It may be the superior experience of sipping a crisp soft drink through a straw. Maybe it’s the rise of Stanley Cups or the supremacy of cold drinks, even during the winter months. Either way, straws have evolved beyond single-use plastic straw man the argument for personal environmental responsibility goes much further.
There are paper straws, glass straws, metal straws and plastic straws that are durable and reusable. Many come with their own silicone accessoriescleaning systems and personalized transport cases.
Our endless enthusiasm for sipping things from narrow tubes has given rise to many innovations in the straw market. It also created a new anxiety: lip lines.
Traditional straws require sippers to purse their lips around the opening in an expression that many believe creates wrinkles around your lips over time, called perioral lines.
Enter the anti-wrinkle straw, shaped like the number 7, with a small hole in the horizontal top that allows users to drink without pursing their lips.
The straws work “in theory,” said Jenny Liu, a board-certified dermatologist and assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. But she noted that there were “no studies to support this hypothesis.”
“The way the opening is designed makes drinking through a straw without having to use the muscles around the lips as easy as traditional straws,” Dr. Liu said. Because there is less repetitive contraction of these muscles when using an “anti-wrinkle” straw, it is less likely that perioral wrinkles will form.
“But again, this is all theoretical,” Dr. Liu said. “Lip lines aren’t just caused by repetitive movements. Genetics, sun damage, and other factors like occupation – like, say, musicians playing with their mouths – can all affect the likelihood of developing lip lines.
Frequency of use is also factored into the equation
“For someone who doesn’t usually use a straw for drinking but has wrinkles on their lips, using an anti-wrinkle straw won’t be very helpful,” she continued, “so it’s really a mistake.”
The lack of peer-reviewed studies hasn’t stopped aesthetically-minded TikToking straw enthusiasts from making anti-wrinkle straws the new thing.
In a video that received more than 1.6 million views on TikTok — and even more on X — esthetician and online influencer Michaela Scott praised the product.
“This straw is an anti-wrinkle straw, so you don’t purse your lips as much when you’re drinking sideways like that,” she says. said in the video, posted last week.
Wellness and beauty influencer Lauren Erro claimed it “could be the best anti-aging invention ever”.
“They always say that straws give your mouth wrinkles, but this straw literally tries to prevent that,” she said in a recent statement. Tic Tac.
Some commentators were not impressed by the invention.
“It’s such a tiring way to live,” one commenter commented. declared.
“Just use a straw bro,” replied another.
Whether it’s a passing trend or not, straws are part of a burgeoning market on e-commerce sites. The most popular anti-wrinkle straw, the Lipzi, has been purchased by tens of thousands of people, according to its inventor, Tim McManaman.
Mr. McManaman, 58, lives in Normal, Illinois, and works in purchasing for a large financial services company. In his free time, he enjoys inventing and patenting original ideas. A big Diet Coke drinker, he got the idea for Lipzi when he caught a glimpse in the rearview mirror while drinking through a straw and noticed how many lines formed around his lips when he took a sip .
When he presented the prototype to his wife and four young adult children, they were unusually enthusiastic about the invention. “I brought this straw to the kitchen table and my wife’s first reaction was, ‘OK, this idea might actually work,'” he said in an interview.
As she transitioned from a side hustle to a profitable family business, Lipzi began wholesale supplying spas throughout the Midwest; and Mr. McManaman said it recently received approval for a patent, which could help minimize counterfeit sellers on Amazon.
His daughter Grace has helped him grow the brand on social media, and his son TJ, a senior in college, hopes to join the company after graduation.
Mr. McManaman added that he personally doesn’t worry much about lip lines.
“But there are a lot of people who do it,” he said. “A lot of people take this very seriously.”