Whether you’re starting to see signs of aging on your lips and around your mouth, have sensitive lips that need extra TLC, or just want to make caring for delicate lip skin part of your everyday beauty routine, we’ve curated our top 3 tips for caring for aging lips to help keep your lips feeling and looking beautiful—at any age.
What causes lips to age?
First thing’s first: It’s perfectly natural for lips to age. Like any part of our bodies, lips mature and change as we get older. In fact, dermatologist Dr. Amelia K. Hausauer tells newbeauty.com, our lips reach “peak” volume between the ages of 14 to 18, and then begin to slowly decline in fullness. Lips begin to thin with age because as we get older, our bodies naturally produce less collagen and hyaluronic acid, both of which keep lips plump, moisturized and naturally defined. When we factor in sun damage, smoking, environmental stressors like pollution, diet (especially sugar), hormone changes, and stress—all of which can further deplete collagen—our thin, delicate lip skin may begin show noticeable changes.
What are the signs of aging lips?
Thinning lips, vertical wrinkles that make lips appear slightly puckered, and the loss of the border that distinguishes lips from their surrounding skin are all common signs of aging lips. And because lips don’t have the sebaceous (or oil) glands that the rest of our skin does, they’re more prone to dryness and flakiness as we get older, which may make them appear more puckered and less plump.
How should I care for aging lips?
The good news? Aging lips can enjoy noticeable benefits from small acts of care. Whether you’re solely concerned about your lips showing signs of aging or have the added concern of caring for sensitive lips, there are things you can do every day to keep lips looking and feeling their best, no matter your age.
Keep Lips Moisturized
Moisturized lips not only feel better, they look better, too. When our delicate lips become dry, cracked, and irritated, they automatically look older—not to mention the discomfort they cause. Plump up the look of delicate lip skin and the fine lines around the mouth with emollient oils and plant- and nut-derived butters, like those found in Inner Beauty Stay Calm® Lip Balm + Primer. Antioxidant-rich and highly moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, apricot oil, calendula flower extract and rosa moschata seed oil in this lip balm primer work in harmony to calm irritation, moisturize dry lips and restore the look and feel of delicate lip skin. Sensitive lips? Us, too. That’s why we love this gentle formula. It’s safe to use on sensitive lips to protect them and keep them comfortable—and with such effective ingredients including rejuvenating castor oil, it may help restore lips and the fine lines around them to a more supple, youthful appearance.
Choose a Nourishing Lip Color
Once your lips are prepped with lip balm primer to make them comfortable, soft, and moisturized, lip color will go on smooth, creating a healthy-looking finish. Choose a natural lip product that nourishes lips as you wear it, like Coco Creme Lipstick. Our coconut lipstick blends replenishing castor oil, coconut oil, and jojoba oil for an emollient formula that cares for even sensitive lips while delivering velvety soft, demi-matte color in five flattering shades. Looking for a more sheer sweep of moisturizing lip color? Reach for Inner Beauty Sheer Bliss Lip Tint, a sheer tinted lip gloss formulated with jojoba oil, a natural humectant that draws moisture to skin, keeping it balanced, smooth, and comfortable. This buttery formula delivers a sheer wash of color and subtle shine for a pretty, polished look in seconds. Prefer a non toxic lip gloss in your makeup bag? Pure Shine Lip Gloss delivers all day comfort with castor oil, jojoba oil, and oryza sativa rice starch to moisturize and calm inflammation, leaving lips looking luminous and healthy. And don’t forget to top your lip color with Shine Infusion Lip Oil, a nourishing lip oil infused with castor seed, sunflower seed, jojoba and argan oils to drench lips in moisture. This clear, 100% natural lip oil delivers never-sticky shine, making it ideal to wear alone or to layer on top of your favorite Inner Beauty lip color. Pro tip: Adding high-shine lip oil to the center of lips will pick up light, creating the illusion of fuller looking lips.
Use SPF Daily to Protect Delicate Lips
Once again, Dr. Hausauer tells newbeauty.com that using SPF on lips is critical for preventing skin cancer and premature signs of aging. And she stresses the importance of reapplication throughout the day, as we eat, drink, and lick our lips and remove our lip products as we do. These small but impactful steps to care for aging and sensitive lips can help your lips look younger, healthier—and give you plenty of reason to keep smiling!
