Lip Service

From ancient Egyptian lip pigments to Kylie Jenner lip kits, lips have long been a focal point of female beauty trends. It’s no surprise though, our lips are a central defining feature of the face. However, the aging process has a significant effect on the lips—overtime lips become thin, flat and lose their soft appearance and pink hue.

The challenge with our lips is that they have a very thin layer of the stratum corneum—the outermost layer of the skin. This stratum corneum can have a very low moisture level, as it primarily acts as a barrier between the other layers of skin and the outside world.

As a result, the lips can become very dry, chapped and dull from environmental factors like wind, sun, smoking, and certain medications. In addition, the increased use of heaters and fireplaces in the winter months can be damaging to the skin in general, and even more so to the lips. The combination of these agents speeds up the lips’ aging process, resulting in a dramatic reduction of collagen and elastin in the lips.

Yet we’re in luck because there are lip products that treat these issues. But do you have the right one for your needs?

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when making your next lip-care purchase:

Exfoliate — To buff dead skin away in order to make texture smoother, use an exfoliating sugar scrub.

Hydrate — To repair lips and aid in hydration, try a lip mask.

Improve texture and condition — To improve the appearance and feel of lips, look for products with hyaluronic acid, epidermal growth factor, emollients, and tripeptides.

Increase fullness and volume — For fuller lips, look for products containing hyaluronic acid, niacin, emollients, and fatty acids.

Plump — To achieve plumper lips you want to stimulate blood flow. Look for products with cinnamon, peppermint, caffeine, and folic acid.

For cracked lips — Soothing lip balm with menthol or camphor

For chapped lips — Healing lip ointment or lip salve with Vitamin E

Lipstick — For lipsticks, ideally you should use a product with a Vitamin E base. This is best for hydration. Stay away from long-lasting lipsticks as these use alcohol which is extremely drying to the lips. Matte lipsticks do not add hydration, but instead seem to shrink the appearance of the lips due to the lack of light reflection. Your most youthful appearance will be with moist and creamy lip glosses. When searching for a lipstick you want one with SPF.

Key things to keep in mind: during the day time the focus on sun protection of your lips, during the night time focus on hydration and reparation of the lips. Mwah!

Skin Prophecy Clinic 1230 Coast Village Circle, Suite B Montecito skinprophecy.com 805-969-6454