Everyone wants softer, luscious lips but depending on your lip care routine, the products you use, and even the foods you’re eating (or not eating!), this could pose more of a challenge for you than most. Not to worry, though. There are a few, easy steps you can follow to achieve this level of softness that will keep them hydrated, moisturized, and satiny smooth. Once you learn how to get soft lips, the process will become effortless!
Whether harsh winter winds or scorching summer weather has affected their softness, all it takes is a regular lip care routine to rejuvenate them. Start first by exfoliating any flaky skin, followed by hydration. Then, protect, nourish, and beautify your lips to keep them looking and feeling their best.
Step 1: Exfoliate
When reading about how to get soft lips, understand the first step is to always start with exfoliation. Eliminate any dead lip skin to allow new skin cells to surface. A simple trick is using a damp toothbrush to gently rub off any flakes. In a circular motion, delicately scrub around the mouth and once finished, pat lips dry with a washcloth.
Depending on how dehydrated your lips are, this may take several attempts over the course of a few days to slough away all of the dead skin. Never pull or tear at the skin; just exfoliate as much off as possible.
Step 2: Hydrate
Hydrating your lips has as much to do with what you put on your face as it does with what you put in your body. Drink plenty of water, especially during the drier seasons, to keep the body fully nurtured. This helps to plump the skin and bring back its natural color.
Also, use lip products that includes vitamin E to help make lips super soft and supple.
Step 3: Protect
Once you have your lips in a healthy place, maintain hydration by protecting your lips the same way you would the rest of your body. Many people forget about using sunscreen on their lips or use products that parch the skin rather than boost its moisture. For example, components like alcohol and fragrances are very harsh and don’t provide any benefits to the lips.
Natural ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, and other plant-based formulas add a protective barrier for your lips when exposed to any natural elements throughout the day. If it’s a habit to lick your lips when they’re dry, instead reach for your favorite moisturizing coconut oil or shea butter lip balm instead when lips feel like they need extra nourishment.
Step 4: Nourish
Speaking of nourishment, give your lips proper attention as part of your daily skincare routine. Even if we may be diligent in applying our facial scrubs and creams, lips often get forgotten about. Do you know how to nourish lips with a DIY lip scrub? It’s simple to create your own at home as a way to perk up the lips for a healthier appearance.
Start with granulated sugar as a base to work as a natural exfoliator and add other soothing ingredients like coconut oil or honey to create a mixture that smells great and feels good against the lips. A very effective treatment, this homemade sugar scrub may even have your friends asking what new skin products you’ve been using!
Step 5: Beautify
Use a natural plumping lip gloss for a sheer tint or try a new shade of liquid lipstick, to add vibrancy. Once you’ve reached peak softness, you’ll want to show them off and have a reason to keep them looking healthy. They say a smile is the first thing you notice about a person and with super soft lips you’ll be hard to forget.
By following these steps on a regular basis, the road to softer lips is an easy one to maintain. Plus, they’re easy enough to follow on a daily basis without taking up too much time.
Be Proactive with Prevention
Actively taking control of your lip care helps to control the issue of a dry and flaky texture, but you can also go on the offense and help prevent it in advance. Your diet, environment, and skincare routine all make a difference in the level of lip softness. If you’ve ever suffered from sore, cracked lips, you should be aware of foods that can aggravate them further and cause them to sting.
Eat the Right Foods and Drink Plenty of Water
When your lips are dry, avoid citrus fruits. The acidity can be painful. Additionally, reduce the amount of salty and spicy foods you eat as well, since they can cause irritation. Instead add plenty of hydration to your diet by drinking water regularly and eating food that contains healthy omega-3 fats in it, such as nuts, fish, and plant oils (such as coconut oil or flaxseed oil). These types of fats are part of a balanced diet and deliver results that will show up on your face.
Prepare for Weather and Location Changes
The environment has a significant impact on your lips, so take specific measures to protect your lips as much as possible beforehand. Common culprits are extreme temperatures in the summer and winter months, as well as drier areas and situations like heading to the desert or flying on a plane. You may not consider just how much certain activities zap the moisture from your lips, but these are a couple of situations where dryness tends to set in.
In the summer, when the temperatures are soaring and the sun is beating down, we think about protecting our hair from damage, our skin from burns, but how often do we think about creating a barrier for our lips? Shielding your face from the sun with a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen is best, and adding a layer of protection to your lips as well is a must. Choose a lip product that has soothing ingredients and SPF, and apply regularly.
When winter rolls around, the air is just as dry, if not worse than summer, which means it’s important to stay hydrated. Harsh temperatures and winds, common colds, and a lack of humidity in the air all wreak havoc on your skin and lips. Apply a natural lip balm regularly and make lip care a part of your nighttime routine, in addition to the one you follow during the day. Slough off any dead skin cells and moisturize the lips with a thicker layer of lip balm to nourish the lips while you sleep.
Make Lip Care Part of Your Daily Routine
Like with anything else, creating the habit is the most challenging part of keeping a regular skin routine, but once you have your process down, it makes a difference for your skin and lips. The good thing about a skincare routine is that you can customize it to fit your lifestyle. Some people prefer a quick, 10-minute application, while others like to take their time and stretch out the process with several steps and products. Pick what works best for you, so you can stick to it - just don’t forget about the lips!
By avoiding certain foods, gearing up for times when lips tend to dry out more, and creating a simple skincare routine to follow daily, it helps prevent your lips from becoming chapped and painful. Getting soft lips is good, but maintaining them is even better.
The Best Ingredients for Lip Softness
If you really want to know how to get soft lips, it depends on the products you use. With the variety of lip products to choose from, it may feel overwhelming when deciding which ones will make the greatest impact. Look at the ingredients and choose lip care that includes shea butter, coconut oil, and other hydrating, natural components. These help soften the lips, while keeping them moisturized throughout the day.
A lip balm like our Magic Beauty Balm can be used on the lips, face, and wherever there’s dry skin - It has coconut oil to moisturize and shea butter to condition and nourish the skin. The benefits of coconut oil in this balm work to combat dryness throughout the day, so your lips are supple and your skin looks dewy and fresh.
If your lips are extra dry, extend applying the product to the outside your lip area as well to soothe the skin. Apply it around the nose and the corners of the mouth that often go untouched but are the first places to dry out.
The name of the game is hydration. Typically, when you notice that your lips are flaky, it already means your skin is dehydrated. In addition to maintaining a healthy diet that involves drinking plenty of water, maintain a skincare routine that includes ingredients ideal for your lips.
Soft Lips Are Here to Stay
The appearance of soft lips may look effortless, but we know what it takes behind the scenes to get a plump pout that’s hydrated and free of flaky skin. The more you are proactive with lip care and preventing dry lips, the softer the result will be.
Think about your daily routine and conditions or activities that may be affecting your lips you may never have considered. A few, small changes in your regular habits make a difference when it comes to your skin’s health, especially your lips.
You have everything you need at your fingertips to create a softer pout and say good-bye to dry, cracked lips for good. Follow the steps for soft lip care, be proactive with prevention, be mindful of the ingredients in your lip products, and you’ll have luscious lips in no time.
We aim to provide you with the most honest and credible information possible. This article was reviewed for accuracy by The Honest Team and its internal technical experts.
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