Lip Care Routine: Get Your Perfect Lips with These Tips

In the beauty world, you often hear about skin care and hair care routines, but it’s rare to hear about Lip Care Routine. You usually think, Why do your lips tend to chap and crack even if your skin is oily? You’re always looking to achieve fuller, smoother, and healthier-looking lips, but it can be hard to know how to care for your lips. However, if you’re looking to achieve a plumper pout, a lip care routine is what you need. Lips are a delicate part of the body and are likely to become cracked during the winter when it’s dry and cold outside. Harsh weather conditions like extreme heat or wind are also causes of lip chapping. Fortunately, a few simple steps can help keep your lips smoother and healthier. This lip care routine will help your lips stay in tip-top shape in every season.

Importance of Lip Care

Your lips have an important role in your daily life and their care is an essential part of your self-care routine. So follow a lip care routine to nourish your lips. But one thing to remember— your lips do not have sebaceous glands, unlike other parts of your body. They cannot keep them moist naturally because they do not secrete oils like other parts of the body. Sometimes you start licking your lips to remove their dryness or make them moisturized but licking is not enough it also causes chapped lips. So daily lip-care routine with the help of lip-care products may help you to make your lips fuller, nourished, or plumper.

Amazing Tips to Take Care of Your LipsChoose the Perfect Products

It’s important to make sure you have everything you need to take care of your lips that may give your lips a full makeover. So start with a lip gloss of a good brand that will help you achieve hydrated and plumped lips.  You must have other powerful products such as a high-quality SPF-containing lip scrub, lip mask, and lip balm. Get your beauty bag ready with all of your lip essentials, to get started with your lip care routine.

Common Lip Problems to Address

Sebaceous glands are found in the softer and delicate parts of the body that secrete sebum to keep them moisturized but lips lack these types of natural moisturizing glands. These glands have microscopic hair openings. According to a professional certified dermatologist, Miss Nina, licking your lips instinctively may keep them moisturized but this causes more dryness ultimately and makes your lips cracked and dried. Excessive licking causes yeast to build on the lips, a condition known as angular cheilitis, characterized by painful inflammation at the tips and corners of your lips. So if you want to have healthy lips you must use moisturizing products daily. In case of intense dryness of lips, exfoliation may also be effective. This exfoliation must be done 2 to 3 times a week. Exfoliation will make your lips smooth enough to apply cosmetics more uniformly. Thus your flaky lips may get an attractive look.

But you don’t need exfoliation if you have healthy lips because unnecessary exfoliation may cause problems in your lips like itching, dryness, or sores.

Daily Lip Care Practices

Daily lip care routine is categorized into two major steps i.e. Hydration and Exfoliation. If your problem is only chapping or cracking of lips, you need only exfoliation.

Cleansing of Lips

Before starting a lip care routine, you must be sure that your lips are clean and that no dust or makeup residues are found on them. To cleanse your lips you may use an oil-free cleanser of a high-quality brand and wipe it away gently by using a cotton wool pad. The first step in your lip care routine is to clean your lips and make them free from any makeup residue or dust. To achieve this, use your favorite oil-free cleanser and gently wipe away using a cotton wool pad. The oil-free cleanser is the best way to remove any makeup, including lipstick and lip gloss. They have gentle micelles which help to dissolve dirt and make-up.  Nourishing plant extracts, such as Aloe Vera and Apple Water present in the oil-free cleansers keep your lips feeling hydrated, soothed, and cleansed. 

Hydrating and Moisturizing

• Whenever your lips feel dehydrated, you must be attentive and get ready to apply a lip balm. The lip balm is used as an applicator that moisturizes your lips. 
• Use your fingers to apply highly moisturized lip balm liberally on your lips and remember that corners of lips must be included.
• Weather conditions affect your lips and your skin. So if you spend more time outside the home, you must use a lip moisturizer that contains sunscreen and SPF lip balm. 
• Apply the balm on your lips again and again after intervals throughout the day. You can use it 2 to 3 times a day. 
• In case of eczema or intense dryness, you may apply it more than 4 times a day.

DIY Lip BalmYou can make a natural hydrating lip balm at home by using nourishing ingredients without any salt or sugar. Let’s learn to manufacture a natural lip balm:

• Take 3 tablespoons of liquid oil, like almond oil, or coconut oil. Add 3 tablespoons of Shea butter in it and mix with 2 tablespoons of beeswax pellets. 
• Now keep them in a microwave for 25 seconds to melt. After they have melted, stir them together.
• Keep microwaving and mix well until the ingredients get well-blended.
• Pour the mixture into jars for use in the future and let it cool.
• Don’t use this balm on your facial skin as facial skin may get acne breakouts due to the oils present in this balm.

Weekly Lip Care Rituals

 Exfoliation Techniques

In the next step, you have to get rid of dead skin and dryness of your lips. Drive away the dead cell layer from your lips to get healthier, nourished, and smooth lips. For this purpose, a lip scrub is the best tool. You may use lip scrub 2 to 3 times a week. Don’t cross the limit because using the scrub on your lips more than the prescribed times may damage your lips. Lips exfoliation is the tool to help eliminate some dry, flaking skin that builds up and restores the softness and beauty that you all want.

