Lips are one of the most sensitive areas of our bodies. Even the slightest discomfort results in them cracking, drying out and, at times, even bleeding. Lip care is essential not only in the winter months when the cold dries it out but even during the summer months when the humid and hot weather can take their toll on the sensitive skin and lead to chapped lips. So, a lip care routine is a must, no matter what time of the year it is. Here we have gathered everything you need to know about taking good care of your lips.
The importance of moisturizing
Although our skin gets pretty oily during summer, it’s the exact opposite for our lips – they dry out. So, one of the most important steps to summer lip care is moisturizing them. Drinking plenty of water is essential for this. It hydrates your body and moisturizes your skin and lips from within. Take a water bottle with you wherever you go and sip water consistently as you go through the day.
Lip balm or a chapstick is another thing that you should always carry around with you wherever you go. Apply it on your lips at least three times throughout the day to keep your lips shiny and healthy. A clear colorless chapstick will work better than a tinted one because tinted chapsticks are thicker/heavier and tend to have a melting off feel to them after an hour or so. Also, make sure to buy chapsticks with good sun protection.
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Lipsticks and lip colors in general tend to dry out your lips even more if you use them often. To prevent this, just apply a quick coat of chapstick or lip balm to your lips before you use any other lip products. Also, make a habit of checking the ingredients of the lip products before you buy or apply them. Strictly avoid methylparaben infused products as this is believed to be one of the causes of skin cancer.
Habits to avoid
Some people have the habit of picking off dry and flaky skin when their lips get chapped. This worsens the condition of your lips resulting in it bleeding and formation of small wounds. Instead of tearing out flakes from your chapped lips, moisturize them and let it be. Another common habit that irritates your lips is biting them. This has similar effects to picking off dry skin. If you bite hard enough, you might actually cut your lip deep enough for it leave a permanent scar. Licking dry lips is also not a helpful habit as, instead of moisturizing your lips, it actually destroys the protective barrier of skin on the lips and dries them out even further.
For a thorough overnight treatment
If your lips are already extremely chapped and you feel like you have to do some extensive damage control to bring them back in shape, this is your optimum guide. The first step to it is cleansing. Clean out your lips thoroughly, wiping away every last trace of makeup. Although a lip cleanser is the best choice, you could also clean it out with your everyday face wash or a makeup removing wipe.
After this comes the scrubbing step. Take a small blob of your favorite lip scrub on a finger and apply it thoroughly throughout your lips. Make sure to gently massage it onto your lips in circular motion for at least two minutes before washing it off with cold water. Do not rub it in erratically or with too much force as this may tear out your lips causing it to bleed. Apply just enough force to buff away the dead cells. This exfoliates your lips and brings out a smooth layer that was previously hidden underneath the dead skin cells. Scrubbing also conditions your lips to an extent.
The last step is to heavily moisturize your lips and leave it to recover overnight. Use a deeply nourishing lip product to get maximum results. If you follow these steps regularly, your lips will turn more supple, soft, and healthy in less than a week.
Home remedies
Instead of buying everything you need for your lip care routine, you could actually make organic versions of those products at home. Not only is it cheaper but it is also more effective.
A very simple recipe for a scrub actually includes just two ingredients: sugar and half a lemon. Take about two teaspoons of sugar in a container and squeeze the juice of the lemon over it. Mix them with the squeezed lemon peel. Take some of this mixture onto the lemon peel and use that as your scrub.
Other similar combinations that work well as lip scrubs are honey and sugar, coconut oil and sugar, mint leaves and honey and olive oil and salt. Similarly, you could also use a bunch of things that you find in your kitchen like coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, and beeswax as lip moisturizers.
