes or on the top of my mouth but the lines are showing up from the corners of my mouth to my chin. A. We are slightly confused about the notion of a 'face cream filler' as it crosses more than one category but here are our suggestions.

Screen Shot 2015-04-22 at 13.09.37You can create an immediate optical illusion by stroking light-reflecting concealer down the lines on top of foundation. There are several great brands but one of our favourites is Liz Earle Light Reflecting Concealer, in three shades, £15.50. You can use this cosmetic ‘trick’ in naso-labial lines from nose to mouth, and they are great for disguising the creases under puffy eyes too.

At night-time, we do recommend using a good facial oil to soften lines everywhere. Massage this in, lifting and pushing the skin up Howard, founder of Aromatherapy Associates, says: think of facial oils as food for the skin and moisturisers as water. Skin needs both to keep it soft and supple.’ Super-rich Aromatherapy Associates Fine Line Face Oil, £53 for 15 ml, is a top favourite with Beauty Bible testers for its line-plumping power.

Testers also love Espa Replenishing Face Treatment Oil, £55 for 28ml, which romped home in trials for The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible. Not cheap but facial oils last for ages as you only need a few drops.

Screen Shot 2015-04-22 at 13.10.07Additionally, we want to tell you about a recently developed technology called Crystal Clear COMCIT, which could make a difference to concerns like this. We haven’t tried it ourselves but we spent some time with the developers and it does seem very interesting.

COMCIT stands for Cryo Oxygen Microchannelling Collagen Induction Therapy and it involves ‘pushing’ cold oxygen deep into the skin to stimulate collagen production. The skin is prepped with the Microchannelling dermaroller first to create lots of minute channels for the oxygen and an infusion of skin rejuvenating ingredients to be driven inwards and outwards to help relax the lines. Again, there are lots of fantastic facial oils at different price ranges. As GeraldineThe concept is to cause micro-trauma to the skin triggering your body to respond by sending blood to the area to heal it. As the skin repairs itself, new collagen builds up just below the surface. According to the manufacturers information, that process helps wrinkles, lines and depressed scars plump up naturally.

Screen Shot 2015-04-22 at 13.09.04There is a video here explaining the process: www.crystalclear.co.uk/comcit. You may see results immediately but a course of six is said to offer optimum results. The treatment is becoming available at salons nationwide.

Finally, please can we remind you that dehydrated skin will lead to lines and wrinkles as night follows day. So - sip plenty of still water between meals, eat lots of vegetables, salads and fruit, and do not forget the good fats – plenty of olive oil, nuts and seeds as well as oily fish.