Many habits can lead to lip dryness, irritation, soreness and bleeding. Licking lips feels great and it calms down the burning lips. However, did you know that it could worsen the problem? When the saliva evaporates, it leaves lips drier than before with those enzymes that helps to digest the food. This can cause more damage to your lips.

What causes damage to lips?

Many habits such as smoking, chewing tobacco, biting lips unnecessarily and using products that contain harmful chemicals will damage the lips. People who smoke often develop darker lips due to the nicotine content in the tobacco. It also can cause mouth cancer.  Many ladies forget to remove the lipsticks before going to bed or after coming back home. This habit of forgetting to remove the lipsticks can result in damage to lips by causing dryness and irritation.

Mouth to mouth kiss can cause damage too! It causes sore or infection on the mouth and side of lips. Do not expect people to be very hygienic when it comes to mouth. Microorganisms can easily enter the cracks of the lips. This can cause severe sore due to the virus namely Herpes simplex type1 or 2.

Lipsticks and lip balms are also can be culprit. Some lip balms can cause more dryness because of the ingredients which is present. The salicylic acid that helps in acne can dry the lips. Similarly, the preservative methylparaben and tocopheryl acetate are not good for lips. Mehtylparaben is linked to cancer and tocopheryl causes irritation of the skin

Tips to take care of lips:

1. Use beeswax, petroleum jelly or paraffin products. Because these seal in moisture of the lips and won’t evaporate like other thin balms or glosses.

2. Use Aloe vera based lip balms which is a lip friendly herbal product. Applying Aloe vera gel helps too, as it contains good antioxidants that protect the skin.

3. Use sunscreen during winter and summer. This is because lips are susceptible to sunburn due to lack of melanin pigment. Apply a layer of a sun-protective product daily like neutrogena lip moisturizer SPF 15.

4. Use lipsticks that contain vitamin A, C and E.

5. Add rose petals to milk cream and make a paste – apply to lips for keeping your lip fresh and nourished.

6. Do not try removing any acne or pimple that is growing on and around the lips. It can result in severe infection. Because of its high amounts of nerve endings, the lips make an erogenous zone.

7. Do not kiss or allow your pets to lick your face and lips. Bacteria and virus from the pets can transfer onto your lips causing infection.

8. Exfoliate with a lip scrub: Sugar scrub is best exfoliate agent. Rub little sugar on the lips to remove dead skin and it also helps to generate the new cells.

9. During winter and dry summer use humidifier to infuse more moisture into the air as it helps the entire body against drying.

10. Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration of lips and it keeps lips soft and texture of lip will be in good condition.

11. Eat lip-friendly foods like fruits, vegetables that provide good amount of vitamins and necessary nutrients to keep lip nourished. Reduce spicy and salty food intake that can cause inflammation. Avoid hot drinks too.

12. Apply olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, clarified butter or butter to lips for natural healing of cracks. Apply honey to lips once a while. Honey contains the properties of those enzymes that help our lip skin to absorb moisture and lip becomes soft and smooth.

Take care of your lips not just for beauty reason, also for health reasons.  It is one of the important sensory organs of our body and helps us for safe food intake and in articulation of our speech, sound and facial expression.

Source: www.werindia.com

Image credit: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay