Many of us spend hours each week on our beauty and skincare routines, but the delicate skin of the lips often gets overlooked. In the winter months, cold temperatures and dry air in centrally-heated spaces can quickly take their toll, leading to dryness, flakiness and chapping – which doesn’t just look unsightly, but can feel uncomfortable and at times, even painful. So with this in mind, it’s just as important to keep up a regular lip care routine as it is to apply your daily facial moisturiser of eye cream, and by doing so, you can ensure your lips stay just as plump, soft and silky smooth as they should, whatever the season.
Mastering the art of lip care and achieving flawless, luscious lips means embracing a holistic approach that combines the right techniques and the right products. Here, we take a look at the basics of lip care, from exfoliation to hydration, to help you attain and maintain a perfect pout.
Exfoliation
An effective lip care routine starts with the right foundations, and creating a blank canvas for your products by sloughing away dead skin cells is an essential step to achieving a smooth and absorbent surface. There are many luxurious lip scrubs on the market that are up to the job, or you can make your own at home – all you need is a small bowl, some brown sugar and either some honey or coconut oil. Mix the two together into a paste and buff away any dryness and flakiness to promote circulation and prepare your lips for the nourishment that’s to come.
The Dior Addict lip sugar scrub is an opulent place to start and adds a barely-there pink tint when buffed into the lips as an added bonus.
Hydration
Just as hydration is the cornerstone of any successful skincare routine, the same applies to your lips. Because lips don’t have oil glands of their own, they can often be lacking in the moisture department, making them more prone to dehydration, so look for a luxurious lip balm or oil packed with ultra-hydrating ingredients and enriched with hyaluronic acid to attract and retain moisture. The better hydrated your lips are, the smoother and more youthful they’ll look, so keep applying your chosen product throughout the day to keep them feeling comfortable and looking their best.
We love the Gisou honey lip treatment, which combines mirsalehi honey and hyaluronic acid with natural actives to instantly plump, smooth and define lips, as well as subtly enhancing their color.
Protection
Environmental stressors like wind and pollution as well as UV rays, can wreak havoc on the skin, and lips are not immune to their effects. An SPF lip balm should be applied year round – yes, even on those dark, grEy days – to shield them from harmful outside elements and prevent premature ageing and damage, and to maintain overall lip health. The good news is that you can combine this step with hydration – just choose a lip balm that offers both benefits in one for a handy, on-the-go lip care solution that can be applied anywhere, anytime.
Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Nourishing Lip Balm offers broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection and its eucalyptus fragrance is thoroughly uplifting, too.
Treatment
Everyone’s lips are different and have their own specific set of concerns to be addressed, which may range from discolouration or volume loss to fine lines. By incorporating targeted treatments tailored to these, you can see a significant difference in the feel and appearance of your lips – look for serums containing antioxidants like vitamin E and collagen-boosting ingredients to improve lip health and boost plumpness or, if your lips are particularly dry, you might want to consider an overnight lip mask, which will deliver intensive moisture and allow you to wake up with a thoroughly rejuvenated pout.
Brands like Kiehl’s, Dermalogica, and Laneige offer effective lip treatments. If you’re looking for a subtle boost without compromising on the health of your lips, then we particularly like the Grande Cosmetics GrandeLips Hydrating Lip Plumper Gloss, which can be used daily and combines hyaluronic acid with vitamin B to condition the lips and stimulate instant plumping.
Nourishing from within
As they say, beauty comes from within, and a balanced diet and lifestyle will go a long way towards a healthy, radiant complexion. This includes your lips, so be sure to drink plenty of water each day – eight glasses is recommended – and include a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and healthy fats, like those found in nuts and avocados, to enhance overall skin nourishment. Vitamins A, C and E are all important, but if you’re struggling to get enough of them into your meals then you may want to consider supplementing with a formulation designed specifically for hair, skin and nails.
