How to Get Soft and Pink Lips

Did you know that your lips are about 100 times more sensitive than your fingertips? That’s right; lips have more than a million nerve endings, and what’s more, there are no defence membranes to protect them, so it is really important to safeguard them. 

But here’s the catch – with the right knowledge and awareness, you can care for your lips well. 

So in this blog, we’ll explore the things that prevent our lips from being soft and healthy, along with their causes, treatment methods, and other lip care tips. 

Dark Lips: What Causes Them?

Lip colour changes from individual to individual, just like skin colour. However, skin colour and lip colour tend to match: darker-skinned people have darker-toned lips, and vice versa. 

The reason behind this is simple: just like your skin colour, your lip colour is also decided by the colour pigment, melanin. But if your lip’s natural colour is different and you’ve developed darker lips over time, it may be because of something called – hyperpigmentation. 

If you’re experiencing dark lips, you might want to rethink your lifestyle choices or closely examine your health to combat the condition. Below, we’ve listed some common causes:

• Pregnancy: You don’t need to worry about this much, as hormonal changes within your body are the reason your lips may have darkened in some parts. More often than not, they return to their normal shade a few days after childbirth. 
• Sun Exposure: To defend your skin and lips from overexposure to UV rays, your body produces excessive melanin, which could lead to darkening of the lips. Using lip balms or other lip products with SPF 30 or above will make sure your lips are protected from the sun, and there will be no extra melanin produced. 

• Lifestyle Factors: A number of factors affect your pigmentation, such as hydration, hormonal fluctuations, iron content in your body, low blood sugar, and vitamin deficiencies. Hence, it is important to have a balanced diet incorporating all necessary nutrients and keep yourself hydrated. Other habits like smoking and licking your lips constantly can also lead to discolouration
• Other causes: Certain kinds of medications could also lead to hyperpigmentation. Hence, you have to make sure you are aware of the medicines you’re taking and their implications to prevent negative side effects. Further, even frostbite and blood clots could cause dark lips. Most of the time, they’re temporary.

Treating Dark Lips - Tips to Get Rid of Pigmentation

Some of the primary suggestions are mentioned above: protecting your lips with SPF, quitting harmful habits like smoking, having a wholesome, balanced diet, and keeping yourself hydrated. In addition to these changes, you can also look for remedies that help lighten pigmented areas. We’ve listed a couple of habits you can incorporate into your life that will improve the appearance of pigmentation. Bonus – they are also completely plant-based!

• Citrus: Removing dead skin cells is one of the best ways to get rid of pigmentation. Hence, exfoliating them is helpful. Citrus fruits are especially known for their skin-lightening properties. Once you make sure your lips aren’t very dry or cracked, apply drops of lemon juice to your lips. It will work wonders if repeated every day. If you want more tips on exfoliation, visit this page. 
• Nature’s Moisturisers: Using coconut oil, olive oil or almond oil on your lips will be a great way to hydrate them and lock in the moisture. They are also proven to fight lip pigmentation, resulting in soft, supple lips.  
• Berry Lip Scrub: Lip scrubs exfoliate the skin and fight pigmentation that is rooted in oxidative stress (like UV, etc). Using scrubs based on berries is helpful as they are high in antioxidants and vitamin C, which nourish your lips. You can crush up any berry - strawberries and blueberries are popular - and mix it with olive oil and honey to be applied to your lips. 

Chapped Lips: What Causes Them?

Also known as cheilitis, chapped lips occur due to inflammation. They are caused by dryness to the point where the skin on your lips becomes cracked and flaky. A lot of factors can trigger this. Essentially, as mentioned at the beginning of the blog, the skin on our lips can be more sensitive than that of the rest of the body, mainly because lips do not have oil glands. Hence, they are more vulnerable to becoming chapped and dry. Here is a list of common causes:

• Lip Licking: Constantly licking your lips may give you the illusion of keeping them moisturised, but in reality, they end up becoming dryer. So, it is advisable to avoid this habit altogether and use a lip balm to keep your lips hydrated instead. 
• Hydration: Dehydration can not only cause your lips to darken but also dry them. Therefore, opt for a diet rich in water-rich foods and drinking enough water. 
• Vitamin Deficiency: A deficiency of vitamins, especially B vitamins, can cause dryness. Include food rich in vitamins B1, B2 and B6 in your diet to ensure soft lips. 
• Burns: When you eat food that’s too hot, it can make your lips scar and blister, which can cause them to become chapped.
• Nasal Congestion: When you have a nose block, you tend to breathe through your mouth. Doing this for a long time may lead to chapped lips and, eventually discolouration. 
• Medical Conditions: Thyroid disorder, a few autoimmune disorders, allergies, hormonal fluctuations and even digestive problems can result in chapped lips. 
• Products you Use: Chapped lips may also be a side effect of any product you might be using, like medicines, toothpaste, lip products and the like. 
• Weather: Sudden changes in weather ranging between extreme conditions, like cold, dry weather or extremely hot periods, can also damage the lips and make them very dry. 

