How to Lighten Dark Lips
Rosy pink and red lips are the image of youth and beauty and are also an indicator of one’s health. The unique feature of lips is the vermillion border, the distinct line of separation of pink or red from the skin on the face, and blood vessels give lips their reddish-pinkish color. But unfortunately, just like the skin on the face, lips can become dry, discolored and dark due to factors including:
• Excessive sun and UV exposure
• Hormones
• Genetics and aging
• Cigarette smoking
• Licking the lips
The skin on the lips consists of 3-4 cellular layers and is approximately 0.10 inches thick, as opposed to skin on the face. Also, lips don’t have sweat glands and, like skin on the face, can thin with age. Luckily, there are several ways to treat and minimize discoloration with these suggestions:
• Use a daily lip balm containing SPF15 or 20, and look for ingredients such as shea butter to hydrate and heal rather than coat the lips. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15 hydrates, repairs and plumps with ingredients including mango and shea-butter, black current seed and grape-seed oils and are offered in a variety of natural-looking lip tints, including Petal and Rose.
• For an intense night-time lip treatment, Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm contains honey, sunflower and almond oils, shea-butter and grapefruit essence to heal and repair and can be applied in a thick layer overnight for the most dry lips.
• Make a homemade lip lightening mask that is all natural, biodegradable and food grade. Make a paste using ½ tbsp of honey with ½ tbsp of white sugar along with 4-5 drops of lemon juice. Apply to clean, dry lips, let sit for 15-20 minutes, then gently massage for 1-2 minutes to remove excess dead skin cells and promote microcirculation. Use 1-2 times per week for best results.
• Take a daily collagen supplement, since collagen is a major component of lip. Collagen production begins to slow down in our mid-20’s and ceases in the early 40’s. NeoCell SuperCollagen Type 1 and 3 supplements not only support and maintain the structure of skin, hair and nails but contain vitamin C to help maintain healthy blood vessels.
