London: Fuller and firmer lips help a woman look younger, according to new research by scientists.

The scientists, in a study funded by Unilever, studies the faces of 102 pairs of white Dutch female twins aged 59-81 and 161 Individual British white women aged 45-75.

They found that ageing manifesting in wrinkles, sun damage and age spots was influenced by genetic and environmental factors in equal amounts. But lip height was genetic.

Most ageing of lips begins between the ages of 30 and 40 when shrinking first starts.

David Gunn, a research scientist at Unilever said they study noted that women who looked young for their age usually had fuller and firmer lips.

He added: “It is a feature that is strongly genetically determined and relatively easy to measure.”

He also said there was little advantage in middle-aged and elderly woman getting lip implants as it did not counteract the impact of ageing on the rest of the face.

The research was carried out by seven universities, including St Andrew’s in Scotland.