Nasolabial folds are the two lines that run from the sides of your nose down to the corners of your mouth. Here is the first thing to understand: everyone has them. They mark the natural boundary between the cheek and the mouth area, and they are visible even on babies when they smile. The goal is never to erase them - a face with no nasolabial fold looks strange - but to soften them when age, sun, and habits have made them deeper than you would like.
This guide explains what deepens nasolabial folds and covers the natural methods that genuinely soften them, from the skin-quality habits that matter most to the fascial and postural factors people overlook.
Key Takeaways
- Nasolabial folds are normal anatomy, not a flaw, present on nearly everyone and shaped by the natural boundary between the cheek and the area around the mouth - the aim is softening, not elimination
- They deepen from a mix of causes, including collagen loss, midface volume descent, fascial tension, sun damage, and repetitive expression
- Skin quality is the most controllable lever, so sun protection, hydration, and collagen-supporting habits do more than any single treatment
- Fascial tension pulls the fold deeper, which means releasing tightness in the cheek and midface can visibly soften the crease
- Posture and volume support the midface, and habits that support the muscle and fascial layers of the face help hold tissue higher
- Puffiness makes folds look worse, so debloating the face reduces the shadow and depth of the fold quickly
- Fast wins are real, with hydration and depuffing softening the appearance early, while skin-quality gains compound over months
Why Nasolabial Folds Deepen
A fold that deepens over time is responding to several changes at once.
Collagen and Elastin Loss
With age, skin produces less collagen and elastin, so it becomes thinner and less springy. The fold that skin used to hold taut now creases more readily and holds the crease longer.
Midface Volume Descent
The cheek's fat pads and supporting structures gradually sit lower with age. As midface volume descends, it stacks slightly above the fold, deepening the crease from above rather than the fold itself getting worse.
Sun, Fascia, and Expression
Sun damage accelerates collagen breakdown and is the single largest driver of premature skin aging. Tension and restriction in the facial fascia can tug the area and deepen the fold. And repetitive expression plus sleep creasing add up over years. Most people's folds reflect a combination.
Method 1: Protect and Build Skin Quality
Because collagen loss is central to fold depth, protecting and supporting skin quality is the highest-value approach. Daily sunscreen is the best-evidenced anti-aging habit there is - it prevents the UV-driven collagen breakdown that deepens folds fastest. A retinoid supports collagen renewal over months, and vitamin C supports the skin's own collagen synthesis. None of this erases a fold overnight, but nothing else affects long-term fold depth as much.
Method 2: Hydrate, Inside and Out
Well-hydrated skin is plumper and reflects light more evenly, which softens the shadow a fold casts. Drink consistently through the day, and use a moisturizer with humectants like hyaluronic acid and glycerin to hold water in the skin. Hydration is also one of the fastest levers - plump, hydrated skin visibly softens a fold's appearance within days, well before slower collagen changes arrive.
Method 3: Release Facial Fascia
The fascia - the connective tissue web under your skin - can become tight and restricted, and that tension can pull on the midface and deepen the nasolabial area. Gentle, sustained fascial release along the cheeks and midface improves tissue mobility and can visibly soften the fold by relieving the downward, inward pull. Slow massage that moves the tissue rather than sliding across the surface is the technique; done regularly, the effect accumulates.
Method 4: Support the Midface
Since descending midface volume deepens the fold from above, anything that supports the muscle and fascial layers holding that tissue higher helps. Habits that maintain lower-face and midface tone - good posture, facial massage, and consistent tongue posture and nasal breathing built during the day - support the structure over time. This is a slow, structural lever rather than a quick fix, but it addresses one of the fold's real causes.
Method 5: Debloat the Face
Facial puffiness makes nasolabial folds look worse by adding volume just above them, which deepens the shadow. Reducing fluid retention - through better sleep, less evening sodium, and lymphatic drainage massage - flattens that puffiness and softens the fold's appearance quickly. This is one of the fastest visible wins available, and it stacks with everything else.
Method 6: Mind Your Sleep Position
Sleeping night after night with your face pressed into a pillow creates and deepens creases, including in the nasolabial area, over years. Sleeping on your back reduces this mechanical creasing. If you are a dedicated side sleeper, a silk pillowcase reduces friction and drag on the skin, which helps at the margins.
Method 7: Go Easy on Repetitive Expression
You do not need to stop smiling - expression is not the enemy, and a frozen face is not the goal. But being aware of chronic tension patterns, like habitually scrunching one side, can slow the deepening of an asymmetric fold. This is a minor lever compared with skin quality and fascia, but it costs nothing to be aware of.
