How To Keep Our Lips Healthy?
In addition to applying products to moisturize them, it is advisable to stay hydrated to achieve healthy lips. Likewise, it is recommended to consume healthy fats and avoid smoking habits.
The lips are a delicate part of the face that usually suffer from the effects of cold, wind, and environmental dryness. These are reasons to consider the importance of taking care of them and being able to have lips, not only beautiful to the naked eye, but healthy and hydrated.
Taking care of them does not depend only on external factors. When the lips are chapped frequently it is advisable to review the diet. It can be due to a deficiency of certain vitamins such as A, B, C and E.
It is also important to consider whether you are consuming the amount of fluid necessary to maintain a good overall hydration level in the body. The latter will also affect the appearance of the lips.
Common lip problems
To begin with, understanding the anatomy of the lips in a simple way can be the following: the lips, according to this research from the Journal of Legal Medicine of Costa Rica, are covered by a very thin layer of stratum corneum, do not have sebaceous glands and do not they contain a lot of melatonin. This, said in a simpler way, means that they are almost naked and therefore very exposed, that is, deprived of protection.
The lips can be affected in a very easy way due to this exposure. This causes some problems to occur that, if they appear, can be treated by following the medical guidelines of a professional. They can also be prevented by following some specific recommendations mentioned below.
So what are the most common lip problems? Some may be wrinkles, dryness and cracking, discoloration of the lips, discoloration of the lip contour and one of the most common, according to this study by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, is cold sores, which usually appear and reappear due to the weakening of the immune system.
Tips to keep your lips healthy
Feeding
The influence of the food consumed on a daily basis can be high. It depends on the consumption of some vitamins such as A, B and C that the lips are benefited and can look, for example, hydrated and be prone to less dryness.
On this, this study carried out at the Complutense University of Madrid explains that moderate consumption of vitamin E brings benefits to the lips. This helps to prevent the appearance of herpes and also to reappear since the body takes advantage of this vitamin to keep the immune system strong and thus evade viruses and bacteria.
Healthy eating is one of the main factors for promoting and maintaining good health throughout life. An improper diet is one of the main risk factors for the appearance of the main non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cold sores.
Hydration
This information from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research explains that there are several causes that can make the mouth dry, and these usually affect the lips. These causes include the side effects of some medications, radiotherapies, some diseases, etc.
However, the lips tend to get dry and chapped due to the weather. Either because of the cold, the wind or the dryness in the environment. It can also happen due to a poor diet and a lack of adequate hydration. The latter is usually a very common cause because not many people drink water frequently throughout the day.
To help keep lips hydrated, it is suggested to maintain proper hydration levels throughout the body. That is, drinking water, juices and infusions separate from meals throughout the day can be a habit that helps keep them hydrated and therefore prevent them from drying out.
Smoking habits
Usually the healthy appearance of a person’s skin is identified with genetics, but this only represents 25% of aging. The rest, that is, looking young as the years go by, is due to avoiding or minimizing some external causes and vices. This is how this research from the Spanish Academy of Dermatology raises it.
Likewise, he explains that tobacco, after the sun, is the second most studied cause as a skin condition. Epidemiological studies carried out to date confirm that the risk of wrinkles in women who smoke is almost three times that of non-tobacco users and twice that of men.
Human skin is exposed to the effects of tobacco smoke in a direct way, this includes the lips, which are involved in the first line when smoking cigarettes, for example. Due to contact with smoke, the lips suffer the consequences of smoking, not only with serious diseases, but also with those that affect their aesthetics.
What is popularly known as “a bad life” can sometimes be excess exposure to the sun, stress, tobacco, etc. The enemies are multiple and attack cellular oxidation, the main cause of aging. One way to reduce its effect is to avoid these vices and in this way you could show off healthier lips.
Homemade lip balm?
Popular wisdom suggests making some homemade lip balm based on natural products. However, to date there is no scientific study to support the use of these. Before using them, it is recommended to consult a dermatologist so that, based on a previous check-up, he can suggest what type of lip balm can be used.
A homemade lip balm can be made with:
- Bee wax.
- Cocoa butter
- Olive or almond oil.
- A few drops of essential oils (optional)
- Beet powder (to give it a reddish tint)
To prepare it, all the ingredients should only be placed in a water bath (except the essential oils, which will be added when the fire goes out) and let them boil. Then, you have to bind all the mixture well to place it in little jar molds or empty lipsticks. Once it has cooled it will harden and will be ready to be used as a natural lip balm.
