How To Care For Your Lips As You Age
Lips, considered the most alluring of a woman’s features, are often the most neglected part of a women’s skin care regimen. Other parts of the body can be covered or hidden, but lips can be a dead giveaway to how old or young a woman is. Lips need a lot of care and benefit from proper cleansing and ample moisturizing, but it is also imperative to make sure the best lip products and shades are used—especially for older women. Keep reading for tips on how to care for, and show off, your lips.
Hydrate
Older skin is often dehydrated and is susceptible to weakness, creping, dark patches, and wrinkles. Maintain proper hydration by drinking eight glasses of water daily. Also, try to steer clear of constantly licking your lips. This habit has no moisturizing or hydrating effect at all and actually dries out sensitive skin on lips, which can cause them to become severely chapped or even bleed.
Moisturize-The Best Protection
Daily use of a moisturizing lip balm with a high SPF helps hydrate lips,while instantly protecting them from damage. A good lip balm also prevents discoloration, fine lines, dryness and chapping. Try a good quality lip balm that contains wax—which can act as a protectant, as well as a moisturizer. Don’t like that waxy feel? Try lip balms that moisturize, as well as protect against sun, wind, and cold.
Exfoliation
Exfoliating your lips will help to remove dead layers of skin and help generate regrowth of new skin cells. To exfoliate your lips, use a mild abrasive lip scrub product, such as sugar scrub. Gently rub the product into your lips, removing any flaky or dead skin. Rinse off the remaining mixture for smoother, more kissable, lips.
Vitamins and Minerals
Cracked or dry lips can be a sign of vitamin or nutrient deficiency, such as vitamin B or D, particularly in older women. Be sure to get the appropriate amount of healthy vitamins by maintaining a healthy diet or supplementing your diet with a daily vitamin. Always check with your physician first.
Now that we have covered the basics on how to care for and treat your lips, let’s get into the fun part…choosing the best lipstick and/or lip gloss to show-off them off!
Play With A Variety Of Shades To Find The Right One
Not sure what exact shade works for you? Take a trip to your favorite make-up counter with your best pal for honest feedback, and spend time trying out different colors and shades until you find one(s) that you like. For neutral lips, try a shade or two darker than your natural lip color. To make lips stand-out, try the more vibrant hues. By trying on many different colors, and with the help of a salesperson (and your pal), you are sure to find the right color to complement your skin tone.
Can I Go Bright & Bold?
While some darker shades can actually age a woman—depending on her skin tone—bright and bold colors often look amazing on most women. Just remember if you are going to go with a brighter lip, tone down the eye makeup to balance everything out.
Gloss Or Matte Lipstick?
Every woman needs a good lip gloss. Glossy colors bring attention to your lips and help them appear moist and more youthful than matte shades. Glosses are great for day or night and can be worn alone—especially during the summertime— or over lip color. However, as women age, fine lines around the lips will actually make lip gloss bleed. Older women should go lighter on the lip gloss, concentrating the gloss in the center of the lips instead of around the edges. Matte finishes are in fashion now, offering concentrated colors in deep hues. Experiment to find the shades and hues that work for you. There are also a lot of great lipstick/gloss combinations available. This combination offers the best of both worlds: marrying long-lasting matte lip color with the added pop of shine.
Dark Or Light Shades?
Lighter shades tend to make lips appear bigger and poutier than darker shades. Older lips tend to thin out. If you have really thin lips, then keep in mind that super dark colors may cause your lips to look as if they have disappeared. Fuller lips tend to recede with neutral shades. But these are guidelines, play around with bold and soft shades, choose what you like and what’s appropriate for the occasion—a night on the town vs. a day at work.
Lip Liner: The Secret To Long-Lasting Color
Most women do not have the time to constantly reapply lipstick throughout the day. One tried and true trick for achieving long-lasting color is to use a lip liner to color your lips, then top it off with a similar lipstick or lip gloss.
How To Keep Lipstick From Bleeding
To keep lipstick from bleeding or feathering into fine lines and wrinkles around your mouth, dip a cotton swab in your favorite translucent powder and roll it outside the lip line before you apply color. This trick will help keep your lip color in place.
How do you choose your lip products? Let us know in the comments.
By: Chantel Alford
Photo Source: Sixty & Me
