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The breeze that hits us in the face like a gentle morning wishes also teems with the pollutants, carcinogens, and elements that can make our skin break out into acne, inflammation amidst other concerns. Thus, the skincare routine is one significant step towards healthy skin and has been getting its due spotlight for a while now. Akin to having different individualities, we have different skin types that distinguish us from others and the routine to having clear and supple skin, thus, turns subjective - depending as per the skin-type requirement. However, there is an area that is often neglected in our skin regime that is our lip care routine.

Sensitivity level rising to 100/10!

The skin of our lips is 100x more sensitive than our fingertips with more than a million nerves ending there. In addition to this, our lips have no defensive membrane, making them delicate and increasing our responsibility of nourishing and conditioning them well as we integrate a lip-care regime in our daily life. If not cared for extensively, we can end up causing more harm than good as our lips dry and wrinkle owing to our lip-insensitive schedules.

Yield-a-shield

The lips have to be resistant to all the activities like eating, drinking, talking, breathing or other intimate encounters; however, since the skin on the lips is more delicate than usual skin, they need to have a shield to protect them at all times. Lips are prone to excessive peeling, cracking, splitting, chapping, cold sores, ulcers and other conditions such as intense cold, or the dry/ hot sun making them endure the climate. Therefore, hydration plays a crucial role in maintaining wrinkle-free smooth lips. Furthermore, since they never get a break from exposure, it becomes all the more important to tend to them as one would tend to fragile newborns. The aim should be to keep them moist, clean and supple.

The way ahead

Digging into the ways to have healthy, hydrated and bright lips is to remember that breathing dries out the lips easily and keeping it hydrated is imperative. Ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter or plant oils can be really beneficial but in concentrations that differ from that, you would use in skincare. Being wary about which ingredients and products to avoid is important too, as there are a lot of acidic products that do more harm than good. Drinking lots of water is key to keeping them hydrated from the inside.

But acing the lip-game requires one to follow a regime that will help keep them plumpy, soft and supple. On the whole, lips need cleansing, hydration, exfoliation, protection and occasional resurfacing.

Stepping-up!

Some steps you can go through to look after your lips throughout the day,

The first step includes exfoliating your lips by using a lip scrub that gently removes the dead skin cells while making the lips smooth and soft. It also helps get rid of excessive tanning and any pigmentation.

Next comes nourishment; nurture them with the right ingredients including enriched oils which help to enhance the natural colour of the lips by removing lip creases and tanning. Nourished in proper alignment with the required level of SPF, such as SPF-15, the process provides the lips with maximum protection against sun damage.

The final step includes striving for the lip serum that naturally moisturises the lips and could be followed with fruit-based balms for conditioning including using a beetroot lip-care balm that rejuvenates the lips and makes them come to life regardless of external factors trying to take a hit.

Having a defined lip care routine helps us to go to the battlefield prepared as we conquer the war against the climate and atmosphere amidst other external elements trying to damage our skin and come out triumphant with our scrubs, serums and SPF-integrated balms having our back - rather lips, in this case!



(Shivangi Goel is the CEO of TNW - Natural Wash)