Lip Balm Importance and Uses

Healthy, plump lips are the strong point of a beautiful face. Not only do they add charm to our personality, but they also help express a myriad of emotions. However, we often forget to care for our lips and focus only on our faces. Dry, chapped, and cracked lips mar the beauty of our face, and no amount of makeup can camouflage that. Therefore, lip care should be an essential part of our skincare routine. And what you need for this is a product that can pamper your lips back to health - a nourishing lip balm. This article will give you all the information you need about lip balms—starting from what are the benefits of lip balms, how to use lip balms, lip balm uses, to how to select the right lip balm for your lips. 

• What Is a Lip Balm?

• Benefits of Using a Lip Balm

• How to Apply a Lip Balm?

• Important tips for applying lip balms

• When to Apply a Lip Balm?

• How to Choose a Good Lip Balm?

• Conclusion

• FAQs

What Is a Lip Balm?

A lip balm is a wax-like substance that moisturises our lips and keeps them hydrated. It protects our lips from cold temperatures and dry air that robs moisture. The skin on the lips is thin and lacks oil glands. It makes lips susceptible to dryness. Our lips are the first to show signs of dryness. Products such as lip balms and petroleum jelly prevent lips from drying and heal dry and chapped lips. 

Lip balms usually contain beeswax, camphor, paraffin, acetyl alcohol, and other dyes, fragrances, and flavours. However, skincare brands have realised the importance of using natural ingredients for manufacturing skincare products over time. They have introduced lip care products that do not contain harmful chemicals like sulphates and parabens. Furthermore, lip care products are now environment-friendly, clean, and cruelty-free. 

Some of the best lip balms for daily use contain grapefruit and macadamia that offer natural sun protection to your lips and use essential nutrients to moisturise chapped lips.  

Benefits of Using a Lip Balm

Lip balms are an essential item in every woman’s handbag. The benefits of lip balms are manifold. They moisturise your lips and add a dash of colour to your face in the absence of lipsticks. 

Here are a few other benefits of lip balms that make their presence a must amid other beauty products.

• Protect lips against sun rays: Constant exposure to the harsh UV rays of the sun robs moisture from our lips. Lip balms containing the natural goodness of grapefruit and its UV protection safeguard your lips against sun rays, hydrate them and keep them soft and plump.
  
  
  

• Heal chapped lips: Lip balms rich in essential nutrients from macadamia nut oil, castor oil, and almond oil soothes the skin and heal chapped lips. 
• Excellent exfoliates: Lip balms have certain ingredients that gently exfoliate dead skin and repair and rejuvenate dull lips. 
• Overnight lip mask: Lip balms work as wonderful lip masks when applied at bedtime. They nourish the lips by removing toxins and regenerating the skin. Bedtime lip balm use helps soften the lips through the night.
• Add a dash of colour: Many lip balms have dyes that add a dash of colour to the lips. Tinted lip balms are the best alternative to lipsticks as they hydrate the lips, pamper them, and add colour to your pout. 
• Work as a great lip primer: You can use lip balm as a lipstick base. It helps in the easy application of lipsticks, giving the lips a smooth finish. Using lip balm as a base also protects the lips from dryness and damage that certain lipsticks can cause. 
• Heal pigmentation: The benefits of lip balms include restoring the healthy, pink colour of your lips upon regular use. Natural oils in lip balms reduce pigmentation, dullness, and dark spots caused by exposure to sunlight or extreme cold.

How to Apply a Lip Balm?

Lip balms come in different types of containers and have different application techniques. Here are some ways of using lip balms for best results.

• Lip balms in tubes: Lip balms in tubes, like lipsticks, have a dial at the bottom that helps raise the lip balm above the tube’s rim. Rotate the dial to raise the lip balm by half a centimetre and glide the balm along the lips for an even application.

• Gel-based lip balms in applicators: Gel-based lip balms are the best lip balms for daily use. They come in lipstick-like applicators and can be squeezed out through a tiny hole at the tip of the applicator. As they are gel-based, you require only a tiny amount of this type of lip balm for your lips. Excess lip balm cannot be returned to the tube, so take only as much as is required. Draw in your lips to spread the lip balm evenly across every bit of your lips.

• Lip balms in jars: Organic lip balms such as the macadamia nut and vitamin E lip balms come in tiny jars. You can apply these with your fingers. Before application, it is important to wash your hands thoroughly with a hand wash. It prevents the dust and bacteria on your fingers from settling on your lips. Once your hands are washed and dried, scoop the required quantity of lip balm with your forefinger and apply it evenly on the lips. 
  
