While most of us have perfected our skincare routine, chances are that you are still completely neglecting your lips. You might be applying a bit of lip balm or Vaseline every now and then, but you are likely still experience dry or chapped lips. Many people aren’t aware of the fact that the skin on their lips needs some extra care, too! So let’s see what the perfect skincare routine for your lips should look like, step by step.

Step one: Exfoliate

Before you start with any moisturizing or hydrating products, you have to get rid of the dead skin that sits on top of your lips first. This will not only make your lip care products work better, but your lipstick will look much smoother too. And you can achieve that simply by using a lip exfoliator. If you don’t want to splurge on an expensive lip exfoliator, you can just mix up some coconut oil and granulated sugar. This will work great as well, and chances are that you already have both of these ingredients at home!

Step two: Hydrate

Now that the dead skin is all gone, it is time to finally hydrate your lips. This is the most important step of your lip skincare routine if you want your lips to stay soft all year round. While some people like to apply their regular moisturizer on their lips, we would suggest opting for a lip balm. We know that there are so many people who think that lip balms are a scam. However, that doesn’t have to be necessarily true. You have to look for something with ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, or other natural oils that will deeply nourish the skin on your lips. But avoid lip balms that contain menthol, camphor, phenol, or any sort of alcohol. These will only make things worse.

Step three: Night Mask

You should give some extra TLC to your lips before going to sleep! That way, you can wake up with soft lips that are ready for makeup. While you can buy a special night mask that will nourish the skin on your lips, these products are most commonly just lip balms with a thicker consistency. If you want to save your money, you can just use good old Vaseline or Aquaphor. The key thing is to apply something thick enough to block transepidermal water loss from the thin skin that covers your lips. But be careful if you are prone to getting pimples around your mouth because Vaseline could clog up your pores.

Pro tip: SPF is your BFF

Don’t forget that the skin that covers our lips needs sun protection too! While you can use your facial sunscreen on your lips as well, a much more elegant way to protect your lips from the sun is by using a lip balm that has added SPF. That way, you can avoid a possible white cast on your lips, and it won’t mess with the lipstick or lipgloss you put on top of it.

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