Lower Face Action Units – Orbital Actions

Two orbital muscles run around the circumference of the mouth. One of these orbital muscles is largely within the red part
of the lips; the other is outside the red parts of the lips in the adjacent skin of the lips. The basic action of these orbicular
muscles is to pull the skin of the lips inward and together, constricting the opening of the mouth.

We distinguish four Action Units based on the action of these two orbicular muscles, each having a distinctive visual
appearance. One involves the lips funneling out (AU 22 – Lip Funneler); one involves tightening the lips (AU 23 – Lip
Tightener); another involves pressing the lips (AU 24 – Lip Presser), and the last involves sucking the lips into the mouth,
(AU 28 – Lip Sucker).

Facial Action Coding System

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