Fresh, radiant and soft lips make your face look younger, while dry and chapped lips just undo any good you did with the rest of your face.
Hydrate
Keep drinking water – we cannot reiterate this enough. Even during the winter months, sip warm water regularly. Not only does water hydrate your skin and body, on the whole, the water on the lips hydrates it from the outside as well. Your lips are actually like a sponge. So whenever it gets enough moisture in the form of water, it expands and plumps up, looking fuller. Whenever it doesn’t have enough water, it shrivels and dehydrates. However, don’t imagine that licking your lips regularly will have the same effect. Saliva has a totally different impact from water since it also has various enzymes that dry out the skin.
Use a lip balm
This may be a no-brainer, but that’s because it’s the quickest, easiest and most effective way to combat dehydrated skin. The skin on the lips is much thinner than the skin on the rest of the face (the blood vessels are visible, hence the reddish-pink hue of the lips!). Also, it has no oil glands, so while the rest of your skin may secrete sebum on a regular basis, you will need to find other sources to take care of your lips. Lip balms and lip salves (for extremely dry lips) are the best solutions to that problem. Look for base ingredients like Shea butter, vitamin E, jojoba oil and so on. Lip balms that use essential oils work well. Use a medicated chapstick if you any have extreme conditions.
Eat the right food
While taking care of your skin externally certainly counts, what you put in your mouth also has a bearing on how your lips look. Eat plenty of fats – but the good variety, found in nature. Avoid fried food, and opt for natural ingredients rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. Popular foods include salmon, avocado, eggs, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds and soybean. You can prep these on their own, or add them to other foods like salads, bakes and in the case of the seeds and dry fruit, even in desserts – though to be consumed sparingly and within limits! See below for some delish recipes that include these ingredients to ensure a pretty pout.
Exfoliate
Even the most well-maintained lips need exfoliation. Firstly, a dry and flaky skin forms sooner on the lips than any other part of the body. To remove these dead cells, a gentle exfoliant is a must. This takes off the top layer of dead cells, and also smoothens and evens out the layer below, leading to softer lips. This is great in terms of lip texture and health, and also provides a clean, even canvas to work on lip makeup, if you’re opting for it. Lips are also more prone to discoloration than the rest of the face. With regular exfoliation, you can make sure that you keep it looking healthy and pink, rather than dark and patchy. Lip scrubs for exfoliation can be store-bought or DIY. They need two components – an emollient and an exfoliant. The former keeps the lips moisturized and softens the harshness of the latter, which is designed to scrape a thin layer off the lips. Sugar, coffee, cocoa and sea salt are some of the popular exfoliants, while emollients can include jojoba oil, olive oil or coconut oil. You’ll find some easy DIY lip scrub ideas below.
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