Your lips are incredibly sensitive. The skin on them is thinner, which is why they are pink or red in color – the blood vessels beneath are more visible. They are also unique because they have no oil glands, unlike the rest of your face (oil glands produce the skin’s natural protective barrier, keeping it hydrated and shielded from the elements).

As such, you may have noticed that your lips are prone to dryness, irritation, cracking, and flaking, especially when exposed to frigid temperatures or biting winds. Plus, as you age, the lips tend to lose more hydration and plumpness, making them appear thinner and shriveled.

However, with the help of top skin care products, there are ways to keep your lips lovely, soft, and plump without resorting to injections, fillers, or other drastic methods. Skin care products for lips can help with hydration, and balms and glosses can help you fake a fuller pout.

Good Skin Care Products for Lips, and Tips to Keep Your Pout Pretty

Lip products are out there that can keep yours in good condition, not to mention protected from the elements. Use them in conjunction with these tips for a truly beautiful pair of lips.

Protect with Skin Care Products for Lips

Did you know that, just like the rest of your face, your lips can get sunburned? You need to protect your lips every single day if you want to keep them in good condition. This means using top skin care products, such as a lip balm with SPF.

COOLA Liplux Sport SPF 30 has a high sun protection factor along with organic ingredients like avocado oil, beeswax, and coconut oil for truly smooth and moisturized lips. Apply this product in the morning before you use any other lipstick, gloss, or color. Reapply throughout the day and whenever your lips feel dry.

Do Not Lick

Repeat after us: do not lick your lips. Ever.

Since your lips have no oil glands, moistening them with your saliva is a recipe for disaster. Saliva actually damages and dries out the surface of your lips, as it contains digestive enzymes that help break down food when you chew it. So really, when you lick your lips when they feel dry, you’re actually just drying them out more.

The solution: keep a moisturizing and soothing lip balm in your pocket or your purse. Whenever you get the urge to lick your lips, reach for your balm instead. Slather it on. Repeat.

Combat-Ready Lip Balm by Skincando has deeply nourishing ingredients that will keep dryness at bay, like shea butter and extra virgin coconut oil.

Exfoliate and Treat

If your lips are flaking, gently exfoliate to shed that excess dead skin. You’ll be left with a smoother surface that will look better when you apply lipstick or gloss.

If you have aging lips, try a treatment that will rebuild collagen and smooth out lines. Two good options to try are IMAGE Skincare Ormedic Balancing Lip Enhancing Complex, which has poly-peptides to improve fullness and volume, and PCA Skin Peptide Lip Therapy, which minimizes lines and protects lips with sunflower oil and botanicals.

Fake a Fuller Mouth with Lip Products

If you want a slightly fuller pout, you can fake it with makeup and a few techniques.

For instance, choose a lip liner that’s slightly darker than your lipstick, and don’t follow the exact line of your lips. Instead, exaggerate them by the tiniest amount (don’t go overboard, or you’ll just look clownish). Fill in, and then apply your lipstick on top. Use a clear gloss and place a dot on the center of your bottom lip, blending it outward with your ring finger with a patting motion.

GloMinerals gloGloss comes in pretty, neutral shades and can make your lips look fuller either worn alone or blended on top of lipstick.

Your prettiest lips yet are waiting to be revealed with top skin care products. Find all of the above and more at LaLa Daisy.