We often overlook lips in the traditional skincare routine. However, they are made of skin and require some care. Unlike permanent makeup lips, chemical-laden lipsticks and balms, as well as hydration, can cause havoc on the mouth margin. Therefore, it’s critical to care for and protect this particularly sensitive skin area with a clean, natural, and all-encompassing lip care routine. For soft and healthy lips that add a fresh look to your face, let’s take a look at the 7 magic steps for lip care.
Drink Water to Keep Your Lips Well Hydrated
Drinking at least 6-8 glasses of water daily will keep your skin hydrated and give you moist, smooth lips. Water is your ally! While water is not a magical cure, it does affect your body’s moisture levels. Less water in your pout means less saliva production, which can cause your lips to feel dry. The popular rule of thumb is to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily.
Sunscreen for Your Lips
The skin on the lips is thin and lacks sweat glands; it lacks the usual protective layer of body oils and sweats to keep the skin smooth. As a result, the lips dry out and chap faster, making them more susceptible to sun damage, which is why it is important to wear sunscreen on your lips.
Step Out with Lipstick or Lip Balm On
You never know when your lips will begin to dry out. So even if you’re traveling, keep a good hydrating lip balm on hand. Lipsticks or lip balm can help protect your lips from the sun, dirt, dry air, and other environmental factors. First, however, selecting the right lip balm or lipstick is important. A wide variety of lip balms and lipsticks are also available for purchase, designed to address the different levels of lip dryness.
Massage Your Lips
Massage increases blood flow to the lips, giving them a plumper, more luscious appearance. Try a few lip massages daily if you are looking for fuller-looking, tinted lips. Make small circles with your fingertips around the surface of your lips. This will increase blood flow to the area and improve the color of your lips.
Keep Your Lips Hydrated, Especially at Night
You can tell when your lips are dry when you are awake, but this could be an issue when sleeping at night. While we sleep, the air tends to dry out our lips. So, before bed, you may want to apply a hydrating lip cream or petroleum jelly to keep your lips hydrated overnight. You can also use raw milk, cream, or ghee for the same purpose.
Do Not Pluck or Lick Your Lips
Licking or plucking your lips may feel natural — even soothing — but it dries them out more. Don’t get caught in the vicious cycle of dry lips. Licking can also cause angular cheilitis, an inflammation of the corners of the mouth. Chapping, redness, irritation, and dryness around the mouth are common symptoms of angular cheilitis. If you suspect you have this condition and standard lip care isn’t working, seek help from a professional.
Keep Your Lips Clean
Before going to bed, clean every sign of makeup from your lips. Keeping your lip clean can help you get the most out of your lip care routine. Wipe your lips clean with a damp cotton ball as it aids in the removal of lip makeup, pollution, and even tinted lip balm.
Must-Follow Lip Care Routine for Healthy Lips
A lip care routine is the first step toward healthy lips. Let’s take a look at the must-follow lip care routine for healthy lips.
Exfoliate
Exfoliation can not only help remove flakes and soothe a chapped pout, but it can also help soften cracks and make your next lip color float easily. Exfoliation can also provide an immediate plumping effect by increasing blood flow and circulation, making the pout appear fuller.
Regular exfoliation is important in lip care, but you don’t want to scrub daily. It is possible to over-exfoliate, just like with your face. Over-exfoliating your lips can cause redness, swelling, bleeding, and sensitivity. It’s not very enjoyable. You can start with a one-week regimen and gradually increase it to two or three sessions.
Moisturize
Keeping your lips moisturized is essential all year, regardless of the season. Unlike the rest of our skin, the lip doesn’t have oil-producing glands in the dermis, making them much more prone to drying out quickly. Instead, oil nourishes, soothes, and strengthens the lipid barrier, one of three essential defense mechanisms on the epidermis — the skin’s outermost layer. A strong, moisturized barrier forms a protective seal that keeps hydration and antioxidants.
Moisturizing can also help prevent your lips from the drying effects of heat, arid weather, and excessive sun exposure. You may want to apply a high-quality lip product every few hours before bed to prevent chapped lips. Look for fragrance-free lip balms or lip moisturizers that contain oils, shea butter, beeswax, ceramides, or petroleum-based ingredients. For more intensive lip treatment, consider a nourishing ointment or thick emollient.
Hydrate
One of the most important aspects of the lip care routine is hydration, especially when the seasons change and the air changes and becomes dry. When your body is dehydrated, your lips can rapidly become chapped. Hydration is the best defense against chapped, dry lips or cracked ones. While lip balm can provide temporary relief and keep moisture from evaporating, it cannot repair cracked lips.
So, to avoid a parched pout or get rid of those horrible, chapped lips, experts recommend you drink 6-8 glasses of fluid per day and avoid licking your lips when they’re dry. Also, while you may want to use treatment balms on your lips at least a few times a day to keep them hydrated and protected from the elements, be careful of balms that contain alcohol, menthol, or camphor, as they can encourage you to lick your lips.
There you have it: magic tips to lip care that will leave your lips supple, plump, and ready for bold color and the must-follow lip care routine for healthy lips. Remember that if your lips aren’t staying moisturized regardless of how many scrubbing hydrating steps you add to your routine, you may be dealing with a more subtle problem — but many causes of dry lips are simple to resolve.
Also, if you are tired of reapplying lipstick and lip liner that seems to dry or chap your lips, consider permanent lips makeup. If you are ready for permanent makeup or microblading-like techniques, get in touch with ANNA KARA today to learn more about those procedures.
