No matter the season, keeping my lips soft and supple is a constant struggle (frequent lip picker, here; anyone else?). And as those with a perennially dry pout know, a mere lip balm is not enough to prevent the chap. Do I have a trusted tube lurking in every corner of my apartment? Absolutely. But sometimes, you just need to pamper the lips with something extra.
Enter, the holy grail of lip care: Here, we’ve rounded up every single expert tip for how to get soft lips (finally!). Tried and tested, my baby-smooth pout and I can personally attest to each and every pointer.
Buffing away flakes can help alleviate a chapped pout and smooth out lip lines (you know, those grooves and cracks etched into your lips that cause even the creamiest of lipsticks to crease). Follow along with this 30-second tutorial:
First, make sure your lips are dry and clean, free of any makeup or lip balm.
Grab your lip exfoliant and swipe a dime-size dollop across your lips.
Rub the product on your lips in circular motions for a minute. “Remember to not over-exfoliate or scrub too hard, as the skin on your lips is delicate,” cosmetic chemist Marisa Plescia, research scientist at clean beauty e-tailer NakedPoppy, once explained to mbg.
Rinse with lukewarm water, and make sure to follow with a hydrating lip mask or lip balm. Remember: Rubbing your lips raw can also result in a painful chap.
See here for our full lip exfoliation guide, as well as our favorite clean lip scrubs to choose from.
Hydration works twofold: You’ll want to coat the lips with hydrating ingredients and make sure you get enough water (the first sign of dehydration is often dry lips, in case you’re unaware). Studies have even shown that adequate amounts of water can increase dermal thickness of the skin—including the lips.
In terms of hydrating ingredients to swipe on, look for emollients that build up the skin barrier, such as ceramides and fatty acids. Humectants are great, but you might not want to use them as your sole moisturizer: “Lip balms that contain only humectant ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin, can actually make lips more dry because they attract moisture, and if the air is very low in humidity, then they can pull moisture out of the skin, and then the moisture evaporates away,” board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D., told mbg about healing lip cracks.
Remember when we said your lip area is one of the first to show dehydration? Well, it’s one of the first to show signs of aging, too: Because the skin there is so thin, it can literally deflate when the skin’s structural integrity declines overtime.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: The skin is more permeable at night, so it’s best to seal in tons of moisture right before bed. The same rule applies to your lips: Just as you might opt for a thicker night cream to lock in moisture, apply a heavier lip mask to condition your pout all night long. Find our favorite options to glaze on, here.
5. Avoid drying ingredients.
If you’re dealing with painful chaps, take a peek at your ingredient lists: Some products may include drying or irritating players that can make cracked lips worse. “Avoid menthol, camphor, and phenol as ingredients in lip balms because they can dry out the lips. They are initially cooling and soothing, but they evaporate quickly, and you will need to reapply if you aren’t using good emollients and occlusives,” King says.
“Any alcohol ingredient will also be drying to the lips. And salicylic acid can be irritating in a lip balm. It is sometimes added as an exfoliant—to help remove dry flaky skin from your lips, but the lips are sensitive, and repeated use will likely lead to irritation,” she continues. “Lip balms designed to plump the lips often contain cinnamon oil or peppermint oil, and these ingredients can also cause irritation.”
Same goes for makeup: Make sure your lipsticks, stains, and glosses don’t sneak in any drying players.
6. Don’t lick or pick at your lips.
As a fellow lip picker, I know this is easier said than done. But do your best to refrain from manually peeling—even those dry, dead flakes of skin. “This delicate skin won’t heal if the dry parts are continually picked off: The dead skin needs to stay on until the new skin underneath is ready to be exposed,” says King.
Licking your lips is also not as harmless as you may think: Unless there’s an occlusive on top to trap in the water, it can dry out on the surface and lead to even worse conditions.
7. Layer your lip products.
This tip is for the parched pouts among us (like, if your lips wither up seconds after swiping on a balm). To truly deliver moisture, you’ll want to layer your lip care.
See, if you’re partial to a wax or oil product, you’re not delivering any moisture—you’re just coating the skin with the occlusive. To really hydrate the lips, layer a water-based hydrator first, then top with your wax or oil-laden pick. It’s a similar logic to your skin care routine: Say, if you use a humectant serum (like hyaluronic acid), you’ll want to apply a moisturizer or oil to keep all that hydration locked inside.
8. Protect from the elements.
“Cover your mouth when outside in the elements,” says King. “Cold air and wind will be particularly drying for the lips, so it is helpful to cover them with a scarf to protect them.” (Or, you know, with your mask.)
As for those humid, warmer months? An SPF lip balm is your best bet: “Protecting your lips from the sun is just as important as protecting your face,” says aesthetic nurse practitioner Shawna Jones, PA-C, about how to keep your lips plump and supple, and many options are laced with moisturizing actives to hydrate and smooth the lips.
9. Create a barrier during your skin care routine.
Again, the skin on your lips is super thin and sensitive, especially if you overuse exfoliating ingredients. So if you use potent actives during your skin care routine (retinoids, AHAs or BHAs, and the like), the fragile skin around your lips may suffer.
Stay with us here: “It’s actually pretty easy for most products to transfer onto your lips, especially cleansers,” says board-certified dermatologist Angelo Landriscina, M.D., over TikTok. That’s why he suggests avoiding the area as best you can while using those products, or applying a lip balm or thick ointment to your lips prior to starting your entire routine. The oily substance acts as a barrier between your skin and those potentially irritating actives, so even if those ingredients unintentionally make their way to your lips, they won’t act as potent.
To really get soft lips, you need to focus on every angle of lip care. The skin on your lips is your skin, after all—and like the rest of the real estate, it’s a dynamic organ that requires multiple avenues. A soft, supple pout is no quick fix, but once you’ve nailed your go-to regimen? You’ll never look back.
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