Do the corners of your mouth always appear chubby? No matter how many face slimming treatments you try — even with a Face slimming injection — does nothing seem to work? Have you ever considered that it might not just be your masseter muscle 咬肌 or facial fat, but rather something called 口角囊袋?
In fact, those two bulging areas at the corners of the mouth that often look like sagging pockets of tissue are what we refer to as 口角囊袋. In English, this is translated as Perioral Mound, referring to the pockets of fat at the corners of the mouth. These mound-like structures are mostly composed of fat — also known as buccal fat pads 颊脂肪垫 — and often include loosened, sagging skin and superficial fat due to ageing. Because of their appearance, they are sometimes colloquially referred to as “sheep face 羊腮”, “elderly jowls 老人腮”, or “squirrel face 松鼠脸”.
Generally speaking, people who are born with Perioral Mounds tend to have the fat-type, which is similar to plump baby fat 婴儿肥 — a protrusion caused by fat accumulation. However, most Perioral Mounds develop later in life and are primarily caused by ageing 衰老. As the skin’s collagen deteriorates and the collagen fiber network breaks down, skin elasticity weakens, making it unable to support the tissue. This leads to sagging and accumulation of tissue around the mouth, forming what is known as age-related Perioral Mounds.
This is why Perioral Mounds, deflating plump cheeks 苹果肌下移, and downturned mouth corners 嘴角下垂 often appear together. These changes can make a person look more stern or tired with age — giving rise to the so-called “bitter melon face 苦瓜脸”.
In the UK, Perioral Mounds are actually quite common, yet they are considered one of the most challenging concerns in face rejuvenation 面部年轻化. This is because Perioral Mounds are often accompanied by other facial ageing issues and thus require a more comprehensive approach.
For fat-type Perioral Mounds, fat-dissolving treatments 溶脂 are usually the first line of consideration. For age-related Perioral Mounds, the priority should naturally be anti-ageing interventions 抗衰.
To address this issue, Ai Beauty Clinic, the largest comprehensive Asian aesthetic clinic in London, recommends the FOTONA 4D PRO, a popular non-invasive solution for Perioral Mounds. It features a patented non-ablative SMOOTH erbium laser mode 非剥脱SMOOTH铒激光模式, which uses 2940nm laser energy combined with thermal effects. Through sequential pulsing technology 串脉冲技术, it precisely heats the targeted tissues by intermittently raising the temperature. This leads to rapid tissue tightening.
This laser mode acts on the oral mucosa 口腔内粘膜, closer to the SMAS fascia layer SMAS筋膜层, and raises the local temperature of the mucosa to around 65°C. At this temperature, collagen fibers contract and collagen remodeling is activated, resulting in skin tightening and contour lifting. It is especially effective for nasolabial folds 法令纹, perioral wrinkles 嘴周皱纹, and Perioral Mounds, and is also known as the first intraoral laser treatment method 口内激光治疗方式 used in China.
Of course, treatments like Ultherapy 超声刀, Thermage 热玛吉, and Lipodissolve injection 溶脂针 can also be used depending on the type and severity of the Perioral Mounds. We recommend booking a face-to-face consultation before deciding on the most suitable treatment plan.