Soft, healthy pink lips lend a fresh look to your face. If you’re looking for juicy, luscious lips, read on.
by Beverley Lewis
Generally, when we meet someone, the first thing we tend to notice is their face and lips. Soft and healthy lips can adorn your face like nothing else can. But our lips are the most sensitive part of our body and require a little TLC.
Most of us are lusting after beautiful pink plumped up lips, but what we don’t know is that our lips are like a sponge. When exposed to moisture, they absorb water and plump up. When dehydrated, they dry out and shrink. Also, the skin on our lips is unlike skin anywhere else on the body. It is thinner and has no oil glands, which can result in red, rough and chapped lips. If you are suffering from any of these afflictions, simply follow these seven steps:
Get watered: Drinking enough water, at least six to eight glasses a day, will not only keep your skin well hydrated, but will give you moist, smooth lips.
Balm it: Choosing the right lip balm is an integral part of lip care. A lip balm seals moisture in the lips and makes them smooth and kissable. Also, there’s a wide range of lip balms available for sale and which are designed to tackle varying degrees of lip dryness. Opt for lip balms containing beeswax for mild dryness and petrolatum for moderate to severe dryness. Lip balms with shea butter, jojoba oil and cetyl alcohol are also good choices to combat dryness and chapped lips.
Scrub it: Lip exfoliators (products that contain fruit-acid-based alpha or beta hydroxy acids) help get rid of dead skin. A glycolic, pyruvic or mandelic peel can gently exfoliate the superficial dead layers, hydrate and lighten the tone of the lip. But if you have sensitive skin or your lips are severely chapped or cracked, use these products cautiously, no more than once a week
In the shade: Lips are susceptible to sunburn since they lack melanin, the pigment that helps shield skin from the sun. To combat this, apply a layer of a sun-protective product daily (you can simply dab a bit of your daily sunscreen on your lips) or look for a lipstick with SPF 15.
In the cold: In case of a cold sore, oral antivirals are needed to treat the episode and bring about rapid healing. An antiviral ointment applied frequently through the day serves as supportive treatment.
Lick no more: Soreness and cuts at corners of the lips are common in those who have a lip-licking habit. Also it could be a sign of deficiency of B-complex vitamins and zinc. Rich 
sources of these are lean meat, seafood, eggs, nuts and oilseeds.
Matte no no: Matte lipsticks can be extremely drying, that’s why you should use them sparingly, especially if you suffer from chapped lips. Instead, use hydrating lipsticks (with ingredients like vitamin E and/or glycerin) or add a layer of moisturising lip balm underneath for plump, hydrated beautiful lips.
With inputs from Dr Rickson Pereira, Dr. Minal’s Dermatherapie Centre.
(Pictures courtesy www.womenlifestyle.com, www.rejoicewellbeing.com, know.burrp.com)
