When the cold season ends, most of us tend to turn all our attention to repairing the damage caused to our now dull, lifeless hair and dry, ashy skin. However, in the process we forget about one of the most important features constantly in motion on our face – our mouth. Not only have we subjected our poor lips to the frigid gales of winter, but we torture them every day while drinking, eating, smoking, kissing and talking. Some of us even unwittingly bite or pull our lips with our fingers while we are stressed out or thinking about something. The result – a rough, flaky mouth. If you think you can cover it up with lipstick or gloss, you are doing yourself a disservice, because drawing attention to your lips is the last thing you want to do when they are peeling.
If you want to salvage your lips, you must exfoliate them before you use any kind of balm. Until you remove the dead layer of skin, no amount of chapstick or carmex is going to heal your mouth.
Here’s what to do:
- Apply either a little Vaseline or olive oil to your lips. If you feel this is not enough for how rough your mouth is, you can add a little sugar to the olive oil.
- Using a toothbrush (preferably not electric and not the one you are currently using for your teeth), gently start brushing your lips all over in small circles for about a minute. Be gentle – your lips are sensitive and they will be sore if you are too harsh!
- Wash off your lips with cold water and clean the brush.
- Apply lip balm and your lips will feel as smooth as butter!
- If you already have soft lips, some actresses and models also use a toothbrush lightly without any exfoliating product before they go out. This invigorates the blood flow to their mouth for a poutier look before they apply lip-gloss. (However, this is for purely aesthetic reasons, not as a remedy).
Remember: this is not just for after the winter season. It is important to keep your lips healthy year-round, so try to exfoliate your lips at least twice a month.
Photo Credits: http://wallpapers.jurko.net/pic/1074/
http://www.slipperybrick.com/2007/11/solar-powered-toothbrush-no-toothpaste/
the brush move definitely works for me. also, it’s good to use a lip balm with spf in it. i use burt’s bees.
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Must try this!
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wow wow wow !!!! My lips are baby soft. Why didn’t u start this blog earlier ???
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Good tip!! Also suggest in terms of lip balms Burt’s Bees Beeswax lip balm. Your lips feel like they “sting” a bit but are really well-moisturized. A good following step after Lip Masala’s exfoliation tips!
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U can also use almond oil with some brown sugar. Tastes and feels GR8!
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Great tips! I didn’t know about this!
Also i wanted to comment on the aspirin mask but got so busy lately (with taxes and stuff)…but my mom watched on some pakistani talk show about asiprin mask and told me and as usual i didn’t pay attention! But I guess now I should definitely try!
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oh it’s me again…my elbows and knuckes are getting really dark recently (and i am quite light skinned)….any remedies???
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i love this i tried it yesterday now my lips don’t feel so crunchy lol!
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Sarah, I actually do have some tips, I have the same problem – will be posting something for dry/dark elbows next week
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Which burts bees balm do you guys use? I find the pomegranate chapstick smells kind of strange, but everyone says it’s really great so I guess I’ll have to buy it
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i use the normal beeswax balm. me and husband! (he stole mine).
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[...] 2) Bold colors like red draw attention to and accentuate your lips, so it’s important to make sure your mouth is well moisturized. If you have time, we recommend exfoliating your lips to remove any flaky winter buildup (click HERE for more info). [...]