Taking Care of Your Lips

A Simple Guide to Taking Care of Your Lips as You Age

Skincare, let alone lip care, is never something you will have overly worried about in your youth and it may well only have been recently that you have started to wonder if there are ways to protect the skin around your mouth and your lips themselves. 

This article, then, will be your first defense against the premature aging of your lips and mouth, so continue reading for a simple guide on doing just that. 

Avoid Dehydration

Even though some cases of dehydration are so severe that person can actually be hospitalized and placed on a drip, in most situations, the individual is unlikely to realize they are slightly dehydrated and naturally recoup moisture when they next have a long drink. 

Not only will drinking enough water and staying hydrated make a difference to the appearance and feel of your lips, it will also afford you the following additional benefits:

  • A positive boost to cognitive brain function 
  • Aids the formation of mucus and saliva
  • Helps to properly lubricate joints
  • The maintenance of normal blood pressure
  • Helps to protect the kidneys

Wear Sunscreen

Another exceedingly beneficial habit to get yourself into on a daily basis, but particularly in the summer months, and contrary to popular belief, your lips are more than capable of becoming seriously sunburnt.

With skin cancer being the most common form of cancer, more and more people who are exposing themselves to hours of sunshine are contracting skin cancer on their face, mouth, and neck. 

It is an absolute necessity to, therefore, invest in a high-quality, high-SPF lip sunscreen, which will not only hydrate and moisturize your lips but will also protect your lips from harmful UV rays. 

Address Chapped Lips

Although you may think that chapped and dry lips in the colder months are nothing more than irritating, if left untreated, this can lead to more serious problems and at the very least, chapped lips are bound to accentuate the thinning and aging process. 

You must also remember to stay well clear of any lip-plumping products, either over the counter or else through your medical doctor when you have chapped lips, as this can make the problem seriously worse, not to mention, increase the pain. 

Avoid Smoking & Straws

It is definitely true to say that there is nothing better than enjoying an ice-cold can of diet coke through a straw in the garden, but only using straws to drink soda and water will encourage the appearance of fine line and wrinkles around your mouth and lips. 

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Much more importantly, however, you should avoid smoking at all costs, not just for your lips, but for a host of other reasons as well, some of them much scarier.

If you are a long-term smoker, you are vastly increasing the chances of contracting lung cancer, having a heart attack or stroke, and throat, larynx, and mouth cancer. 

Even if you have only been smoking for a shorter period of time, you are at greater risk of developing asthma and other infections of your respiratory tract.