Tips to Get Rid of Chapped Lips

• Aloe Vera: It is a wonderful moisturiser that nourishes and heals the affected area. Extremely soothing and easily accessible, you can effortlessly include this in your daily regimen. Just apply a teaspoon of aloe vera on your lips, and wash it off after 10 minutes. 
• Peppermint Oil: Known for its cooling sensation, peppermint oil will boost circulation to your lips and make them more hydrated. If combined with coconut oil or almond oil, it also makes for a makeshift lip balm that nourishes well. 
• Vitamin E: This vitamin is popular for its benefits in generating new skin cells and improving blood circulation. You can buy vitamin E capsules over the counter, cut them open and apply the serum-like paste on your lips for about 10 to 15 minutes before washing them. You could also mix it with honey to make a DIY scrub, incorporating the latter’s skin-lightening properties. 
• Don’t Apply Lipstick Directly: Before you use any product on your skin, even if they are aimed to protect your lips, coat them with either coconut oil or almond oil first. Think of them as a sort of foundation before you can go on to the other products - this retains the lips’ moisture (as lipsticks and the like tend to dry your lips). 
• Remove your Makeup: If cosmetic products stay on your skin or lips for a long time, it may harm their health and lead to your lips drying out. Even if you can’t see any lip product left over on your lips, don’t forget to clean them before you go to sleep, with coconut oil or aloe vera gel. 

• Pollution: Make sure you minimise your exposure to polluted air or smoke as they can affect your lip health. If the exposure is inevitable, make sure you use protection - either a mask covering your lips or a lip product that will act as a barrier, like petroleum jelly. 

Ingredients to Look for in Lip Products

There are innumerable lip products in the market but what is right for you comes down to personal factors. Having said that, there are still general dos and don’ts when it comes to good and bad ingredients for your lip care product. 

Many users are entirely unaware of what to look for in a lip care product and often fall for marketing and advertising ploys and often end up using products that either do not help at all or do outright harm. To help you avoid these traps, we have made a list of ingredients to look for and ones to avoid altogether when you are shopping for your next lip care product.

Be wary of  these ingredients

• Wax 
• Menthol & Phenol
• Fragrances/ Flavouring
• Camphor
• Lanolin
• Eucalyptus
• Alcohol or related substances 
• Parabens 
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene or BHT
• Phthalates

Include these ingredients

• Kojic acid
• Ceramides
• Hemp seed oil
• Jojoba oil
• Castor seed oil
• Peppermint oil
• Hyaluronic acid 
• Arbutin
• Cocoa butter
• Shea butter 
• Sun-protective ingredients like zinc oxide or octocrylene 
• Vitamin E

For example, the Masofta Anti-Pigmentation Lip Balm has all the ideal ingredients and avoids any harmful ones. It is composed of the goodness of Kojic acid, arbutin, hyaluronic acid, shea butter, and octocrylene. Together, they perform multifaceted functions of skin-lightening, fading pigmentation, hydrating and nourishing the lips, and protecting them from harmful UV rays. The ingredients make it the ideal protection when it comes to treating chapped lips. 

Medical Treatments 

• Nutritional Supplements: Since lips can become dry because of nutritional deficiencies too, in extreme cases, when doctors can prescribe certain supplements to ensure balanced health. 
• Managing Allergies: When allergies are the main cause of your chapped lips, your doctor may give you allergy shots to make sure the allergies are controlled, preventing dry lips.
• Antibiotics: In case of lip dryness because of bacteria or fungi, your doctor may prescribe oral and/or topical antibiotics or antifungal medications which, by targeting the underlying infection, reduce inflammation and reverse chapped lips. 
• Topical Corticosteroids: Corticosteroid creams and ointments are recommended by doctors to reduce various things like swelling, inflammation, and redness that accompany dry lips. However, they might not be the best options as they treat the symptoms alone to promote healing. 

Home Remedies for Soft, Pink Lips

Pomegranate Seeds - Milk

Pomegranates reduce the production of melanin. Milk is also known for its lightening properties, especially soy milk. Mix milk with ½ cup of ground pomegranate seeds. Wash it off after letting it sit on your lips for 10-15 minutes. You can apply this mask 3 times a week. 

Honey - Sugar 

Honey moisturises the lips and lightens them, and sugar exfoliates as it contains antioxidants. Mix a tablespoon of honey with a tablespoon of white or brown sugar. Massage on the lips for a minute, then rinse it off after a few minutes. This can be repeated 2-3 times in a week.

Mint Leaves - Lemon 

Mint is known for providing hydrating and removing stains, and lemon, being citrus, is known for its lightening properties. Crush mint leaves, and squeeze lemon on them. You may add honey too. It's best if used once every three days. 

Turmeric - Milk

Turmeric, along with milk, exfoliates dead skin cells and treats pigmentation. Mix a teaspoon of milk with ½ teaspoon of turmeric to make a paste. Apply it on your lips for 5 minutes before rinsing it off. Do not keep it longer than that as turmeric is potent and might start irritating your skin. You could do this every other day. 

Rose Petals - Milk

Rose petals moisturise and hydrate the lips. Read this to know all the benefits of rose water. Soak a few rose petals in about ½ cup of milk overnight. Strain the milk (which you could use for other purposes), mash the petals into a paste and apply it to your lips for 15 minutes before washing it off. This can be done every day. 

Wrapping up 

Various factors can cause your lips to become hyperpigmented and chapped. It is important to be aware of them and take measures to avoid harmful habits and products, making sure you use what’s best for your skin. There are multiple approaches you could take to ensure soft, pink lips: professional treatments, over-the-counter medicines and natural remedies. While natural remedies are the safest option, they cannot fight dark spots and dryness on their own. 

This is where Masofta comes in. Our products are completely free from harmful ingredients and filled with scientifically proven, safe ingredients that not only aim to resolve your issues but also protect your skin from further harm. Enriched with shea butter, which nourishes,  octocrylene, which protects from the sun, and kojic acid, which lightens pigmentation, our Anti-Pigmentation Lip Balm seals the deal perfectly.