Lips take an immense amount of mistreatment during the day. They are constantly exposed to irritants; the tip of the tongue, food and drink consumption, environmental pollutants, and the weather can all affect your lips. Our lips lack the protection that the rest of our skin enjoys. Our skin has oil glands and pores. Mouths need just as much care as the rest of our skin, but despite everything our mouths do for us, our lips are often overlooked and neglected. This causes our lips to crack, flake, and sometimes look shriveled. Here are 5 tips that will help you have softer, more desirable lips.
1. Keep Your Hands Off: You are your own worst enemy when it comes to having dry lips. Avoid touching your hands to your face in general because it spreads oils and unwanted bacteria. Also avoid licking your lips and mouth breathing. Licking your lips actually causes them to dry out faster. Yes, it does feel good when you don’t have Chapstick nearby, but your saliva dries fast and will leave your lips dryer than before. Plus, the digestive enzymes in your saliva are harmful and not good for such delicate skin.
Mouth breathing causes excess air flow over your lips, so try to keep that lovely mouth closed while sleeping or just going along with your daily schedule. Do not chew or bite on your lips either.
Even though we all probably know this one, it never hurts to reiterate it, but NEVER, EVER kiss anyone that has a sore or infection by their mouth. Kissing someone with a sore can cause you to contract the virus as well.
2. All About That Food: A healthy diet is not only good for your body, it is also important for above the neck: skin, hair, eyes, and much more. The intake of vitamins is extremely important for your skin. Try to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, the vitamins A and E will make your skin and lips glow. Make sure you are drinking enough water as well, because your body’s first instinct when dehydrated is to take water from your skin.
3. My Lip Gloss Be Poppin’: Look for a Chapstick or lip gloss with a base of beeswax, petroleum jelly, or paraffin. These ingredients seal in moisture and will cause slower evaporation rates. For extremely dry lips, aloe vera is a good ingredient. This plant has soothing properties that are often used to heal sensitive sunburns. Having a chap stick with SPF is also important, even in the winter. UV light reflects off the snow and can still cause sun burns. It is important to exfoliate your lips at least once a week. One can easily do this is making a sugar scrub or getting an extra soft bristle toothbrush. Gently rub in circles over your lips with the scrub or brush. Apply Chapstick right after.
4. Working Those Lips Out: To perk up your face, dedicate a few minutes a day to lip therapy and other facial exercises. This can increase blood circulation, which will give you a healthy glow, and can improve the tone, texture, and shape of your facial skin. The correct exercises can improve the appearance of your lips. Some exercises can make lips fuller; others may make lips smaller. Why mess with dangerous and expensive surgery when you can just do some lip ups!
5. Say No To Smoking And Straws: Smoking causes your lips to dry out, and the nicotine causes your lips to darken in color. Smoking can cause excess puckering of your lips, which in time will cause intense lines around your mouth. The lines/wrinkles will end up making you appear older than you actually are. Same goes for straws. Drinking through a straw can cause wrinkles as well. So limit the use of straws with your drinks.