Daily Lip Care Routine for Healthy Lips

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Most of us spend a lot of money and effort on products and routines to care for our eyes, complexion, hair, and body. We have long, with a lot of steps, skin and body care routines, where we apply a huge quantity of products. However, sometimes we forget one of the most important and sensitive areas of the body, the lips.

The lips are covered by a thin layer of the stratum corneum (see this post about the skin structure), they do not produce sebum, and they almost do not produce melanin. They are, therefore, exposed almost naked, to environmental conditions and they can easily be damaged.

Do you know how to build a lip care routine? In this post I am going to share with you my full lips care routine, I will discuss the most common lips problems and I will also give you some tips to have young and healthy lips. Please feel free to comment below.

My Lips Care Routine

I try to make my lips care routine simple but effective, using as few steps and products as I can. I have been changing habits and products for years and finally, that is what works better for me. Keep in mind that I have dry lips.

I am sharing my complete routine. However, not every day I do every step, but I will let you know the frequency for each step.

Exfoliation

The first step in my lips care routine is exfoliation. I do that to eliminate dead cells and help skin renewal. When my lips are very dry I do it every other day but in normal conditions, I exfoliate my lips twice a week, always in the evening routine.

I like to use a gentle scrub as BarryM Lip Scrub, which is affordable and has a varied range.

Hydration

This step is a MUST for every day. When I exfoliate my lips I do after hydration and the days I do not do exfoliation I hydrate as the last step of my skincare routine. It is a step which I do in the mornings and evenings and when I need to during the day.

My favourite brands for hydrating balms are Carmex and Neutrogena Norwegian Formula, nothing expensive or special.

Lip Mask

Once or twice a week, depending on how dry my lips are, I apply a sleeping mask, which is like a thick balm and repairs your lips while you sleep. I love Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask but it is quite expensive and not widely available. A good affordable alternative is the one made by Technic, which, I should say, dupe of Laneige’s one.

Once a week I apply a lips sheet mask. You can find different masks with different ingredients such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, and more. I choose the mask depending on what my lips need. The masks I like most are the Korean brands’ masks as Oh K!, Holika Holika or Yes To.

Sun Protection

We need to protect the lips against UV radiation as we do with all our skin. When I am going to be outdoors I use a lip balm with an SPF of at least 20 and I apply it to all sun protectors, every two hours minimum. I love Apivita Lip Balm with SPF, which has cocoa butter in the formula and hydrates at the same time.

Lip Primer

If I am going to use makeup, I like to apply a lip primer underneath the lipstick. Lip products makeup can affect how your lips look. Depending on the product you use, your lips can become dry and they will be in contact with the pigments and other ingredients of the lip products. You can eliminate this step using the sun protector as a lip primer.

Most common lips problems

As I mentioned, lips are a very sensitive area that is exposed to environmental conditions, such as temperature changes, air, dry weather, and others. Different problems can appear on your lips at any time of your life. Some of them are caused by ageing. The most common problems are:

Dryness and Cracking

This is a very common problem which most people suffer at some point in their life. It can affect everybody, independent of gender, age and ethnicity.

One of the reasons which cause dryness is due to bad habits like some people have a habit of licking their lips. That will relieve the dry feeling for the moment but will increase dryness with time.

Other reasons for dry lips are related to the weather, dry air and low temperature can contribute to dry lips. But dryness can also be possible by the use of makeup.

In most severe conditions lips can even split and bleed, mainly when you get up in the morning.

To avoid dry lips, do not lick them and protect against weather conditions with a good lip balm.

Cold Sores

Cold sores are caused by a viral infection by the virus Herpes Simplex. If you have cold sores use an antiviral cream and keep the area clean. Do not share anything which has been in contact with the cold sores as they are transferred very easily.

Another problem is the Angular Cheilitis, which is an inflammatory lesion or crack in the sides of the mouth.

There are various reasons for the Angular Cheilitis. It can be caused by an infection by fungi such as Candida Albicans or bacteria such as Staphylococcus Aureus. Some irritants such as smoking can also be the cause of this problem. It can be also produced by allergy to some products such as makeup, toothpaste or even food. One last cause of this problem can be a lack of vitamins or iron in the body.

It is important to go to the doctor as soon as you detect this type of problem, as it is important to identify the cause for the right treatment.

Wrinkles

They are the most common problem, which, unfortunately, everybody will suffer. Wrinkles are a consequence of ageing, but they can become deeper if you are a smoker or because of different facial expressions. There is nothing you can do to eliminate them without surgery, but a good serum can delay and diminish the appearance of wrinkles.

Discolouration

This is a loss of the lips’ colour. Discolouration can be due to the intake of contraceptive or hormonal medication, pregnancy or excessive UV radiation. That is why it is important to use sun protection on the lips.

If the colour disappears only in the lips contour area may be due to ageing. This problem cannot be eliminated, as with the wrinkles, but you can hide the effect using lip liners and lipsticks.

Tips to keep young and healthy lips

In addition to the lips care routine, you can have some healthy habits which help you to keep young lips. That is what I try to do every day.

• Do not touch or lick the lips. As I mentioned before, saliva can produce dryness.
• Follow a healthy diet. A diet rich in vitamins will help you to keep healthy, including lips.
• Drink plenty of water. We should drink about 2 litres per day.
• Remove makeup. Never go to bed with makeup on.
• Keep lips hydrated overnight.
• Massage your lips. That will help blood circulation.
• Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol or a lot of caffeine.
• Never pull out the dry skin which appears on your lips.

That is all that I do to keep my lips looking nice, as my lips are so dry and, without the right routine, tend to dry, crack and bleed, which not only is not nice but also it is painful.

Do you have a lip care routine? Comment below and do not forget to join the newsletter if you do not want to miss any of my posts.