You can find hundreds or even thousands of people in a skincare shop or online skincare forums who put a lot of effort (and money) to maintain good and healthy skin but forget about lip care as if it were their car keys. Lips require even more care and attention than your facial skin.
There are many reasons why lips are often ignored (or given a bit of petroleum jelly and that’s it). There are not many lip care products in the market and lips are a part of the mouth, many people assume it to remain unaffected by environmental damages.
Why Lip Care is Important
Here are some important facts about your lips that might surprise many people. There is a reason why the lips are reddish compared to your skin; since the skin on the lips is so thin, the blood vessels are more clearly visible, giving a reddish hue.
The skin around the lips is only three to five cell layers thick (compared to facial skin which is around 15 cell layers thick). You can understand how much more delicate the lips are compared to the already delicate skin.
Making things worse is your age. As people age, the lips get thinner (so does the skin), making your lips even more susceptible to damage. What kind of damage?
Lips are damaged by:
- UV rays
- Environmental pollution
- Dryness
- Mechanical insult (biting, stretching, etc)
Lips are exposed to many harsh conditions and environments. The sun that damages your skin (UV rays) also damages your lips in the same way. UV radiation can lead to darkening of the lips.
The dust and other pollutants in the air also have a detrimental effect on your lips. It can cause irritation, dryness, and other conditions none of which is beneficial for your lips in any way.
Unlike our skin, lips do not have oil glands to keep the lips moisturized and clean from microorganisms. For this reason, many people experience chapped lips when the weather is dry.
So from all that has been established, lips are the ‘damsel-in-distress’ that gets so savior. People just ignore lips in their skincare routine and then start biting on them when they are anxious or excited (wink wink).
Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to keep your lips strong and healthy so that they turn from ‘damsel-in-distress’ to ‘femme fatale’.
How to Take Care of Your Lips
Since the most damage done to your lips are by the sun, the environment, and the dryness around the air, we will look at ways you can prevent these factors from damaging your lips.
Let’s divide this part of the article into three parts; Always, Often, and Sometimes.
Always – Moisturize Your Lips
As mentioned before, lips do not have oil glands to secret oil. As a result, lips are prone to dryness and flakiness even when the weather is mildly dry. While we instinctively lick our lips when our mouths are getting dry, our lips need longer hydration.
Apply a lip moisturizing cream at least 2-3 times a day. Increase the frequency if you are out in the sun or if the weather is dry and cold. Make sure that the lips feel smooth and hydrated.
There are many lip moisturizers available in the market. Make sure you use the one with good reviews and which suits your lips the most.
Always – Protect from UV Rays
Just like using sunscreen every time you are out in the sun or exposed to UV rays (near a window, etc), your lips need even more UV protection since they are more prone to sun damage.
So always remember to use a lip balm or lip cream that comes with SPF. Make sure you use SPF 30 or above to provide adequate protection. Take a look at this article by Dr. Jenny Liu, a board-certified dermatologist. She talks about the importance of sun protection for your lips.
While there are great lip creams that come with SPF, if you do not have a specific lip cream, you can apply normal sunscreen on your lips. Do not forget to cover it properly so that it is protected against the sun.
People who use chemical sunscreen might taste a bitter taste due to the sunscreen. Avoid using sunscreen in the moist and inner regions of the lips.
Often – Lips Balms
Lip balms are great at hydrating the lips and providing them with ingredients to make lips healthier and better. While you do not have to apply lip balms multiple times a day, it is always better to apply them often.
Let’s say maybe every day, or once every 2 days if your lips are not exposed to harsh conditions and you mostly stay in the comforts of your home. If you do not have lip balm, then you can make one for yourself.
Ingredients like beeswax, shea butter (the original), or oils such as almond or coconut oil are for the lips as they provide moisturization and improve the skin barrier of the lips.
Sometimes – Exfoliate
Just like your facial skin gets a build-up of dead skin cells and dirt after some time, your lips too are affected in the same way. It is recommended that you exfoliate your lips once or twice every week to keep them soft and healthy.
Keep in mind that lips are very delicate and you need to use milder exfoliating ingredients. What works for your skin will not work for your lips. There are some lip exfoliators in the market that you can go for, or you can make your own using home ingredients!
Use a teaspoon of salt or sugar, and add one tablespoon of coconut oil/jojoba oil/almond oil (you can also use beeswax, shea butter, etc) and gently rub it on your lips in a circular motion for around 30 seconds. Let the mixture stay on the lips for 10 mins and rinse with lukewarm water.
Make sure that you apply a moisturizer and SPF lotion after exfoliating as the lips are very prone to damage after it.
That was all about lip care. It requires minimum attention and gives you maximum benefits. Keep your lips healthy. Take care of your skin.
