We all love to have soft and pink lips. Some have them naturally while others may not be so lucky to have such lips. Many of you may have dark or pigmented lips. Now the question is why do lips become dark or black? What is the reason for such change in color?
Well, the reason can be lack of proper care of lips or unhealthy lifestyle. These can give rise to dark or black lips by making the lips lose its natural color.
Effective Tips for Lightening Dark Lips:
Avoid chlorinated water:
Chlorinated water can cause lip pigmentation. So try to avoid it.
Check your lipstick:
If you use too much of lipstick or if the lipstick remains on your lips for a long hours every day, then pigmentation of the lips may take place, especially if the lip stick is of a poor quality.
Use lipstick occasionally, only if it is necessary. When you buy a lipstick, make sure that the lipstick is of a reputed brand. This can prevent pigmentation of your lips.
Check the expiry date when you buy a lipstick and never use lipsticks or lip products that are past the expiry date. One more thing to remember is that when you buy a lipstick, make sure that it contains some of the following ingredients in it. The ingredients you must look for are Shea butter, clarified butter, jojoba oil and Vitamin E. These help in keeping your lips well moisturized and prevent drying of lips.
Always remember to remove your lip makeup using a good lip makeup remover. You can also remove it with olive oil, almond oil or coconut oil.
[Also Read: How to Choose the Right Makeup]
Don’t suck your lips:
Many of you have the habit of licking or sucking your lips for keeping them moist. But this only helps in making your lips drier and making your lips dark. You must also try not to bite your lips as this can damage your lips.
Drink less coffee:
If you drink too much of tea or coffee, your lips may turn black. It also stains your teeth. So try to drink less coffee so that your lips retain their natural color and do not turn dark.
Exfoliation:
Take some Vaseline on a baby toothbrush and exfoliate your lips gently with it. You can do this every day.
[Also Read: How to Exfoliate Your Skin]
Genetic:
You may have lip pigmentation due to genetic factors also. So, if your lips are black or dark from the time you were born, no remedy can cure it, except perhaps cosmetic surgery.
Hydrated all the time:
Remember to keep your lips always well hydrated and moisturized.
You have to keep your lips well hydrated by drinking lots of water daily. This helps in retaining the natural color of your lips.
During the winter times you drink less water as you do not feel very thirsty. This can lead to dehydration of the lips. So make sure that you drink plenty of water in winter also. This way you can avoid your lips from getting dark and dehydrated.
Consume fruits and vegetables that have high amounts of water in them like watermelon, cucumber, lemon, orange, grapefruit and so on.
Lips are most delicate and therefore you have to take proper care of your lips. Always keep them moist so that they do not get dry nor any cracks occur on your lips. Such conditions can give rise to dark lip. So you need to be extra careful when taking care of your lips.
Using lip balms containing beeswax or cocoa butter is good for your lips as these lock the moisture on your lips.
Minimize exposure to sun:
If you go out in the sun too often, it can give you dark lips because lips have more melanin in it than any other parts of the skin. So if you are going out in the day time, apply a good lip product on your lips, which contain SPF or UV protectors. Even if it is a cloudy day, you must take care to protect your lips and skin with good sun screen products.
[Also Read: How to Protect your Skin from Sun]
Maintain healthy diet:
Your lips may turn dark or black to deficiency on vitamins. So have a healthy diet and include lots of fruits and green vegetables in your daily diet. Taking Vitamin C is also a good remedy for dark lips. This will help you get rid of pigmentation on the lips. So, consume food products that are rich sources of Vitamin C.
Quit smoking:
If you want to have beautiful pink lips, then you must say ‘No’ to smoking. Nicotine can darken your lips and lose its natural color. Moreover, smoking is also bad for your health and can cause cancer and many other diseases.
Scrub with a natural lip scrub:
Scrub your lips at least once a week. This will remove dead cells and the dry skin and also improves the circulation of blood in the lips. Mix 5 to 6 drops of olive oil with one teaspoon of sugar and use this as a scrub on your lips. After scrubbing, rise off and apply a lip butter or lip moisturizer on your lips.
Natural tips for treating Dark or Black Lips:
- Before you go to sleep at night, apply some almond oil on your lips. This helps in lightening the lips.
- Instead of using only almond oil you may mix it with lemon or lime juice and then apply on your lips. This is also very effective in treating dark or black lips.
- Apply cucumber juice daily on your lips. This is a good way to lighten your lips.
- One of the common ways to treat dark or black lips is to apply a mixture of lime juice, glycerin and honey on your lips. Leave it overnight.
So, if you have dark lips, do not worry. Try out some of the tips given above and have lips with their natural color.