  
  

Important tips for applying lip balms

Here are some important dos and don’ts on how to apply lip balms:

• Never apply lip balm with your fingers when you are travelling. Dust, pollutants, and germs settle on your fingertips and get transported to your lips when you do so. Keep a hand sanitiser with you to cleanse your hands before applying the lip balm, or carry a lip balm that comes with an applicator. 
• Don’t use lip balms that come in jars when you are sick, as you could contaminate the lip balm. Purchase an extra lip balm to use when you are ill to avoid spreading germs. 
• Exfoliate your lips while showering to remove the dead skin and soften the lips. Pat your lips dry afterwards and dab a little coconut oil or ghee mixed with a little honey on them. These natural ingredients are rich in vital nutrients and make wonderful lip balms that nourish the lips and improve lip health.
• Coarsely powdered sugar mixed with honey can be used to scrub lips. Gently massage the lips with this mixture and leave it on for ten minutes. Rinse with cool water, pat dry, and apply ghee/coconut oil/organic lip balm for best results.
• Drink eight to ten glasses of water daily to keep your lips well-hydrated. Water prevents drying and chapping of lips and the area around the mouth. 

When to Apply a Lip Balm?

Applying lip balm depends on the weather and the health of your lips. If you live in a cold, dry area and are wondering when to apply lip balm, the answer would be, a few times a day, whenever you feel the need to lick your lips to moisten them. 

If you need to apply lip balm often, then you should check your water intake. Drink more water to hydrate your skin. It will keep your lips moist, healthy, and nourished. 

How to Choose a Good Lip Balm?

Selecting a good lip balm helps to maintain healthy, beautiful lips. Here are some important tips to choosing the right lip balm:

1. Always check the label on the lip balm for its ingredients. Lip balms that contain camphor, alum, menthol, and salicylic acid dry the lips. Pick lip balms that contain natural ingredients such as beeswax, grapefruit extracts, exotic oils, cocoa butter, shea butter, or sweet almond oil. Such ingredients are found in the best lip balms meant for daily use. 
2. Consider the packaging of the lip balms while buying them. Pick lip balms that come with applicators for easy usage. Lip balms that come in jars are great too, but remember to wash your hands before applying them with your fingers.
3. Lip balms that come in fruity fragrances contain additives or preservatives that may harm the lips. Choose lip balms free of parabens, sulphates, artificial fragrances, mineral oils, and carcinogenic compounds. 
4. If you are planning to travel or spend more time outdoors, pick lip balms that offer UV protection. 

Pure Sense Lip Balms for Luscious Lips

• Grapefruit UV Protection Lip Balm:
  

  A unique blend of grapefruit extracts and exotic oils, this lip balm offers natural sun protection and heals chapped lips. Safe for all skin types, the Grapefruit UV Protection lip balm moisturises dry lips and makes them soft and supple. 

• Macadamia Nourishing Lip Balm:
  

  This lip balm is made from naturally sourced beeswax, castor oil, and rich almond oil. It moisturises lips, removes discolouration, and gives you fresh and healthy lips. It promises to prevent chapped lips with regular use and give your lips a fresh, rosy look.

Conclusion

Lip balms are essential skincare products that keep your lips soft, supple, and healthy. It is important to buy organic lip balms made from natural ingredients to nourish the lips and improve lip health. Avoid lip balms containing harmful chemicals that can damage your lips in the long run. Do check out the lip balms available at Pure Sense for maintaining beautiful and healthy lips. 

FAQs on benefits and importance of Lip balm

• Why should you use a lip balm?
  

  Lip balm uses are plenty. Cold and dry weather dehydrates the skin on your lips, which leads to chapped, cracked lips. The skin peels off the lips easily and causes irritation and cuts. As lips lack oil glands, they cannot moisturise the skin. Hence, using a lip balm is essential to soften chapped lips. Furthermore, lip balms restore the moisture on the lips, protect them from the elements, and give your lips a youthful, healthy look, which adds to your overall appearance. They also contain SPF or sun protection factor that protects lips from UV rays and reduces the risk of dry lips and dark spots.
  
  

• How often should you apply a lip balm?
  

  If you live in a cold area or spend more time outdoors in the sun, applying lip balm two to three times a day is essential. If you suffer from lip eczema, you need to apply it more frequently to keep your lips hydrated and moisturised. Dry lips tend to hurt while eating or drinking. Licking your lips continuously may lead to a condition known as Lip Licker’s Dermatitis. The saliva could irritate the skin and cause pain and itching. To avoid this, it is advisable to apply a lip balm a few times a day to ensure moist, healthy lips. 
  
  

• Do lip balms make lips darker?
  

  Lip balms that contain chemicals such as parabens and sulphate may darken your lips. However, lip balms that contain natural ingredients, such as beeswax, castor oil, almond oil, grapefruit extracts, are the best lip balms for daily use as they protect the lips from dryness and dark spots. Not scrubbing the lips regularly to remove the dry, dead skin could also lead to dark lips. It is ideal to use a lip scrub once a week to exfoliate the lips and apply either a homemade moisturiser like ghee or coconut oil or an organic lip balm. Following this lip care routine will maintain healthy, pink, and plump lips.