It's getting close to Valentine's Day, which makes me think of flowers, love notes and K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Goose (my handsome shih-poo) is the only one I will be kissing on VDay, but at least my lips will look good!
Here are 5 tips to get gorgeous lips:
1. Hydrate: When a grape doesn't have water, it shrivels into a raisin. It's the same concept with your lips--without hydration, they shrink and show more wrinkles and lines. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Lock in the moisture with an ointment-based balm. My go-to is Aquaphor, but you can use plain Vaseline, too. Make sure you look at the ingredients in your balm, because many use alcohol, which actually dries out your lips!
2. Sunscreen: You may be pretty good at putting sunscreen on your face, but do you cover your lips? Sun causes the collagen and elastin in our skin to breakdown--well it does the same thing to your lips! Sun also causes the brown spots on our skin---which also show up on the lips. So...protect your lips with an SPF 15 or higher. Here are a few of the products that I like: Neutrogena, EltaMD, Badger, Vanicream
3. Exfoliate: If your lips are dry, you can get a build-up of skin and this looks terrible when you try to cover with chapstick or stain. I exfoliate by entire body daily---including my lips. The key is that you shouldn't be too aggressive--this is very thin skin, so be gentle. If you have an electric tooth brush, you can use that after brushing your teeth. Some people use the trial mascara wands, but this is too harsh. I use exfoliating gloves in the shower, get them wet, and apply gentle pressure.
4. Stop smoking: Seriously---do I even have to say this? Smoking is doing the same harm to your skin as the sun. It is also causing you to get smoker's lines--those vertical lines on your upper lip. STOP SMOKING!
5. Filler (yay!): Sometimes you can't fight genetics or age, so you get your lips filled. I LOVE filling lips---can you say Immediate Gratification??!! We have awesome fillers that can provide a very natural look--no duck lips at IndyDerm--and this lasts for about a year. It is surprisingly tolerable and it makes a huge difference! Call us about our Valentine's Day lip filler special 317-215-0928.