Importance Of Lip Care: Dermatologist Recommends This Simple Lip Care Routine

The lips are one of the most important features of the face. Soft, luscious, full-bodied, and pink lips could greatly add to the aesthetic appeal. Not everybody can get the perfect lips but if your lips feel constantly dry or chapped then there is definitely something wrong in your lifestyle or lip care routine. When corrected, you could potentially get the best version of your lips.

Lip care routine you must try

Lifestyle factors: Your lifestyle reflects not only on your skin but also on your lips. Here are some steps you must follow-

1. Drink plenty of water. Chapped and dry lips are often the first sign of dehydration.

2. Avoid licking your lips. When the lips are slightly dry, people tend to lick their lips for immediate relief. Saliva is alkaline with a pH of over 8 whilst skin has an acidic pH of 4.5. Saliva causes temporary relief but in the medium, to long term, it exacerbates the problem and aggravates dry lips.

3. Maintain good dental hygiene. With age, the gums recede causing a roll of the lips because of which lips appear thin. Whilst ageing cannot be halted, good dental hygiene with regular dental check-ups can certainly limit the damage. If you notice that the angles of your lips are constantly fissured and you have to spool of saliva when you first wake up in the mornings, check with your dentist for mal-occlusion.

4. Eating a healthy nutritious diet will give you all the vitamins and nutrients needed to maintain the optimal health of your skin in general.

5. Avoid smoking. Irregular pigmentation of the lips caused by smoking.

6. Avoid lip make up for prolonged periods. Many lips make up products have been found to contain heavy metals that cause dermatitis and pigmentation. It's advisable to stick to natural products and also to try and reduce the usage of lip make-up.

Lip Care routine: Having a regular routine for lip care is as important as your skin routine

1. Cleansing of the lips is very important. If you have used lip make-up, use a make-up remover to ensure all traces have been wiped out. Follow this up with a gentle cleanser. This should be done at least 2 times a day.

2. Exfoliation of the lips may be done 2-3 times a week. Mildly ground sugar or ground oat milk can function as very mild yet effective exfoliants.

3. Use a lip balm regularly. It is usually recommend to use a natural lip balm containing beeswax. However, petrolatum lip balms are also very soothing. If the lip balm also has an SPF is highly desirable. Use a lip balm before applying any lip make-up to create a barrier between the lip skin and make-up.

4. Hydrate the lips. A soothing hydrating cream applied overnight can heal the lip skin leaving it soft in the morning. Good old desi ghee also works as a fantastic moisturiser as does olive oil or coconut oil.

Follow this simple routine and lifestyle and work your way towards the perfect lips.

(Dr. Sirisha Singh, is a Delhi-based Dermatologist)

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