Looking After Those Luscious Lips
The skin on our lips is much thinner than the skin on the other parts of our body, making it easier for them to crack and chap - and making it even more important to take extra care of them. In addition, our lips have less oil glands with no ability to create the sun-filtering natural melanin, meaning little or no protection whether in the heat of summer or the extreme cold of winter.
Chapped lips are most common in winter, when the cold, dry air dehydrates our skin. But dry air, sun and wind will equally dry your lips all year round.
Regular use of a good quality and natural lip balm can help protect (whatever the weather) during the daytime.
Common Lip Problems and Their Causes
- Chapping can occur during any season and, as already written, applying a natural good lip balm daily provides good protection. Do it in such a way that it slightly overlaps the edges of the lips and look for a balm which contains elements like Vitamins A, C or E.
- Splitting can often occur after sleeping in dry air. Using a humidifier will help retain the moisture in the air.
- Lipstick bleeding begins as the skin around the mouth loses collagen and elastic tissue. This can be due to age but is severely aggravated by smoking. Using a waxy lip liner to outline lips will help contain your lipstick within the line. It is never too late to give up that smoking habit!
- Cold sores are caused by viral infections that look like blisters or open scabs. To avoid re-infection, use cotton swabs to apply lipstick while sore is visible.
10 Simple and Effective Lip Care Tips
- Avoid touching or licking your lips. With no protection of their own, touching or licking them means they directly affected by such actions. You might think that licking your lips helps to hydrate them but once the saliva evaporates, it will leave the lips even drier. The enzymes in the saliva are simply too harsh on your delicate lips.
- Avoid breathing with your mouth open if you can as much of the moisture gets stripped away with all that dry air blowing over it.
- Never kiss anyone with any infections on their lips. It takes absolutely no time for an infection to spread to any cracks on your lips too!
- Following a healthy diet is essential not just for your skin but for your lips too. Vitamins and other nutrients reflect directly on the condition of your lips. Following a healthy diet helps ensure lovely lips!
- Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. This is one of the most important things when it comes to healthy lips. Just as your skin needs to be kept hydrated from the inside, so do your lips.
- Remove makeup. Your lips need to be able to breathe by being clear. Make sure you remove all traces of makeup from your lips before you sleep, using a damp cotton ball and wiping your lips clean.
- Keep your lips hydrated overnight. While we are awake, we know when our lips dry out but this could be a problem when you are asleep too. The air around you can dry out your lips while you sleep. Our Simply Skin Vitamin Oil is the ideal remedy to counter this with its one-of-a-kind nutritional blend of oils to feed the delicate skin on your lips. Rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and Omega fatty acids, all essential for the balance and nourishment of your skin. This rare formula is made from a blend of pure natural cold pressed and expeller pressed precious oils with a small molecular structure so they can penetrate the skin. For use on your lips as well as your face and neck. You can also use cream or raw milk as an alternative natural remedy.
- Massage your lips. Our Simply Skin Vitamin Oil can used to massage your lips for about five minutes every day to improve the blood circulation in your lips and ensure that they get the nutrients that are needed.
- Use lipstick. Apart from making you feel and look good, using some lipstick will help you add an extra layer to them. They also help to protect your lips from the sun, dry air, pollution and other outside factors.
- Know when it is time to ask for help. Sometimes your lips still need help. If, in spite of your best efforts and natural remedies, you develop a serious problem with your lips, it is time to visit a doctor.
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.