Photo by Matthew Henry on Burst
Our lips are made up of really soft and thin skin that our blood vessels can be seen through, it is what gives our lips the red colour. We need to use lip balm to moisturise then because they do not have any sebum or sweat glands that are responsible for supplying our skin with the oil and moisture we need.
What are Chapped Lips?
Chapped lips, also known as cheilitis in medical terms, appear as dry, scaly, and sometimes cracked lips. This condition can also involve:
- A pink, scaly ring around the mouth
- Slight to moderate swelling of the lips
For individuals with darker skin tones, this ring may look brown. Chapped lips are commonly associated with winter, as the lip skin is thin and sensitive due to its role in helping us absorb food. However, this thinness makes them vulnerable to the cold, wind, and sun. Their lack of oil glands, unlike the rest of the body, makes them more prone to dryness and chapping.
Natural Ingredients for Nourishing Lip Care
Here are three natural ingredients that you should look for in a good lip balm.
1. Shea Butter
Shea butter is a super healing agent for dry, chapped lips. It contains extremely rich fatty acids and antioxidants which helps heal the dry lips and make them nice and smooth and thoroughly nourished and hydrated.
Anti-inflammatory properties of shea butter such as terpenic alcohols and phytosterols, can soothe sore lips and heal and prevent chapped lips. Shea butter also provides the nutrients needed for the lips to be healthy and it keeps your lips safe from the cold and dry.
2. Cocoa butter
Dry cracked lips are always super annoying, cocoa butter can do wonders to your lips as it keeps them soft, hydrated and supple for a long period of time. Our lips are a very important part of our body, we use them to talk, eat drink and most importantly, smile!
Cocoa butter is similar to shea butter, it is high in fatty acids which hydrates the lips deeply. Cocoa butter is also rich in vitamins and nutrients such as A1, B1, C, D, E, iron, and magnesium which are important for maintaining soft and healthy looking lips.
3. Beeswax
Many lip balms contain artificial and petroleum based chemicals to moisturise. Beeswax is a natural substance that are actually better and moisturising your lips as it seals the moisture inside your skin, keeping your lips moisturised for a much longer time.
This very moisturising substance can protect your lips from harmful rays from the sun and it also has a very pleasant smell, it can also prevent infection and cold sores.
Harmful Ingredients to Avoid in Lip Products
While there are ingredients that are good for your lips, there are also many ingredients that you should avoid when you are buying lip balms.
Lanolin - Lanolin is a natural animal deprived oil from sheep's wool that can be toxic to some people when ingested. When refined, it keeps the moisture from evaporating from our lips and keeping it moisturised, but some people may be allergic to it and have irritated skin especially people who have chapped lips.
- Petroleum/Petrolatum - These substances are derived from crude oil, a non-renewable resource which keeps your lips from breathing, usually it actually means that your lips become drier over time, which defeats the point of lip balms.
- Mineral Oil - Mineral oil has the same problem as petroleum and petrolatum, it doesn’t let your lips breathe which means your lips will become dried instead of moisturised.
- Phenol - Phenol is a good preservative but it can cause irritation to skin so it is better to look for lip balms that have natural preservatives such as vitamin E.
- Alcohol - May cause dryness to the lips instead of moisturising them.
- Camphor - May cause dryness and skin irritation.
- Parabens - This and other synthetic preservatives have be shown to cause hormone disruption and animals and people.
Our lavender lip balm is one of our all-time favourite in our shop. It contains natural oils with shea butter which makes your lips feel soft with pleasant lavender scents.
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