Skincare Tips for Lips

Start the year off smartly with our daily tips to better health and beauty! We're kicking off 2013 with 31 days of No More Excuses. Each day, you'll get expert advice on a bad habit you can easily fix, for a healthier, more beautiful you.

We go to great lengths to protect our skin, but too often, our lips get overlooked.

“Protecting the lips as you do your face is essential to maintaining a healthy pout,” says makeup expert Jose Rivera. “Just as the sun ages and damages the skin, the lips are just as susceptible.”

Thinkstock

Wear a lip product with SPF every day, rain or shine. These days there are loads of great lip balms, glosses and lipsticks with SPF, so no excuses!

Lips don’t produce oil like the rest of your face, which is why they’re so susceptible to dryness. And if you’re a lip licker, that doesn’t help. Enzymes in saliva break down the top layer of skin and cause peeling.

Hydrating lip balms can help, but not all balms are created equal. Avoid any lip balms with the ingredient phenol. Phenol degrades the skin and causes a constant cycle of irritation and dryness, often known as “lip balm addiction.” Look for natural wax balms instead.

Another lip must: Exfoliation. Exfoliation removes dead, flaky skin that builds up on the lips, which makes your lipstick go on smoothly. In a pinch, use a dry toothbrush, or try an exfoliating lip treatment made from natural sugar.

Just think: You can have the most healthy and young-looking lips in town. Now that’s worth smiling about.

We recommend:
Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15, $23
The Lip Scrub by Sara Happ, $24
Softlips Lip Protectant Sunscreen SPF 20, $4 for two