Lip pigmentation is a common problem among those who smoke or consume tobacco regularly. Dark coloured lips can cause embarrassment. Read what our expert has to say about lip pigmentation.
Lip pigmentation is a process which leads to discolouration of lips
HIGHLIGHTS
- Lip pigmentation can cause dark lips
- Smoking or consuming tobacco contributes to lip pigmentation
- You can apply sunscreen on lips to prevent lip pigmentation
Lip pigmentation is a common problem among those who smoke or consume tobacco regularly. People tend to ignore dark-coloured lips till the time they become too dark. Discoloured or dark lips can be quite embarrassing and awkward. And no matter how many home remedies for dark lips you try, nothing seems to work effectively enough to get back our original and pink-coloured lips. Lip pigmentation is a process which leads to discolouration of lips. Most of us are born with soft and pink lips. But with age, our lips get freckles and tend to become cracked and dark. Dr Kiran Lohia Sethi took to Instagram to share videos on says that lip pigmentation can be problematic because of 2 reasons: Firstly, they do not look very appealing, and secondly, they might signal an underlying health condition or the very fact that your lifestyle isn't suiting you anymore.
Lip pigmentation may occur as a result of poor lifestyle
Photo Credit: iStock
Also read: What Are The Various Skin Changes Caused By Smoking?
Poor lifestyle habits can contribute to lip pigmentation or dark-coloured lips. Dr Kiran says that people who smoke regularly or consuming paan masala or are chewing tobacco regularly can have dark coloured lips.
She stresses on the importance of taking care of lips. She says that even if you have a clear skin, you should not be ignoring your lips either. She goes on to share a few tips about to take care of dark lips. The most important thing to do is to stop smoking, chewing tobacco or any similar awful habits which result in skin pigmentation.
Taking care of lips is as important as taking care of skin
Also read: 6 Foods To Eat For Glowing Skin
To prevent cracking of lips, you need to stop biting your lips. Lip biting is a common habit which many people have and thus they end up having cracked lips.
In order to work towards retaining the original pigmentation of your lips, Dr Kiran says that you can apply sun block on your lips. It does sound strange, but as it turns out, exposure to the sun can also cause darkening of your lips along with your face and other parts of the body uncovered with clothes.
You can also switch to an anti-pigmentation active like retinol or kojic acid on your lips to deal with lip pigmentation. You can add these on your night-time skin care routine for getting rid of lip pigmentation.
Lastly, if the above treatments don't work, you can also consider laser therapy as an effective treatment for lip pigmentation. Laser therapies like pixie or picosure can be helpful in getting rid of lip pigmentation.
Besides these expert-recommended tips, you can also switch to a few home remedies for getting rid of lip pigmentation.
1. Honey can be applied on lips to get rid of dark lips. Apply some honey on your lips and let it dry. Let it stay overnight and repeat every day until you see the desired results
Honey is a good home remedy for lip care
Also read: Add honey to diet for good health
2. You can make a balm with strawberries and raspberries as an effective treatment for lip pigmentation. You can take either strawberry or raspberry or both and mix the with aloe vera gel to create a paste. Leave the balm on for 10 minutes and then rinse it off. Repeat every day until you get lighter coloured lips.
3. Moisturising lips with olive oil can be an effective remedy for lip pigmentation. You can apply olive oil on lips overnight. Not only will it help in lightening of lips, it will also moisturise and soften them.
Oil oil helps in softening the lips
4. Applying lemon on lips can be an effective home remedy for lip pigmentation. Lemon has lightening properties which can help in removing dark spots and skin pigmentation.
5. Beetroot juice can also be a home remedy for dark lips. Apply beetroot juice on lips and leave overnight. It can help you achieve beautiful and rosy lips.
(Dr. Kiran Lohia Sethi is a dermatologist at Isya aesthetics Pvt Ltd)
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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