Maybe it’s the superior experience of sipping a crisp, carbonated beverage through a straw. Maybe it’s the rise of Stanley cups, or the supremacy of cold brew even in the winter months. Whatever it is, straws have evolved beyond the single-use plastic straw-man argument for environmental personal responsibility into so much more.

There are straws made of paper, glass straws, metal straws and durable, reusable plastic straws. Many come with their own silicone accessories, cleaning systems, and personalized carrying cases.

Our endless enthusiasm for sipping things through narrow tubes has birthed much innovation in the straw market and created a new anxiety: lip wrinkles.

Traditional straws force sippers to purse their lips around the opening in an expression that many believe, over time, creates wrinkles around your lips, called perioral lines.

Enter the anti-wrinkle straw, shaped like the number 7, with a small hole at the top horizontal portion 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 are “no studies to back it up.”

“The way the opening is designed, it allows for one to drink out of straw but not have to use the muscles around the lips as readily compared to traditional straws,” Liu said. Because there is less repetitive contraction of these muscles when using an “anti-wrinkle” straw, it’s less likely that perioral lines will form.

“But, again, all of this is theoretical,” Liu said. “Lip wrinkles are not just from repetitive movement. Genetics, sun damage, and other factors like occupation — like, for example musicians, that play with their mouth — can all affect the likelihood of developing lip wrinkles.”

Frequency of use also factors into the equation.

“For someone who doesn’t usually use a straw to drink but does have lip wrinkles, using an anti-wrinkle straw is not going to be very helpful,” she said.

In a video that has received more than 1.6 million views on TikTok — and even more on the platform X — aesthetician and online influencer Michaela Scott raved about the product.

“This straw is an anti-wrinkle straw, so you’re not pursing your lips as much when you drink out of it sideways like this,” she said in the video, posted last week.

Whether or not it’s a fleeting trend the straws are part of a budding 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.

An avid Diet Coke drinker, he got the idea for the Lipzi when he caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview as he was drinking from a straw and noticed just how many wrinkles formed around his lips when he sipped.

McManaman added that personally doesn’t care much about lip wrinkles.

“But there’s a lot of people that do,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that take it pretty serious.”