A Simple Daily Routine for Softer Folds
The methods above work best woven into a routine you actually keep. Here is a low-effort daily rhythm that targets the fold from several angles at once.
Morning: Cleanse gently, apply a hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid while skin is slightly damp, then moisturizer, then sunscreen - every day, without exception. Sunscreen is the single most important anti-fold habit, because UV damage deepens folds faster than anything else.
Midday: Sip water consistently. Hydrated skin is plumper and casts less shadow in the fold, which softens its appearance even before slower changes arrive.
Evening: Cleanse, then apply your treatment step - a retinoid a few nights a week supports collagen renewal over months - followed by moisturizer. A minute or two of gentle fascial release along the cheeks and midface relieves the tension that tugs the fold deeper.
Overnight: Sleep on your back when you can to avoid creasing the midface, and use a silk pillowcase if you side sleep. Overnight is when much of the skin's repair happens, so protecting sleep quality supports the whole routine.
None of this erases a fold overnight, and that is not the goal. What it does is soften a deepened fold gradually and sustainably - the hydration and depuffing showing early, the collagen and fascial gains compounding over the months you stay consistent.
Where a Facial Strip Fits
A facial strip like Zygo Tape is worn on the lower face and jaw contour, and delivers gentle, sustained input to the muscle and fascial layers of the lower face overnight. For nasolabial folds, its contribution is indirect but real: by supporting lower-face muscle tone and fascial mobility while you sleep, it helps the surrounding structure stay firm and lifted as your skin-quality and fascial-release work softens the crease itself.
It is worth stating plainly what a strip is not: it is not a filler, and it does not erase folds or add volume to the cheek. Those come from skincare, hydration, and time. The strip's job is the overnight tissue support alongside your other efforts. Founder Oscar Patel designed it around exactly that supporting role.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get rid of nasolabial folds completely?
No - and you would not want to. Nasolabial folds are normal facial anatomy present on everyone; a face with none looks unnatural. The realistic and healthy goal is softening a fold that has deepened more than you would like, not erasing it entirely.
What is the fastest way to soften nasolabial folds?
Hydration and debloating give the quickest visible change. Well-hydrated, plumper skin casts less shadow, and reducing facial puffiness flattens the volume just above the fold. Both can soften the appearance within days, while collagen-focused skincare works over months.
Does sleeping position affect nasolabial folds?
Yes. Sleeping face-down or on the same side night after night creases the midface over years and can deepen the fold. Back sleeping reduces this, and a silk pillowcase helps if you must sleep on your side.
Do face exercises help nasolabial folds?
Facial exercises and massage can support tone and improve fascial mobility, which may soften the fold indirectly, but they will not erase it. Skin quality and fascial release matter more than exercise for this specific concern.
Are nasolabial folds a sign of aging?
They deepen with age, but having them is not itself a sign of aging - everyone has them, at every age. What changes over time is depth, as collagen declines, midface volume descends, and sun damage accumulates. A fold that has deepened noticeably reflects those changes, which is exactly why skin protection and fascial health slow the process.
Can drinking water reduce nasolabial folds?
Hydration genuinely helps the appearance, though not by erasing the fold. Well-hydrated skin is plumper and reflects light more evenly, so it casts less shadow in the crease. Drinking enough water and using humectant skincare both support that plumpness - a fast, if modest, softening effect that stacks with the slower collagen work.
Soften Them the Sustainable Way
Nasolabial folds respond best to a stack of gentle, consistent habits: protect your skin from the sun, keep it hydrated and collagen-supported, release fascial tension, debloat, and sleep off your face. The hydration and depuffing wins show up first; the skin-quality gains compound over months into a softer, smoother midface.
Shop Zygo Tape and support your lower face overnight.
Want to learn more about facial structure and skin?
Fascial Release for Your Face: How It Works and Why It Matters
How to Debloat Your Face: 12 Evidence-Based Methods That Work
References
[1] Shaw, R. B., et al. (2011). Aging of the facial skeleton: Aesthetic implications and rejuvenation strategies. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 127(1), 374 - 383.
[2] Fisher, G. J., Kang, S., Varani, J., et al. (2002). Mechanisms of photoaging and chronological skin aging. Archives of Dermatology, 138(11), 1462 - 1470.
[3] Mendelson, B. C., & Wong, C. H. (2012). Surgical anatomy of the midcheek and malar mounds. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 129(1), 57 - 64.
[4] Sander, M., Sander, M., Burbidge, T., & Beecker, J. (2020). Sunscreen use for the prevention of skin cancer and photoaging. CMAJ, 192(50), E1802 - E1808.