Caring for your lips is an easy process and routine that you can follow throughout your life. However, most people are not aware of the steps or measures available for lip care and continue to overlook the problem. People with dry lips may continue to not apply any balm or liquid lipstick to overcome the condition of dry lips. It is important to know and understand that lip care can be as essential as caring for other skin areas.
I used to have peeling and cracked lips throughout my childhood and teenage years. Chapped and dry lips give a bad look and may sometimes also cause pain. I witnessed bleeding as well due to the dry lip condition and the pain was enough to cause tears in the skin. I had large lips and caring for them required that I followed a perfect and effective routine of lip care.
I started to gain more information on the subject from online and offline sources. In due course of time, I came to know that dry lips can be better combatted through moisture and hydration. The dry lip condition can be best overcome through hydration and by consuming more liquids like water. Moisture in the atmosphere and air may also play an important part. I also found that there are certain skin and lip care products available that can be used for enhancing the moisture and hydration levels in the lips. These measures helped me have hydrated, moist, and healthy lips that did not suffer from problems such as chapping or flacking. I also found that caring for the lips is not a time-consuming process. It may only require a bit of effort and a few minutes every day, and you can get rid of the dry lip condition forever.
Regular Exfoliation
Exfoliation is the process of removing damaged and dead skin cells from the upper skin layers. It is fairly important to remove the dead and dry skin cells first before you start to hydrate the lips. Many people may think that exfoliation is not necessary, but it is not true. After exfoliation, the lips and their upper skin layer can better absorb moisture and hydration. When you want to make the best use of your lip care products, you should prepare your lips first through exfoliation.
There are many ways through which you can exfoliate the upper delicate skin layers on the lips. However, I choose a method that required very less time and no products at all. When you do not want an elaborate and expensive maintenance routine for exfoliation, you can follow my method. The best time for exfoliating the lips is after you take the shower. You can be in the shower for approximately 10 minutes. By this time the lips get sufficiently soft due to the steam and the running water. Now you can gently rub a washcloth on the lips so that the dead and dry skin cells start to loosen themselves. Being in a shower, the water can soften the lips for some time. It will ensure that exfoliation is easy and quick. However, you should not be rubbing the washcloth too hard on your lips, as it may cause skin tears. You only need to apply a light amount of pressure and massage your lips gently by using the washcloth. Later you can wipe the excess dry and dead skin cells.
There are many other DIY (do it yourself) lip exfoliating procedures and recipes available as well. For instance, you can combine brown sugar and honey in a small utensil/jar. Now you can massage the lips with this mixture. Sugar has a grainy texture and will act as a natural exfoliation mixture. Honey can provide more moisturization to the skin layers. This mixture has a good taste as well and can be prepared in only a few minutes at home.
Use the Overnight Mask
Once you have completed the exfoliation part, you need to ensure that the lips are smooth. For that, you need to provide the lips with more amount of hydration. You can use the overnight lip mask and apply it immediately before you go to sleep. These masks are similar to the feet and face masks. The mask can provide ample hydration to the lip's skin layers and ensure that your lips remain moisturized throughout the day.
Overnight masks are especially useful as they can also provide healing and repair to the body. The body repairs itself when you go to sleep, and is in a restorative mode during the period. The mask will improve the prospects of the natural healing process of the body and will be more effective when it is applied overnight. While you can apply the mask anytime, you should only apply it at the night (before you go to sleep) for the best results.
You can buy many different kinds of lip masks online as well as offline. My recommendation is the Aquaphor mask. It is a highly affordable product that is free from any kinds of parabens or fragrances. One jar of Aquaphor can last for the whole year. It is often used for babies but can also be used by adults who want to overcome the dry skin condition. You can apply a thick layer of the product and the moisturizer after exfoliation and before you go to bed. You can leave the ointment applied overnight to get the best results.
Tips for Routine Care
When you wake up in the morning, you will find that you have luscious and moisturized lips, and all the dead and dry skin cells are gone. You can leave it at that if you don't want extra maintenance. However, you can also take the lip care process to the next level by using some other products and following certain tips.
You always have to choose your glosses and lipsticks with utmost care. You should ensure that these products contain certain moisturizing ingredients including coconut oil or shea butter. This way your lips will receive moisturization and hydration during the makeup and are not spoil by the chemical ingredients. Some products that may cause drying of the lips should be avoided. You should never compromise the health of your lips even when the product has a beautiful color and you are attracted to it. Always go through the ingredient list of the products that you use on your lips to find out whether they contain hydration and moisturizing agents/ingredients. Being selective will ensure that your lips have good health and moisturization and are not dry.
The measures and tips given above are sufficient for the summer months. However, you may be required to do something extra during the winter months, when the air is very dry. I heavy lip-balm can be used during the months of winter. You should also ensure that you are drinking the right amount of water every day so that your skin cells and lips are hydrated and moisturized naturally. Noticing and listening to your body will alone help you find out many of the solutions to skin issues.
