Lips made the news this week with reports of dangerous challenges being undertaken by teenagers and young adults in the quest for the perfect full lipped profile. Plumping up your pout and making your lips a feature to be proud of shouldn’t be dangerous and social media is full of pictures of horrific injuries that have been sustained by hapless individuals in search of a sexy smile.
The truth is lovely lips can be achieved far more effectively with a skincare regime that is simple and – most importantly – safe. Just like the rest of our face, lips require moisture and exfoliation; an enhancing make up routine will help if that is your style and preference.
Lips have delicate skin that needs all the care of other parts of our body but a little extra attention too. Protecting them from sun, wind and cold is important since they dry out easily and can burn, though it is rarely a place we think to apply sun cream. During winter months they become chapped and sore; absent minded nibbling at rough skin causes further damage and licking them to add actually worsens the drying out. Sore, dry and chapped lips will not look good under lipstick and will not hold a colour well so taking steps to protect them is essential.
A regular skin care routine for your lips includes both lifestyle and product elements.
- Hydrate: make sure you drink plenty of water; moisture is lost quickly from the lips and being properly hydrated will help them be healthy, smooth and full. A humidifier at home will also help stop them drying out.
- Pamper: use a great lip balm and apply it regularly. Well moisturised lips look fuller and more eye catching and will take lip gloss and lip balm better, resulting in a glowing healthy look.
- Exfoliate: there are plenty of products available for this process but a quick tip is to use a very soft bristled toothbrush to gently smooth rough skin. Make sure you moisturise them afterwards and consider conditioning your lips with natural remedies such as olive oil and honey mixtures to allow your lips to absorb nutrients.
- Condition: don’t get sucked in to dangerous pout creation practices but experiment with natural lip plumping preparations that draw blood to the lips and safely perk up your pout.
- Fake it: Pinterest is full of ways to trick the eye into seeing bigger lips. Use a darker lip liner and trace slightly outside the line of your lips to increase the size and shape of your smacker.
And that’s it; no surgery or fearsome bottle challenges required; grab your lip balm and liner, drink plenty and get ready for a summer with the best looking lips on the block!