The only lip care guide and routine you will ever need

When it comes to hygiene and body care routines, we tend to focus on our face, our hair and the rest of our bodies. One thing we usually end up forgetting about is our lips. It doesn’t cross our minds that we need to take care of our lips as well, just as you moisturize your face every day and night.

Lips age, whether you know it or not. Therefore, if you want to continue having that perfect pout with plump lips, you must take care of your lips. By keeping your lips hydrated, they will remain looking beautiful and healthy.

Let’s take a look at some tips on how to properly approach incorporating a lip care routine into your regular ritual.

Tips on getting into a lip care routine:

Make sure to remove makeup with a gentle makeup cleanser. You do not want to have residue of last night’s makeup lingering on your lips.

Even though our lips feel like it does not get dirty nor accumulate unwanted residues like our faces, there is still the need to exfoliate. There are lip scrubs and other products available to use or you can go ahead and make a DIY.

Do not jump right into a 5-step lip care routine immediately. Baby steps. The simplest way of incorporating a lip care routine into your daily schedule would be to buy a lip balm that you like and keep with you at all times. Whenever your lips feel dry or parched, swipe some on.

Make sure your lips are properly cared for with lip balm. For best effects, look for lip balms that have sunflower or almond base oils in their ingredients.

Resist the temptation to lick your dry lips because it only provides temporary relief and does more harm than good. Saliva dries up quickly and will only leave your lips drier than before. Instead, go for aloe vera or a product that contains this ingredient for an effective solution to dry lips.

In order to successfully transition into a lip care routine, you must not pick on your lips. Avoid the temptation to take out dried up skin, etc.

Look for balms that have all-natural ingredients and essential oils. Those with chemicals that you cannot pronounce should be steered away from. An example of those chemicals is methylparaben which is known to be a cancer-causing chemical.

Let’s talk benefits to get you wanting to start a lip care routine. Our lips are very sensitive because they have thinner and more delicate skin compared to the rest of our bodies. They are also the most exposed to different ingredients, chemicals and properties from what we eat and drink. Therefore, when proper lip care is applied to counter those exposures, we avoid flaking, cracking, bleeding and end up with luscious, youthful-looking and well-hydrated lips that will be successful in knocking off some years to our age.

Lip care is usually affiliated with lip balms but there are actually more ways to care for your lips than just balms. The following are some examples with products that are available in the market for your perusal.

Lip balms are the go-to for lip care. They give an immediate boost of hydration and moisture to your skin, plus they keep your lips oh-so-soft. Lip balms can be addicting but don’t worry, one can never “overdose” on lip balms so feel free to apply them all throughout the day. They’re so portable as well, which is an added perk.

This luxurious lip balm is equipped with an exclusive blend of moisture-preserving sugar, precious oils, antioxidant-rich polyphenols and SPF protection with a sheer tint.

You get up to 6 hours of moisturized, soft and supple lips that are protected from the sun. Thanks to natural ingredients like meadowfoam, blackcurrant seeds and grapeseed oil, you can rest assured that your lips are well-taken care of all throughout the day.

Sun Bum has its own group of followers that swear by its effectivity in keeping lips moisturized. It comes in a range of natural flavors thanks to customers’ requests; pomegranate, coconut, banana, pink grapefruit, key lime and mango to be exact.

The common ingredient is cocoa butter, which is known to be gentle yet great at making the lips soft and supple. It is also equipped with SPF 30 protection and a dash of vitamin E for our much-needed dose of antioxidants.

Lip masks are currently all the rave, with celebrities like Emma Stone gushing and posting on social media how much she adores these tiny face masks in the shape of oversized lips. Lip masks are a quick go-to lip treatment that give the lips a jolt of the good stuff.

This intensive night lip recovery mask will soothe and rejuvenate your lips while you sleep. Infused with agave nectar and jojoba oil, this product is rich and nourishing all the while using all natural ingredients. It works in improving the overall texture of your lips so that they remain healthy, smooth and soft.

This lip mask is also formulated with lavender which promotes restful sleep, therefore it is a must for your nighttime beauty ritual.

Use like a typical lip cream or balm and leave overnight.

This lip mask will provide deep hydration to your lips that will leave it soft and smooth. Anyone with dry lips should definitely give this a try.

Each FlashPatch contains the brand’s HydraSurge5 Moisture System which boasts of its advanced hydrogel patch technology that basically owns the moisturizing-of-lips game. It also has niacinamide, peptides and green tea extract which contain antioxidants.

Place the lip gel onto clean lips for five minutes or more. It can also be left on overnight for better results. It is also a great lip prep before your makeup routine.

Did you know that our lips don’t have oil glands? Crazy right? This makes them extra sensitive and prone to dryness and cracking, whether from the weather or lip licking and even breathing! Lucky for us, lip scrubs have been invented as a way to combat that dryness and provide our lips with a moisture boost. They are also effective in getting rid of the flakes that get stuck on the lips’ surface.

The latest from Dior’s line Backstage Pros, this sugar scrub is an exfoliating and nourishing product shaped like a lipstick! It is infused with grains of sugar (an excellent exfoliant) that melt away during use. The result? Incredibly soft lips with a natural rosy finish.

Sephora offers a range of lip balms in different flavors and ultra-adorable packaging that melts on your lips upon use. As you glide the product over your lips, it gets hydrated and nourished all day long.

Its honey lip scrub helps the lips stay soft longer while its kiwi lip scrub is vitamin-rich and nourishes and protects.

There are those of us who love DIYs regardless of the product being made. The whole process is quite fulfilling plus a DIY gives you full control of what goes into your product. Of course, the same applies to lip care. With simple ingredients, we can get a great lip care kit that can get added to our beauty routine.

DIY Lip Balm
 

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Beeswax Pellets

2 Tbsp. Shea Butter

4 Tbsp. Coconut Oil or other liquid oil such as Almond Oil, Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil

Essential Oil (10-20 drops) or Flavor Oil (1/2 grams)

Instructions:

In a microwave-safe container, melt the beeswax, shea butter, and coconut in 30-second increments, stirring well after each one.

Stir in the essential oil or flavor oil.

Carefully pour into the desired packaging like pots or tubes and allow to cool before using.

The recipe above is the generic recipe for a lip balm. You can experiment with your different flavors and color combinations! Essential oils are great to add flavor to your balm as well as giving it additional health benefits. For the color, feel free to use mica cosmetic coloring powders or melt an old lipstick along with the initial ingredients for a more powerful tint.
 

Tip: Use cosmetic powders to add a bit of pearl shimmer or even glitter sparkles!

Our lips are one of the most prominent features of our faces aside from our eyes. When not in their optimal state, our lips can be a confidence deflator. Therefore, we need to take extra precaution and ensure that our lips get the proper care that they deserve. Whether it’s through balms, chapsticks, scrubs or masks, our lips can be well taken care of.

Lastly, don’t forget to stay hydrated for it greatly affects our lips’ condition. Lips that feel dry and parched is a warning sign of dehydration, so make sure to get your daily 8 glasses for a healthier you.