Why you really need a lip balm in your life

Do you suffer from dry lips? This frustrating condition can be caused by anything from varying temperatures (think winter, excessive sun and air-conditioning) to dehydration (from airplane trips, chronic medications, dental braces or genetic factors). Whatever the cause, regular use of lip products is essential to restore moisture to dry lips. “Most of us need to apply something to our lips to hydrate and moisturise them,” says Sonette Donker of Skin iD Skin Studio in Johannesburg. 

Restorative ingredients

“Applying a hydrator twice a day is enough for some people, while others may need to apply a lip treatment product several times a day,” Sonette explains. “Ingredients such as mineral oil and lanolin may feel good on your lips, but in the long term they can actually dehydrate your skin further, making you completely reliant on that particular product.”

Sonette recommends looking for the following ingredients in products that promise to restore the skin on your lips to optimal health:

•    Hyaluronic acid: it’s hydrating 
•    Castor oil: for its nourishing qualities 
•    Aloe Vera: to soothe, heal and hydrate
•    Vitamin C: an antioxidant, ensuring collagen stimulation and skin brightening
•    Vitamin E: another antioxidant that heals, protects and prevents premature ageing
•    Avocado oil: a nourishing ingredient 
•    Jojoba oil: to balance and nourish skin
•    Apricot oil: another nourishing skin “food”
•    Grape seed oil: a nutritious antioxidant
•    Beeswax: prevents evaporation of skin moisture and locks in other key ingredients
•    Panthenol: for healing, calmness and hydration 

It’s not just about moisturisation

Besides investing in a nourishing, moisturising and healing lip product, Sonette says you need to ensure that dead skin cells are removed before application to ensure optimum penetration of the key ingredients. “We recommend that you use a cleanser or exfoliant containing alpha hydroxy acids such as lactic acid or glycolic acid. These will loosen the bonds between the cells, ensuring they are removed from the skin. Lactic acid also hydrates the skin and glycolic acid is the ultimate for collagen production,” she says.

It’s also vital to protect your lips from the sun. “Skin cancer is often found on the lips and in some instances must be cut out, leaving the lips deformed,” says Sonette. Her advice is to look for a product with a minimum sun protection factor of 30.

IMAGE CREDIT: 123rf.com