Oindrila
The problem of pigmented, dark or black lips is not uncommon… especially when all of us crave for soft, smooth and pinkish lips.
But why do the lips turn dark? Or we must say black?!?! Why does this so called lip discoloration happen?
Few of the reasons could be due to lack of proper care as well as an unhealthy lifestyle. They are said to be few of the reasons that can lead to a loss of the natural lip color, making them appear dark or black.
Tips For Dark Lips:
1. Say ‘NO’ to smoking:
cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Felix Leupold
Every beauty tip for lips says  that nicotine causes darkening of the lips and lip discoloration. Otherwise also smoking is known to cause cancer and other diseases.
2. Drink Less Coffee:
Excess consumption of tea and coffee can turn lips black in addition to staining your teeth. So, limit your caffeine intake, in order to avoid your lips from acquiring a darker hue.
[ Read: Home Remedies To Cure White Spots On Lips ]
3. Minimize Sun Exposure:
cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Zach
Exposure to the sun also causes lip darkening as there is an increased amount of melanin pigment in the lips. Ensure that you use lip products with SPF/UV protectors, if you are going to spend time outside.
4. Check Your Lipsticks:
Prolonged and excessive use of lipsticks and lip cosmetics, especially lower-quality ones can also cause lip pigmentation.
Use lipsticks sparingly (apply only when you need them the most) and always buy lip products from reputed brands.
Ensure that you check for the expiry date and not use expired lipsticks or lip products.
Look for one or more of these ingredients in your lipsticks: Shea butter, clarified butter, vitamin E and jojoba oil. These moisturize your lips and prevent them from drying out.
Always remove your lip makeup using a good lip makeup remover or olive/almond/coconut oil.
5. Scrub The Use A Natural Lip Scrub:
cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Jeanny
at least once every week to remove dead cells and dry skin from your lips, and improve blood circulation. You can mix 5-6 drops of olive oil and 1 tsp sugar and use this for exfoliating your lips. Once you rinse off, apply healing lip butter or your favorite lip moisturizer.
6. Exfoliation:
Use some Vaseline on a baby toothbrush to gently exfoliate your lips. This can be done daily.
7. Hydrated At All Time:
Keep your lips moisturized and hydrated at all times.
For retaining the natural color of lips, it is essential to maintain hydration levels by drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
In winters when we often tend to drink less water and that is when dehydration is noticed. Make sure to avoid this by drinking a decent amount.
Also, add high water-content fruits to your diet such as cucumber, watermelon, orange, grapefruit and lemon.
Lips are more delicate than the skin on any other part of our body. Hence, they need to be kept moist to avoid developing dryness and cracks, especially when they could possibly increase the chances of darkening the lips.
Use lip balms containing beeswax or cocoa butter as these seal in the moisture of your lips.
8. Don’t Suck Your Lips:
cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by lucyburrluck
Dermatologists advise us not to suck or lick the lips, so as to keep them wet. If not taken care, this will further dry them out, leading to darkening of the lips. Even the habit of biting lips should be avoided as there is the risk of damaging them.
9. Maintain Healthy Diet:
Vitamin deficiency can also lead to lip discoloration. Hence, maintain a healthy diet and eat lots of fruits and green vegetables. Vitamin C intake is also essential for getting rid of lip pigmentation; hence eat foods rich in this vitamin.
10. Avoid Chlorinated Water:
Chlorinated water could also be responsible for pigmented lips.
11. Genetic:
Lip pigmentation can also be genetic. So, in case, you have black or dark lips right from birth, there is not really much to be done except cosmetic surgery perhaps.
Some Natural Tips To Treat Dark or Black Lips:
1. Apply almond oil on your lips before bedtime as this helps to lighten lips, thus reducing discoloration.
2. You can also mix lemon/lime juice with almond oil and apply for the same purpose.
3. Daily application of cucumber juice would also help lighten dark lips.
4. Another tried and tested remedy is regularly applying a mixture of lime juice, glycerin and honey and leaving it overnight.
Recommended Articles:
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick Reviews
- NARS Audacious Lipstick Shades
- NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Ingredients