It’s easy to take your lips for granted, but they need just as much love as the rest of your face.
The lips are one of the most important parts of our body.
They play a critical role in our daily lives; without them, we would not be able to eat or speak properly.
However, many people do not take proper care of their lips, which can lead to various problems including cracked skin and dry lips.
What is a cracked lip?
A cracked lip is a painful and unsightly skin condition that occurs when your lips become dry and chapped due to wind, sun and cold exposure.
A cracked lip can be caused by various other factors, including poor diet, smoking, hormonal changes and certain medications.
If the condition is severe, there can be bleeding also. Just as our skin cracks, our lips also become cracked if excessive dehydration occurs. This is how your body lets you know how much hydration it needs and how much water you need to drink.
Here are the top lip care practices to keep your pout looking its best.
1. Avoid licking lips
Whenever our lips become dry or chapped, it is a natural tendency in all of us to wet our lips by licking them. This is one of the important lip care practices.
This is harmful because our saliva evaporates very fast. Once it disappears, your lips turn out to be drier and hence become chapped. Rather than licking your lips, try to carry a lip moisturizer or lip balm to keep them moisturized all the time during the day.
2. Remove dead cells (exfoliation)
Many people do not know this. Exfoliation, removing dead cells from the skin by rubbing and cleaning, helps bring new and smooth skin. Your lips also need to exfoliate regularly to prevent chapped lips.
The lips accumulate more dead cells than any other part of the face. So your lips also need that exfoliation every time you exfoliate your face. This helps prevent chapped and cracked lips caused by that extra accumulation of the skin and dead cells.
You can do this by using any commercially available lip scrubber or simply making it at home.
For example, you can mix sugar and honey (equal quantities) and apply them to your lips. Then, scrub your lips for 1-2 minutes and wash them off.
3. Moisturizing regularly
We all moisturize our faces and body to keep them hydrated and healthy. But do we do the same with our lips? Unfortunately, most of your answers will be no.
Whenever we see a dry patch of skin, we always massage lotion or cream on it. Similarly, our lips, too need moisturization.
So, it is a must ritual to put lip balm every night on your lips before going to bed. Lip balm helps to rejuvenate cracked and dry lips during the night and gives you soft and stunning lips in the morning.
We talk, eat and drink throughout the day, and it causes a lot of friction on the lips. So, make sure to buy a good lip balm with natural ingredients and put it on your lips every night.
4. Use a lip balm
Using a lip balm is one of the important lip care practices to follow. It is prudent to use lip balm with SPF (sun protection factor) 30 to avoid cracked lips. In addition, it is advisable to use lip balm with higher SPF every two hours when going outdoors. The titanium oxide and Zinc oxide of these lip balms protect your lips from sun damage.
When buying be mindful of the ingredients of your lip balm
You just cannot buy whatever product you get online or in a grocery shop. There is a wide variety of lip balms with various flavours and ingredients. You should always be able to buy a product that suits your lips.
Make sure to avoid lip balm with ingredients like Eucalyptus and Camphor. Instead, always prefer flavours like cinnamon, citrus, mint, and peppermint, mainly when applying on chapped lips.
5. Give it a massage for the lips
It may seem counterintuitive, but massaging your lips with your fingers can help prevent dryness.
Massage in a circular motion, working over the surface of your lips and in the direction of hair growth.
Do this for at least three minutes every day before bedtime or when you’re relaxing—it’s a great way to unwind after a long day!
6. Keep lips hydrated by drinking water often
Drinking plenty of water is one of the best natural ways to hydrate and detox your body.
So make sure to drink more than 2.7 to 3.7 litres (11.5 to 15.5 glasses) of water every day. It keeps your body hydrated and bid goodbye to chapped lips.
Once your water intake increases, you can surely see the results on your lips, skin, and overall health.
7. Eat a healthy diet to nourish the lips
Eat a healthy diet to nourish the lips.
Eat foods rich in vitamins A, C, E and K. These vitamins are important for healthy hair, nails, and skin.
Eat fruits and vegetables every day. They contain anti-inflammatory substances that help to keep the skin healthy.
The Bottom Line
I am sure you love soft and plump lips, but you also know they need the proper treatment. Lip care practices help to avoid dehydration.
Drink a platy of water that helps retain the moisture and texture of the lips.
