How are bunny lines treated?
Treatment options for bunny lines target several underlying causes including overactive nasalis muscles, lost elasticity and collagen and loss of facial fat contributing to the worsening appearance of wrinkles. Treatment options include:
- Targeting muscle overactivity: Bunny lines can be associated with overactivity of the nasalis muscle, causing horizontal skin creases around the nose. Relaxing this muscle may help reduce the appearance of these lines, particularly in cases where overactivity is a contributing factor.
- Resurfacing treatments: Co2 laser resurfacing is one option that may improve skin appearance by stimulating natural collagen production, potentially reducing the visibility of fine lines around the nose. Depending on your unique circumstances your treating practitioner may also suggest RF needling, 1540 Fractional Non-ablative laser, Q-switch laser or Micro-needling.
- Volumising treatments: These are reserved for unique cases and not often performed in this area owing to the increased risk of placing volumising products in this highly vascular area.
Do Bunny Lines treatments hurt?
Bunny line treatments typically involve one or two small injections on each side of the nose, in an area generally not considered overly sensitive.
To help manage discomfort during the procedure, a topical numbing cream is applied. Nitrous oxide gas is also available upon request for patients seeking additional comfort.
Individual comfort levels and experiences can vary, and your clinician will discuss these with you during your consultation.
What age do bunny lines appear?
Bunny lines are present during early adulthood, sometimes childhood. These lines are a completely normal facial feature and are present for most people in their youth only during facial movements.
It isn’t until the late 20s or 30s that bunny lines become more visible, especially in those with lost collagen due to sun damage and those with expressive facial movements.
What causes bunny lines when smiling?
Bunny lines are a normal facial feature when smiling. They are caused by activity of the nasalis muscles either side of the nose working in harmony with the crows feet muscles to show an expression of happiness, gratitude or delight.
What is the best product for bunny lines?
Skincare products are unlikely to make a large difference to the appearance of bunny lines. However, some of our patients prefer to trial more gentle approaches to facial improvements and avoiding injectable options. Some suggestions on ingredients and products include:
- Collagen stimulating peptides, Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramides and Niacinamide: These ingredients act in harmony to thicken tired skin, intensively moisturise and restore a faulty skin barrier. Our product of choice here is The Quartet from Ilumae.
- Skin resurfacing retinal: From the retinoid family, retinal is a faster acting, less irritating form of retinol that has powerful effects on improving skin cell turnover, stimulating collagen and significantly reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. We recommend The Intensive Nightly Retinal. This product is powerful, so we recommend using it every third night initially, progressing to nightly as your skin tolerates for a powerful skin renewal.
Does retinol help Bunny Lines?
Yes, we typically recommend retinal, a form of retinoid that is one conversion step closer to active retinoic acid than retinol.
Retinoids generally follow this conversion pathway:
retinol → retinal → retinoic acid (tretinoin)
Retinol is a commonly used form available over-the-counter, requiring two conversion steps within the skin to become active.
Retinal requires only one conversion step within the skin. Some patients find retinal effective and well-tolerated, especially in encapsulated forms. We often suggest products such as The Intensive Nightly Retinal.
Retinoic acid (tretinoin) requires a prescription from your doctor. At Contour Clinics, we tend to prefer retinal formulations due to patient tolerance and suitability, though individual experiences may vary. Your clinician will recommend the most appropriate option based on your skin condition, goals, and sensitivities.
How to get rid of Bunny Lines naturally?
There is no natural method for getting rid of bunny lines once they have formed, but certain lifestyle and skincare practices can help minimise their appearance or slow progression.
- Facial muscle relaxation
- Becoming mindful of excessive frowning, squinting or scrunching can help reduce repetitive muscle movement that leads to deepening of bunny lines
- Sun protection
- Excessive UV damage causes degradation of collagen and elastin fibres, which results in more obvious lines of facial expression including bunny lines
- Skincare products
- Those containing:
- Niacinamide supports a healthy skin barrier and reduces damage caused from daily stressors. An option here is The Soothing B3 Serum.
- Peptides: Collagen stimulating peptides can strengthen the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines. The Quartet has multiple intensely collagen stimulating peptides
- Retinoids– to increase skin cell turnover, rejuvenate and resurface the skin reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The Intensive Nightly Retinal is our treatment of choice
What muscle causes bunny lines?
There are two groups of muscles responsible for bunny lines.
The levator labii alaeque nasi
- The narrow facial muscle that runs alongside the nose and is responsible for elevating the upper lip and dilating the nostrils.
The nasalis
- This muscles function is to compress the bridge of the nose and is often activated when frowning or squinting.
