Experts Warn Drinking From Water Bottles Could Cause Premature Wrinkles
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — They're meant to provide a convenient way to stay hydrated.
But health experts are now warning drinking from water bottles could cause premature aging.
CBS2's Suzie Suh reports how you're drinking H2O could affect your skin.
"The repetitive motions of things that we do in everyday life - drinking from water bottles - will form these deep wrinkles in our lips," cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Mitchell Chasin, explained.
The physician is treating women who say they are victims of just that.
Susanne Rennie said she drinks plenty of water, but she never listened to the warnings from her mother.
"She used to say all the time, 'Stop drinking out of that bottle, you're going to have lines around your mouth.' Well here I am," Rennie said.
Now she's hoping to erase some of those water bottle lines.
"Every time I took the water bottle to my mouth, you could see it," Rennie said.
Rennie drinks about six bottles a day.
"And then at my desk I keep a big one that has a plastic straw which is probably just as worse (sic)," Rennie said.
Joyce Neubeck is also familiar with the wrinkle effect of drinking from sports bottles. She underwent a cosmetic procedure a few weeks ago.
"I'd purse then I'd relax and it would still be there and they weren't moving. I love it. It's such a difference," she said.
Dr. Chasin says there are new and painless procedures to correct some of the damage, from Botox and fillers to laser technology, to help etch out lines.
The simple solution, he says, is to avoid water bottles and even straws and go for something with a wider mouth.
"We tell our patients, keep on drinking, it's great for your body it's great for your health, it's great for your skin. Unfortunately, over time it either causes these lines or it aggravates them," Dr. Chasin said.
"...That old thing we used to drink out of - I think it's called a cup - that's really the best thing for our lips."
Some water bottle lovers were surprised to hear their healthy habits may have some unwanted effects.
Tammy Buchanan, a regular at Curves gym in Van Nuys, is now thinking twice about how she hydrates herself.
"I probably drink about six of these a day," she said. "Usually from a water bottle. Sometimes out of the one that you fill with a straw but usually out of a water bottle because it's convenient," Tammy said.
"I never thought about that but I would imagine it's same as smoking. You're pursing your lips to get to it."
Others say they'll suck up the good with the bad.
"For me it's more important to drink the water," Zumba instructor Bonnie Baldwin said.
If you can't kick the habit of drinking out of bottles, experts say try to relax your upper lip to help prevent unwanted lines.
