How to Create More Youthful Lips

If aging wasn’t tough enough with its midsection weight gain, thinning hair, fine lines and wrinkles, our beautiful lips begin to pay the price as we age. Whether you’re blessed with full luscious lips or smooth smaller ones, our lips begin to show signs of aging by little creases here and there. We experience loss of volume and even the loss of moisture which creates an older looking appearance. There isn’t an instant, natural and permanent cure to get back that youthful look. However, there are many options to try that be done at home or by a cosmetic surgeon to help create more youthful lips.

stock photo by Africa Studio

EXFOLIATE

Just like you exfoliate your face and body regularly, your lips also need a little help. Whether dry or cold weather, too much sun, licking of the lips or simply being chapped, the appearance of your lips can really show a difference by exfoliating several times a week. Use a gentle exfoliator or a DIY recipe of sugar and vitamin E oil. When you exfoliate your lips, you’re removing dead skin that builds up by buffing it away. It also helps to boost the flow of blood, increases cell turnover and helps minimize the appearance of wrinkles.

stock photo by CalypsoArt

OILS

You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg in order to create a smoother, more youthful looking pout. You can use olive oil from your kitchen pantry. Olive oil is usually in most people’s homes and with that being said, it’s an easy fix. Olive oil is great at protecting and nourishing the skin from dryness and irritation. A couple of my favorite oils to use on aging lips also include:

• Vitamin E oil –  This is wonderful for lips as it helps prevent irritation and helps soothe already irritated skin. The appearance of dry, older looking lips begins to improve with its cell turnover and regeneration by using this affordable oil.
• Jojoba oil is definitely without a doubt my favorite to put on my lips to improve the look and feel. Although it won’t turn your lips into what you were blessed with at 16, it does reduce the visible signs of aging including wrinkles and creases. Dry lips definitely soften up with continuous use.

SPECIAL PLUMPING TRICKS

Thank goodness for Pinterest, Youtube and all those tutorials you can find online to help you achieve a fuller, more youthful pout. Every woman over 30 should own a sheen and lightly sparkly lip gloss that includes some mica which helps disguise any creases. Not only does the gloss with mica disguise the appearance of wrinkles, it also creates the illusion of a fuller pout. City Lips has some of my favorite plumping gloss products.

Also, adding a light beige powder blended above your upper lip can create the appearance of shadowing which makes your lips appear to ‘stand out’. Applying a highlighter or illuminator in the center of your top lip and bottom, as well as above your cupid’s bow can give some dimension and make those aging lips look younger and pop!

City Lips – my favorites shades are Clear, Los Angelips and Sun Diego

FINDING THE RIGHT COLORS

We all love the look and feel of that powerful and sexy lipstick shade that matches our skin tone perfectly. Darker lipsticks make lips appear smaller without any plumpness or fullness that you would find at a much younger age before our collagen began to break down and disappear. Look for more neutral and nude colors that will give the appearance of a smoother, more plump look that will help us take a few years off. My personal favorites are the nude mauvey pinks.

Avoid purchasing matte lip colors as they can be extremely drying unless they have some magical ingredients. They can cause chapped, irritated lips and show every little fine line and wrinkle. Look for smoother formulas and lighter colors to create more youthful lips.

LIP INJECTIONS

If it makes you feel good, don’t worry what people may think. If you’ve wanted to instantly wake up with fuller, smoother, more youthful lips without any work, a trip to the cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist office may do the trick. Just like facial fillers add some youthfulness to your face, so do lip fillers. Lip fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane are types of hyaluronic acid injectables that will plump your lips. This helps not only reshape the overall appearance, but it smoothes out creases as you achieve a fuller pout. This option is an instant fix that has to be maintained every 6 to 12 months. It also comes with some risks which should be researched before scheduling an appointment.

I will tell you that I’ve tried several different types of lip filler over the past 10 years or so. I only had a very small amount and probably not enough to make a big difference. With that being said, I’d love to do it again for a slightly fuller lip without the noticeable wrinkles.

If you’re looking to soften and smoothe your aging lips you have many options to choose from. Start off slow by trying one product at a time. When you find one that works for you, use it regularly to achieve those desired results. No matter what, you should always have protection on your lips during the day with an added spf. Always go to bed with your lips nourished with oils or a lip mask so your skin works to fix itself as you sleep (some of my favorites are linked above).

Now you can kiss those signs of premature aging away and say hello to a sexier, smoother and more youthful pout!

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