Many of us suffer from dark lips despite having a bright complexion of the face. Sometimes the darkening of the lips can be a cause of low confidence and insecurities about one’s looks.
Let us try understanding the reason behind the darkening of the lips
- excessive exposure to the sun
- lack of hydration
- cigarette smoking
- allergic reactionsto toothpaste, lipstick, etc.
- too much caffeine
- lip sucking
- chemotherapy
- anemia
- vitamin deficiency especially B12
- excessive fluoride use
Life style modification can help in reducing darkening of lips
- USE SUNSCREEN or a lip balm with spf minimum 30
- avoid smoking and too much of caffeine
- Changing toothpaste brand if allergic to it
- Regular exfoliation and hydration of lips with lip scrub and a lip balm. Avoid using petroleum jelly. Use lip balm made of natural ingredients like shea butter, beeswax, and oils like coconut oil, argan oil, rosehip seed oil etc.
Natural ingredients: have no scientific evidence, work in some cases but not all, can take 6 months or more to show results.
- Step 1-Scrub:
- Lemon and sugar scrub-do for maximum 2-3 minutes, very gently
- Step 2-Lip Mask
- Mix yogurt, honey and crushed dried rose petals together to a paste and apply on lips for 15 minutes. Rinse off with lukewarm water
- Step 3-Coconut oil or a natural lip balm. Leave it overnight and use as often as required during day time.
Medical treatments:
- Q switched laser-multiple sittings required; 4-6 sessions
- Chemical peels-lactic acid, arginine peel, low concentration glycolic acid-multiple sittings; 6-8 sessions
- Topical creams containing hydroquinone, arbutin, vitamin c, and Kojic acid. All these treatments and creams should be taken under the guidance of a doctor
- Lip fillers: help in hydration also
