Lips are often the most neglected part of our skincare routine. Subjected to the same weather conditions, pollution and dust as the rest of our face, they often don’t get an equal amount of care and attention. Moreover, beauty products as well as sweating can block pores and cause the delicate skin of our lips to break out. Very frequently, some of us even find them cracked, chapped and dry.
However, that doesn’t have to be the way. We’ve curated a four-point guide to lip care that will prep your lips for any products you use on them and any harsh pollutants that you put them through. Besides, we have just the right formulation to help you achieve that. Here’s the lowdown.
Step 1: Exfoliate
Just like exfoliating makes our skin cleaner and smoother, the same goes for the lips. Exfoliate once or twice a week to remove dead skin cells and reveal plumper-looking lips underneath. You can use a gentle lip scrub or a soft toothbrush to exfoliate your lips, focusing on areas prone to dryness and flakiness.
Step 2: Cleanse
Keeping your lips clean is essential for maintaining lip health and preventing breakouts caused by lipstick or sweat. Use a gentle lip cleanser and massage it for about 30 seconds. Next, wash the cleanser off with warm water and pat your lips dry with a cloth. This removes any dirt, oil or leftover lip products and helps you keep your lips free from impurities. Unlike exfoliating, you can cleanse your lips daily to prepare them for the next steps in your lip-care routine.
Step 3: Hydrate
It goes without saying that hydration is key to keeping your lips soft, plump and healthy – especially in dry or windy conditions. We recommend opting for Inde Wild's Dewy Lip Treatment for this step, which is clinically proven to increase lip moisture by 114 percent for up to eight hours. Also a go-to product for beauty content creator Malvika Sitlani, the formulation mimics the benefits of Desi Ghee and incorporates essential skin conditioning components, such as linoleic acid, Vitamin E and phospholipids.
Step 4: Repair
If your lips are dry, cracked, chapped, show fine lines or experience breakouts, it’s essential to give them some extra TLC. Wear the Dewy Lip Treatment as an overnight lip mask to help it penetrate your lips deeply and nourish and regenerate the delicate skin. The translucent formulation combines ingredients like hyaluronic acid, peptides, shea butter, squalane, rose and lotus, leaving your lips looking fuller, softer and plumper. It can also be worn by itself throughout the day for a non-sticky, dewy finish – or be swiped over the lipstick to make your lips look more glazed.
