How to protect your lips?
Lips are a prominent feature of our face and they make a big statement about how we look. The colour, shape and condition determine how healthy they are and how well we take care of them. The lips are a highly exposed sensitive part of the face. They are exposed to sun, heat, dryness and pollution and are ignored more often than not. Hence, it is very important to protect them through all the stress and season changes.
Lip structure:
Lip skin has thin and fragile layers which are vulnerable to dryness and cracks. All over our skin we have a protective layer, called the stratum corneum, that protects the skin from heat, moisturise loss, bacteria and light. This layer is much thinner on the lips, only about 3-4 layers compared to the layers on the rest of the body, which are about 15-16 layers. Due to the thin layers, the lips usually look and seem rosy. It has no hair follicles, sweat glands or melanin thus leading to moisture loss and sun damage.
Changes in the Lips:
Lips go through changes with change in the season, age and health. Winter months are known to be harsh and drying for your skin overall but as the lips are the thinnest, they show signs of cracking and dryness first. This problem is further enhanced for people who have a habit of licking their lips frequently. As we age, our skin also loses natural collagen and moisture over time. The ultimate sign of ageing of lips is dehydrated lips that have impaired cell function. Heavy medication, hormonal changes and stress also have an impact on the way our lips look and feel.
How to protect and enhance your Lips:
First and foremost is to always heal and protect the lips with a nourishing and healing Lip Butter or Lip Balm.
Choose one with a natural formulation and without petroleum jelly. Natural oils and butters like Jojoba Oil, Almond Oil and Coconut Oil are very close to the skin’s natural lipid profile and thus do not further dry or dehydrate the skin. These work towards healing the lips naturally and protecting them for a long time. If your lips are extra dry, you can use a thick layer of the Lip Butter or Lip Balm. as an overnight Lip Mask and wake up to soft beautiful lips. Using a gentle Lip scrubs or Lip Balm to buff away dead skin cells helps to improve the blood circulation. Make sure it’s loaded with nourishing butters to give your lips some much needed TLC.
Things to avoid doing:
- Avoid matte and drying lipsticks which make the lips dry and dehydrated. If you really do want to use them then use a thick layer of Lip Butter or Lip Oil before the application to make a protective layer on the lips.
- Highly pigmented colours also tend to try the lips, stick to natural formulations.
- Avoid licking your lips which will only further dry them out.
Check out our Lip kit which work beautifully to protect, heal and enhance your lips naturally!