Perfecting Your Pout: The Art of Lip Natural Care

Your lips are one of the most sensitive areas of your body with more than a million different nerve endings. They also have some of the thinnest skin on the body with just three to six layers of skin cells when most other skin on the body has up to 16 layers.

Yet, our delicate lips are exposed to the elements all day long — from sunlight and harsh winds to salty foods and hot drinks. That’s why they deserve some serious TLC every day.

What makes daily lip pampering even more important: lip skin doesn’t have sebaceous glands (why lips don’t sweat), which means they don’t secrete the protective oil, sebum, like skin elsewhere on the body. This waxy substance produced by the skin’s sebaceous glands hydrates and protects the skin. Without this protective substance, the lips can easily get dry, irritated, and chapped.

Natural Ingredients Good For Lips

At Pharmacopia, we know that skin—the largest organ in the body—can absorb what you put onto it. And the lips are no different.

That’s why we formulated our better-for-you 100% vegan Tangerine Lip Elixir with natural and 70% organic ingredients. These are some plant-based ingredients found in our Lip Elixir that can help keep your lips soft and hydrated—and you, healthier.

• Calendula flower oil, one of our key ingredients, has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. It’s extracted from the Calendula officinalis flower. This plant oil has traditionally been used as a wound healer because scientists have found that it may speed up the healing and the growth of new tissue. It’s also been shown to help promote skin hydration.

• Castor oil comes from the cold-pressing of ripe seeds, or castor beans, from the Ricinus communis plant. It’s rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which are known humectants. This means it creates a barrier on the surface of skin to help prevent moisture loss.

• Comfrey leaf extract contains something called allantoin, a substance that helps skin cells regenerate. This is why this extract from the Symphytum officinale roots and leaves has been shown to help heal superficial wounds of the skin—just one reason why it’s so healing to chapped lip skin. 

• Hemp seed oil is made from hemp seeds from the Cannabis sativa plant. It’s chock-full of essential fatty acids that help lip skin stay hydrated. These essential fatty acids also help to soothe inflammation including the redness, dryness, and chapping that so often occurs on the lips.

• Jojoba oil is an anti-inflammatory oil that comes from the seeds of the Simmondsia chinensis shrub. It helps to repair the skin’s barrier, which protects skin from the elements. Since lips have a very weak barrier compared to skin on the rest of the body, jojoba oil—an important ingredient in our balm—can help. 

• Olive oil is not only hydrating, it’s also a potent anti-inflammatory for skin thanks to its high levels of antioxidants, health-promoting natural chemicals found in plants. And olive oil has wound-healing benefits, too, thanks to the squalene compounds like vitamin E it contains. Squalene is a substance similar to the skin’s natural oils, why it’s so hydrating and healing.

• Shea butter comes from nuts on shea trees. Rich in hydrating fatty acids and vitamin E, this fat helps hydrate the skin and lock in moisture. It also helps soothe irritation. 

• Vitamin E has many benefits for lip skin, including hydration, helping to alleviate dryness and itching. And it offers some healing after exposure to the sun’s UV light because of its natural antioxidant properties.

Healthy Habits to Perfect Your Pout

It takes more than just good ingredients to perfect your pout. These healthy habits can go a long way to keeping your overall skin healthy, including the skin on your lips.

Exfoliate regularly. Exfoliating regularly will help remove any dry skin to keep lips soft and smooth. To do it: apply a layer of Tangerine Lip Elixir to lips, then take a small amount of sugar and gently rub lips with the sugar in gentle circular movements. Gently wipe off, and apply another layer of Lip Elixir to lips after exfoliating to keep them hydrated. 

Always keep a layer of balm on your lips. It helps to protect sensitive lip skin from harsh winds, cool air, and even sun exposure. Shea butter, found in our Tangerine Lip Elixir, may offer minimal natural sun protection. While it only has an SPF of 3 or 4, it may help protect your lips from incidental sun exposure. Calendula flower oil, also found in our Lip Elixir, may also offer some natural sun protection.

Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated can help skin stay soft and supple. While skin is made up of 64 percent water, lip skin is a bit different. This skin has a lower water content than skin elsewhere on the body. It also can’t hold on to water very well, why lips are prone to chapping—and why regular application of a hydrating lip balm like our Tangerine Lip Elixir is so important. It’s also why drinking water regularly throughout the day is important.

Add moisture to dry air. Keep an eye on indoor humidity levels as extremely low humidity can strip moisture from the skin, including skin on the lips. If humidity is low, you may want to run an aromatherapy diffuser or a humidifier to add moisture back into the air. Ideal indoor humidity levels are between 30 and 50%.

Get plenty of essential fatty acids in your diet. Eating foods rich in essential fatty acids—found in plant-based foods such as walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds—has been found to help keep skin hydrated and prevent inflammation in the skin.

With good habits and daily care—including regular application of our Tangerine Lip Elixir—your pout will stay hydrated, soft, and smooth. Keep a tube of our Lip Elixir with you at your desk, by your bedside, and in your car. Its larger-than-average size makes it handy, too, as a salve for dry cuticles.