The biggest victims of dry winter are your lips. That is for two reasons- the skin on your lips happens to be far more sensitive than the rest and secondly, unlike your skin, your lips do not have sweat glands, which opens it up for drying and discoloration more quickly, if you do not take enough care of the hydration of your lips. Factors like poor lifestyle habits like smoking, unhealthy diet and stress, excessive caffeine intake, keeping make up overnight can all reflect in chapped lips and discoloration. Here are a few Ayurveda prescribed home remedies to save your pink soft and supple lips from turning brown and dry this winter, because you are not a tree!
1. The richness of honey and lemon
Whether you apply a teaspoonful of honey on the lips every morning and before going to bed or you mix it up with lemon, honey is an excellent anti-septic and humectant that can trap the moisture in and save your lips from drying out.
All you need to do is mix up about one teaspoon of honey with half teaspoon of lemon juice, make it into a lip mask. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Wash it off with lukewarm water and apply a moisturizer. You can try the perfectly natural Shankara’s Rich Repair Moisturizer). Here’s why you need a moisturizer like this one
Chock full of antioxidants, it deeply nourishes and moisturizes dry, flaky skin.
- Supports natural renewal of skin
- Deeply moisturizing and warming
- Rich in nutrients and anti-oxidants
- Restores and maintains balance in skin
- Natural sun protection
2. The legend of aloe vera
You have heard it right from your grandma. Aloe vera gel made from the thick viscous liquid that oozes out of an aloe vera leaf when cut across its width, is a god sent remedy for dry chapped lips during winter. You can mix it up with about a spoonful of coconut oil and Vitamin E (lack of which can cause lip dryness and dullness too) and apply it to your lips every morning and in the night before hitting the sac. There are few ingredients that have the moisturizing properties like aloe. You can also leave it on your lips overnight for moisture retention.
3. The virtues of milk and milk cream
In Ayurveda, cow’s milk is called the elixir par excellence and is said to have the following properties:
- Sweetness (Swadu)
- Cold (Sheeta)
- Soft (Mrudu)
- Unctuous or oily (Snigdha)
- Thick and viscous (Bahala)
- Smooth (Shlakshna)
- Slimy and sticky (Picchila)
- Heavy (Guru)
- Slow and gentle (Manda)
- Calming and clear (Prasanna)
- Promotes vitality (promotes Ojas)
Cream of the milk when applied to dry skin, helps smoothen the skin. But this is exclusively for those with dry skin.
- A) Boil milk with some salt in it. Channel the steam from the boiling milk to your skin. This serves dual function of opening up the pores of the skin, so your skin which has been buried under layers of make-up all day, can breathe, and also the steam gives vitality and a softness to the skin. You can also use the boiled milk, after it cools down, to cleanse your face with it. It nourishes and smoothes your skin.
- B) Mix milk cream with ground pomegranate seeds and apply the mxi to your lips. It will restore the vitality and pinkness of your lips.
- C) You can put a few rose petals in a bowl of milk and leave it overnight. Remove the petals, mix honey with milk and if possible some glycerine and apply it to your lips twice a day.You can also try turmeric and milk for softer and healthier lips.
4. Coconut oil and sugar
Scrub mix made from coconut oil and brown sugar can make an excellent yet gentle exfoliating agent for the lips. After the exfoliation do not forget to apply a moisturizing agent.
5. Clarified butter or ghee
A teaspoon of clarified butter on your lips can give them all the nutrition and moisture to get through this harsh winter. Apply it to dry and chapped lips and leave it overnight. You will see the difference in the softness of your lips next morning. Clarified butter is also good for fighting lip discoloration and whiteness and brings back the pinkness of your lips. Read more about the gifts of clarified butter for your health here.
