While there is so much information on how to take good care of our lips, little to no information is provided on the sensitivity that is required when taking care of them. Our lips and eyelids are two highly exposed parts of our bodies that receive minimal care. We tend to snuggle with them only when they turn dark, unusually sensitive or cracked. I know it’s hard to drag your sunscreen to your eyelids because maybe it stings or to your lips because of it’s chemical-ish taste. However, these parts require the same exfoliation and sun protection you give to your face and more. More because they are very thin so they are bound to ‘harm’ easily.
Arguably, lips are the most noticeable parts of the face. Those that are soft, full- bodied and have a natural red, pink or purple tint to it, depending on your inner buccal skin color, greatly improve our visual attractiveness. In all honesty, there is nothing as attractive as soft light-tinted lips. So, do you want turn your lips into the best version they can be? After all it’s all about being the best versions of ourselves, eeh? Wink. If yes, you have come to the right place at probably the right time. On today’s piece I will step by step explain and draw all your attention to all the reasons why you should consider working on taking your lip’s appearance to the next level.
What’s wrong with cracked and chapped lips?
In most cases, dry is hugely associated with lack of moisture. This lack can be both on the inside and the outside. Lips tend to get easily moisturized, therefore, on the slightest water intake they get nourished first. However, there is no doubt for cases of lips that don’t get hydrated by drinking water only. For this group of people, extra extrinsic care on their lips is required. This doesn’t mean that intrinsic hydration doesn’t work for them, it does, only slower when done alone but actually fastens the whole process when incorporated with other external means.
How do we improve the appearance of our lips?
While simple hydration on the inside can be enough, remember we are here to level up. By leveling up, we get to tap into the most appealing versions of ourselves. For this, we get to touch on every aspect. Dry, chapped and cracked lips require lots of care. This form of care not only entails frequent moisturization using lip balms and lip masks but also exfoliation, nourishment, and protection from sun damage. Licking our lips has always been an easy quick fix when we feel our lips are dry but we truly do not understand the damage saliva has to these 4-6 epidermal layers. A quick brain storm. Did you know that saliva contains some of the most powerful alkaline enzymes and antibiotics? And, do you know that when these enzymes are subjected to the lips they would ‘digest’ your lip skin corroding off some of its layers and leaving it all cracked, chapped and dry? Incase you did not know, we are all here to educate and get educated. Here are a few tips on how to improve your lips’ appearance and texture.
- Don’t Lick Them!
Guilty as charged! My go-to quick hydration has always been saliva, ew. But then I realized that licking my lips does not do the job because every time I would lick my lips, since saliva is really light, air would evaporate the moisture on them and leave them feeling even drier than before. I would often find myself unconsciously repeating the act not realizing that it was causing more damage. And just as I said before, we tend to fidget with them only when they turn dark, unusually sensitive, chapped, and cracked. Yeah, don’t be like Flavia before. I came up with a elaborate plan to avoid this where I would keep my lip balm readily accessible to me. So, any time I would feel my lips are dry, instead of the quick fix, I would quickly jump into reality and reach out for my lip balm.
2. Frequently Reapply Lip balm!
There is no limit to how many times you can reapply your lip balm in a day. Any time you feel like you need to reapply, please do. Incorporating hydration by drinking water and applying lip balm makes the lips look healthy and youthful. Tips to an A-10 game. First is to ensure to apply lip balm even in days you apply lipstick. Second, to maintain a fresh look, ensure that when you feel there is build-up, wipe out the whole application using makeup removal wipes then apply an new layer. Ensure you consistently check out for build-up to prevent a mushy look. Thirdly, It is easy to apply chap sticks at any time of the day since it doesn’t involve product touching. However, when it comes to the the ones who’s application requires fingers, it is essential that you reapply every time you visit the washrooms. This is to ensure that the application is done by clean hands to avoid infections. Remember, lips are very thin= easily infected.
Exfoliate and Mask!
Exfoliating our lips can be quite risky. Risky in the sense that it is easy to overdo and when overdone we risk to walk around with sore lips. I mean, sore lips are so painful you know that, right? But we forget that there is just the right amount of exfoliation that works. Natural physical exfoliants should be your go to lip exfoliant as you can control the amount of exfoliation that takes place. Chemical exfoliants for the lips can be good but we usually are powerless of the extent the exfoliation can go. Therefore, for physical lip scrubs, exfoliation is in your hands, how rough and fast you go in. This process is salient in removing all the dead skin build-up that when not removed end up cracking hence cracked and dried lips. Exfoliating as often as thrice a week is more than enough to get rid of any build-up so, be keen not to overdo. Masking comes in after exfoliation to sooth the lips after going through that dreadful experience, lol. It is often recommended that lip masks stay throughout the night for a more soothing effect.
With that said, I believe it is time you start taking your lip care seriously. Don’t wait until they are dark chapped and dry. There are so many ways deemed to improve the appearance of your lip skin but by the powers bestowed to me by James Clear from his book Atomic Habit, we will atomically begin with these three habits as we draw into more once we are comfortable with the basics. Thank you so much for coming this far.
Be keen to catch my blogs every Tuesday at 1800hrs GMT+3 (East African Time).
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