Forget injections, surgeries, or plumpers—natural lips are totally in. And the best part? You probably already have a pair. Of course, wanting plump, healthy, and beautiful lips is a totally natural desire, so let’s get the look naturally, with natural lip treatments.
Healthy lips require a little more than gooping on lip balm—especially if you want a long-lasting smile without (too many) frown lines.
- Moisturize: Just like the rest of your face (and body) moisture retention plays a significant role in the health of your skin. Lips are no exception. While you don’t want to slather on your body lotion—or even organic face moisturizer—you do want to make sure to keep your lips from drying out. Most of us do this by way of a balm, but it’s not the only answer. Try rubbing on olive, almond, or coconut oil before bed. Gently massage the oil into the lips.
- Exfoliate: Removing dead skin cells is essential to keep skin healthy, and it’s a good practice for the lips, too. Mix a little brown sugar into your oil treatment (above) once a week and gently scrub into the lips. Don’t use a salt scrub (it may burn).
- Use an SPF: Yep—lips burn! It makes sense, of course—but how often do you apply sunscreen to your lips? There are plenty of balms, glosses, and lipsticks with SPF protection. Make sure to keep your pucker protected and reduce the risk of dryness and irritation.
- Soothe: So you forgot the SPF and now have burned, irritated lips? Aloe vera gel is incredibly soothing and gentle on lips. It’s great for sun or wind-burned chapped or cracked lips. Look for an aloe vera gel without excess ingredients (like alcohol, which can further irritate lips). If you’ve got a healthy aloe plant at home, you can break open a leaf and dab it onto lips.
- Hydrate: Think water is just for fishes? A dehydrated body will also have dehydrated lips that are sallow, cracked, and stressed looking. Make sure you’re staying well hydrated every day!
- De-Stress: Stress saps our B-vitamin reserves, and this can lead to cracking around the corners of the mouth, which is not the same as chapped lips (it’s actually called angular cheilitis). This is a painful condition that can take weeks or longer to heal and leave scarring, too. If you’re dealing with a lot of stress at work or home, be sure to get your B vitamins daily. This condition can sometimes be caused by low iron, too. Check with your physician if you have cracked lips at the corner of the mouth for extended periods.
- Practice good oral health: It may go without saying that a healthy mouth means healthy lips, but it’s true. Brush and floss daily and use an antibacterial mouthwash.
