Lip care with flare — the early prep edition

Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Hardly anyone passes a winter without chapped lips. No matter how good the arsenal of lip care products, something always goes wrong, the end result being chapped lips, or peeling skin. If there is one thing that is missed out in the skin care routine, the lips are definitely at the top of the list.

Serums and toners for the face are never forgotten, but the lips receive little care throughout the year other than winter. Instead of going into panic, try to get into a care routine before the actual chills begin. You may have a good set of lip care products already lined up, but it never hurts to give them a second look.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE INGREDIENTS

No matter how well recommended the brand, ensure that the ingredients are suited for your lips. Some ingredients like menthol can not only dry out the lips, but may lead to undesirable and hard-to get-rid of skin conditions after long term usage. Bees wax, shea butter, vitamin E are the things that you want in your lip balm of choice. 

LOOKOUT FOR SPF

Winter may be the season without glaring sunlight, but it does not mean the total absence of the sun. Since this is the season where people enjoy the outdoors more, lip care products with SPF should be a priority. For this region, anything in the range on 15-25 SPF should be good for winter.

EXFOLIATE WITH CARE

The dreaded peeling skin on lips in winter is a challenge of its own. But this can be taken care of without much fuss. A mix of honey and brown sugar can be a good a choice for a gentle lip scrubber to apply every third day. You can also take it up a notch by adding a few drops of coconut oil or olive oil. Just do not over exfoliate and stick to using your fingers in gentle circular motions over your lips till the sugar granules dissolve.

Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed

LIPSTICK IS NOT LIP CARE

It's not just the lipsticks, lip gloss and other lip shading products — none of these are lip care products, no matter how largely they have the word "moisturising" written over them. Of course, that does not mean you will have to avoid them, just make sure you are using a lip balm underneath. Make sure to remove the lipstick fully before going to bed.

One thing about lip care is that it applies for both women and men. Lips are an essential part of one's appearance and it never pays to not care for them. Like all good skin care practices, lip care too is an accumulative process, with results that build up for perfectly smooth lips!