With the cold, dry, winter settling in, your lips are in danger of becoming chapped.
“Lips don’t have oil glands or sweat glands,” says Suzanne Hay, a medical skin care specialist at the Rosedale Dermatology Centre in Toronto. “There is a lack of moisture in the winter that causes them to dry up. There’s no protective layer.”
This is especially common during the winter because of indoor heating and even snow reflected by the sun’s rays can contribute to chapped lips.
So how do you keep those lips plump and good-looking?
1) Drink lots of water.
2) Use lip balm with the right ingredients. “There are a lot of lip balms available, but the key is in the ingredients,” says Hay. “Look for lip balms that have nourishing essential oils.” She says those with lavender, jojoba oil, shea butter and aloe vera, as well as antioxidant vitamins A, C and E are good for your lips.
She also says you can apply olive oil, Vaseline and honey to your lips every couple days.
On the flip side, she says to avoid balms that contain peppermint and menthol because they can cause irritation and make your lips dry.
3) Avoid very dry lipsticks. “Lip glosses are ok, but can rub off on scarves,” says Hay. “It’s better to use a more sheen type of lipstick with gloss.”
4) Don’t lick your lips. “Saliva makes the lips moist, but it’s…temporary,” says Hay. “It feels soft, but then a minute later they’ll feel dry.”
Instead, she suggests exfoliating with a glycolic acid cream (which you can apply directly on your lips) to get the dry skin off. She recommends the brand Neostrata or Dermatologic Cosmetic Laboratory (DCL), which you can get from your dermatologist in either 10 per cent or 20 per cent. Alternatively, you can also brush lips with a toothbrush and warm water.
So follow these tips and keep your lips lip-smacking good!
Lip savers
• The Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 helps protects lips from the drying effects of wind and cold weather. Its key ingredients are petrolatum, allantoin, vitamin and aloe barbadensis leaf extract. Price:?$8.50. Available at Kiehl’s store, 407 Queen St. W. and 2518 Yonge St.
• Fresh’s Sugar Lip Gloss offers pretty protection with ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, grape seed oil, black currant seed oil and vitamin E. Price: $31. Available at Sephora (1-877-SEPHORA).
• Yes to Carrots C Me Smile lip butters are paraben-free, 100 per cent natural and 95 per cent organic. Available in berry, mint and carrot flavour, they include jojoba, vitamin E and shea butter. Price: $4.99. Available at Shopper’s Drug Mart.