Apply the lip scrub on your lips and rub it in a circular form for a maximum of 20 seconds. Then rinse them with warm water to wash away all dead skin cells and the leftover lip scrub. 

DIY Lip Scrub

To make a simple natural lip scrub at home, combine two teaspoons of a naturally abrasive ingredient, such as salt or sugar, with 1 tablespoon of a nourishing ingredient including coconut oil. Beeswax, pure petroleum, almond oil, jojoba oil, Shea butter, or avocado oil. Adding more oil will make a looser mixture. You can add oils according to your requirements. 

Intensive Lip Treatment

Sometimes, your lips get dried or cracked due to weather conditions or some other reasons. They need intense lip treatment. Here you can add exfoliation 2 to 3 times per week as a part of your nighttime lip care routine. To give intense lip care to your lips follow the steps jotted below:

• Use your fingertips to apply a small amount of exfoliating scrub on your lips.
• Apply the scrub on your lip in a circular motion approximately 25 to 30 seconds.
• Leave the scrub mixture on your lips for 8 to 10 minutes so that nourishing oil may soak in them.
• Use warm water to rinse them.
• Use a clean towel to pat them softly.
• To lock the moisture in lips, apply a protective natural balm on them. This will soothe them.
• Avoid picking or biting your lips to keep your lips hydrated.
• Stop excessive licking, to make your lips healthy.
• Use sunscreen with at least SPF 30+, whenever you are in the sun. This may boost your lip health.
• According to studies, lips are the common spot of precancerous lesions and require protection from the sun’s rays. 

Apply A Lip Mask

Indulging a lip mask 3 to 4 times a week will give an extra boost of hydration to your lips. Use a lip mask that offers super hydrating and nourishing ingredients such as Squalane, Hyaluronic Acid, and natural extracts and oils. These ingredients can help to hydrate and lock in moisture, resulting in healthier, plumper, and fuller-looking lips. Make a routine to apply this mask on your lips daily at night and leave it on your lips for the whole night, allowing the nourishing formula to work its magic while you sleep. In the morning, clean the lips with warm water and a cotton pad, to get smoother and moisturized lips.

Protection with SPF

UVA and UVB rays are dangerous for your lips, body, and hair. Using SPF to protect your lips and other exposed body parts from these hazardous rays, is a good way to make your lips smooth and shiny. Your lips do not have melanin, a compound that gives protection to your skin from sun rays. Melanin is a natural defense of the skin. Lips lack this blessing. So you can use sunscreen to keep them nourished, smooth, and healthy. So finding a protective lip balm is a vital step that offers at least a rating of 30 SPF and applying 30 minutes before leaving the house to keep your lips protected from environmental pollutants and UVA.

Seasonal Lip Care Tips

Summer Lip Care

For the hot summer days, it becomes even more important to apply a protective lip SPF to give protection to your lips against environmental pollutants and sun damage. Why do you not bring a lip SPF with you when you go outside? Apply the lip balm on your lips before 20 minutes going outside and re-apply it when you remain outside. This will ensure that your lips are protected against UVB and UVA rays throughout the day. 

Winter Lip Care

In the colder months of the year, your lips are more susceptible to dryness, chapping, and sores. Keeping your lips moisturized is the best way to protect your lips and prevent them from becoming dry. This may increase hydration in your lips. In case of suffering from intense dried lips, try to use a lip mask overnight daily. Repeat the tip 2 to 3 times a week. This will boost your lip’s smoothness inside and away from the cold. This may enhance their smoothness and fuller-looking property.

Special Considerations

Lip Care for Men

Lip care is often linked with women’s self-care but It doesn’t matter what your gender is. No matter who you are, your lips need care. Men can follow the same steps and tips to care for their pout.

According to research made by dermatologists, some products that men can use for their lip care routine are:

• Glycerin  to lock in moisture anywhere your skin is super dry
• Beeswax with Shea butter and soothing chamomile essence
• White petroleum with a touch of gloss in a natural pink tint, plus hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and sun protection
• Ceramides and shea butter with petrolatum and castor oil plus sun protection

Lip Care for Children

Children have too much delicacy on their lips. They also need a lip care routine because they face more environmental exposure than elders. 

Coconut Oil: You can use virgin coconut oil to nourish your child’s pink lips. Hydrate and nourish the skin. 

Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera has anti-inflammatory and moisturizing characteristics that help soothe children’s chapped lips. Apply a thin layer of aloe vera gel extracted from the leaf to your child’s lips. It will lock the moisturizer in their lips.

Cucumber Slices: Cucumber has a high water content and can help hydrate your child’s lips. Small cucumber slices can be rubbed on a child’s lip to rejuvenate his lips. This will make his/her lips smoother and healthier.

Conclusion

Sebaceous glands are found everywhere on your skin except lips. Therefore, lips get dried, and chapped due to severe conditions such as in summer heat, winter coldness, and harshness of wind. A regular lip care routine may help you keep your lips smooth and beautiful.

Different natural or man-made lip products are available to nourish your lips. You may apply a lip balm with ingredients such as shea butter or petrolatum to make them plump and healthier. Exfoliation is also a great tool to smooth very dry lips. You can repeat this tip once or twice per week, using sugar or salt mixed with any oil, including almond or olive oil. Applying SPF 30+ to your lips at any time will protect your lips from harsh weather conditions whenever you head out.