As winter approaches, the battle for healthy skin begins. We strive to ensure that our skin and hair is not affected by the cold, harsh weather. However, often we forget to include what serves as an essential to keep our pout smooth throughout the season. Yes, it’s lip care that we are talking about here.
Hair, skin and lips lose moisture due to dry air during winter. The mechanisms to take care of your lips are easy, but it’s even easier to overlook the fact that they need to be taken care of.
One of the major problems with lips in winter is that they get chapped. It looks loathsome and feels miserable as they cause constant. And the most common causes of chapped lips are – dehydration, uncurbed lip-licking and damage caused by the sun.
Follow the few simple directives and prepare to defeat winter by being fully equipped!
Get sufficient fluid intake: Due to the lack of moisture in your lips and body, you may suffer from sore lips. The first initiative is to stay hydrated in winter by consuming enough fluids- juice, water, etc. This will help your lips have sufficient moisture to decrease the possibility of them becoming sore and chapped in the first place.
Moisturise using lip balm: Although it is not possible to cure chapped lips overnight, proper care and use of good products might take only a few days to show results. So, it is very important that you choose your lip balm wisely. Don’t get distracted on seeing your favourite cherry or lemon flavor. Choose one that contains extra moisturizing agents such as aloe vera, jojoba oil, vitamin E and shea butter. Avoid using balms containing glycerin, petrochemical products, menthol and retinol in winter. These are only good for summer time. Also avoid using chap sticks as they are waxy and does not protect the lips as much as lip balms do.
Always carry your lip balm with you; it’s going to occupy a tiny space in your purse anyway. Apply it whenever you feel that your lips are beginning to dry out.
Cover your lips: We never forget to cover our head and skin when we go outside, do we? However, we often forget to add protection to our lips which are fully exposed. The sun’s ultraviolet rays damage the keratin-producing cells of your skin. Keratin is the layer that protects and preserves everything underneath the skin, so it is very necessary that the layer stays healthy. Wrap a scarf around your face, especially covering your mouth to protect your lips from both the harsh weather as well as the sun.
Sunscreen Lip Balm: The key point is that the keratin layer should be kept healthy because it protects the new skin cells underneath the layer itself. Using a lip balm with sun protection – ideally broad spectrum sun protection to screen out both UVA and UVB radiation – preserves your keratin layer. In addition, it also acts like a shield protecting the new skin cells developing underneath.
Stay Indoors: Stay indoors as much as possible, to prevent exposing your lips to the harsh winter weather which in turn may cause cracked and chapped lips. Especially if it’s too windy outside. And if you got to go, make sure you’re fully prepared to face the cold without getting affected by.
Avoid licking your lips: A lot of us have the tendency to lick our lips spontaneously when we feel that our lips have become dry enough. What you don’t realize is that every time you lick your lips, it removes the natural oil that keeps moisture in your skin. In turn, that moisture evaporates, leaving behind dried-out, cracked lips with absolutely nothing left to protect them. Spending too much time in dry environments (includes both air conditioned as well as heating systems) can cause dehydration which causes the lips to feel dry and hence you lick your lips almost instantaneously. Other causes of dehydration include the lack of daily water intake and breathing through your mouth during the night – avoid doing these. It’s a bad habit and causes damage to your lips. If you feel uncomfortable, apply lip balm before going to bed and that should do the trick!
Apply a quick lip-massage: With the help of a good scrub or a small brush, exfoliate your lips to remove the dead cells on your lips from time to time. You don’t have to purchase any costly lip scrub for this. Sugar is one of the best scrubs for lips. For best result, just apply a good lip balm after scrubbing. This will make your lips extra soft, shiny while leaving back a puffy look.
Are you a ‘lipstick’ person?
Do you have a habit of using lipstick on a regular basis? If yes, then make sure you choose lipsticks of good quality with moisturizing ingredients. And never, ever forget to remove it by using lipstick remover or Vaseline before going to bed. After which you should apply a good moisturizing lip balm so that your lips are protected even when you’re sound asleep.
Vitamin B2 supplement: If the moisturizing techniques don’t work at all and you still have cracked lips, then it probably indicates that you have vitamin B2 deficiency. Consult a professional to ensure that your food contains enough vitamin B supplements.
Follow the above steps to minimize the toll on your lips for the next few weeks of winter. Remember to avoid the sun, keep your body hydrated and not lick your lips! This is all it’s going to take to make the difference between miserable lips and a huge smile!