3 Simple Steps Million-dollar Smile: Get it now!

Every one of us wants that simple million-dollar smile, don’t we? For that sole purpose we invest in all those brightening, strengthening toothpastes, enriched with fluorides, calcium, hydrogen peroxides, menthol, and what not! Well, answer me this. Do you feel that having a healthy white smile is the ‘only’ constituent of a great smile? If yes, could you be any more wrong?

For a beautiful smile, alongside a bright, white set of teeth; pink, supple lips are of utmost vitality. Dry and chapped lips reduce your appeal by folds. One might not be able to pinpoint the cause of an unpleasant smile, but then they might not stay looking at you for long with that pair of lips, so yeah. Not to mention, it’s really uncomfortable for the individual itself too!

Since I did build up the concept quite a bit with this preamble, I guess moving with the topic should be smooth now. Let’s make these chapped babies kissable! 😉

Before you read on, this little routine can be a huge part of your me-time. Don’t know what a me-time is? Click here to know the ‘mystery of me-time.

Reason behind chapped, dark lips

Have you ever wondered why do our lips get chapped and darken in the first place? That is due to a lack of hydration. Yes, since our lips, when compared against our skin, consists of very few layers (approximately 3-5 layers) beneath the surface; whereas the rest of our face has about 16 layers beneath it (except for the under-eye area; which has about as many layers beneath as our lips).

Due to this stark difference in layers any effect that might reflect on the outside due to lack of adequate hydration within the body, will be seen on our lips way before it will be seen on the rest of our face. Hence, they get cracked. And what do we do to fix that? We lick ‘em! This is probably one of the worst things we do to our lips. Saliva contains digestive enzymes, like amylase and maltase; over time these wear down the skin on the lips, leaving them more vulnerable to dry air. They can even crack open and bleed in certain cases. Note: No more licking lips please! Drink lots of water instead. One of the countless benefits of good ol’ water! Also, it is a good practice to avoid vigorous scrubbing on the lips.

Speaking of lips getting pigmented and darkened; besides genetics, smoking, iron deficiency, or allergic reactions, a few chemicals commonly found in store-bought beauty/skin-care products lead to the darkening of our lips. To name a couple, salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Surprised, right? However much these two might benefit our skin, they trigger hyper-pigmentation in our lips. So the next time you apply skincare products, fold your lips inwards and then apply the products.

The Simple 3-step Lip-Care Regime

Step 1: Exfoliation

Sugar lip-scrubs work like magic in lifting off the dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, increasing blood circulation to the lips, and letting them breathe. I won’t recommend doing this every single day since excessive abrasion may lead to more cracks or worse, bleeding. Twice a week is optimum. Again, make sure to keep a light hand while scrubbing your lips. Our ring finger (one between the pinkie and the middle one) puts the lightest pressure among all five. It is hence; best to use that finger to scrub the lips.

Note: For everyday exfoliation, very gently rub your toothbrush over your lips soon after brushing. Mark these words: Very Gently.

Step 2: Lip Mask

Once you wipe the scrub off with some lukewarm water, let them dry, and put a lip mask over them. I like to take a generous amount on either my finger or the tiny spatula that comes with most lip masks and pack the product over my lips, completely covering them. You can keep it overnight, or wipe it off with lukewarm water after 10-12 minutes. It gives a sudden hydration boost to the lips.

Let me know if you want a list of good lip masks or homemade remedies. I will be more than happy to write one for that!

Step 3: Moisturize

After the mask, you can literally feel the softness of your lips and they seem evidently plumper! Now to seal the deal, apply any lip moisturizer to lock in all the labor just done. You can use a thick lip balm or lip oil. Personally, I prefer lip oil on the days I do a sugar scrub. It provides a lot more hydration than a regular lip balm. I refrain from using chapsticks when I am at home. I keep one in my bag for when my lips feel dry on the go. It’s just something I do; you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.

PS: As written hereinabove, water is of absolute importance when it comes to having healthy lips or glowing skin. No product or remedy can beat the results by regular and adequate consumption of simple, clean water. Drink at least 2.5 liters of water every single day. Within a week’s time, you will be surprised to notice the visible difference not only on your lips or skin but throughout your body. You will feel more energized, active, less hungry, and fresh for longer periods of time in the day and sleep well at night. What more? In the long run, you will see the scale on the weighing balance budge too, much to your satisfaction.

With this I attend this little blog. I hope you had a good read and gathered some information, even though this is pretty much what a lot of people might be doing on a regular basis. But since I have heard a lot of my friends and colleagues complaining of dry-chapped or pigmented lips, I thought it might come in handy for a lot many other people too.

As I said do let me know in case you want more such blogs; even blogs on my lip-care essentials or product reviews of those which I have tried till now and worked the best for me, you can put it in the comments below, I will be sure to write on those too!

Thanks for staying with me till here, we be back soon. Till then, stay home, stay safe and stay healthy!