Overlooking details is a surefire way of missing your targets, and this applies in particular when it comes to enhancing our natural beauty. Being born with beautiful lips is a certain head-start, and it always helps to emphasize them with lipstick, but what to do when they turn more or less black for no apparent reason.
This is hardly a hypothetical scenario as dark lips are known to cause a large amount of frustration among women who seem to be powerless against the condition. Some go a step further and even suspect that it is the symptom of a more severe underlying cause and contemplate a visit to the doctor.
Causes of Dark Lips
The good news is that seeing a physician is not necessary as the causes are rather mundane, and most of them can be addressed with ease. Lip products can be a two-edged blade because, on one hand, they emphasize beautiful lips and protect them, on the other they cause darkening. The harmful chemicals are primarily responsible, and they can also be found in other skin care products, with some containing allergens as well.
Hyperpigmentation is another cause for dark lips, and excessive sun exposure, pollution, diet, aging, hormonal changes, pH imbalances, allergies, illness or even stress won’t help your cause just as dehydration will only make matters worse. Last but not least, a combination of smoking and heavy coffee drinking will inevitably turn your lips unnecessary dark.
Step 1: Prepping
Exfoliation removes dead skin cells, thereby allowing moisture and lip lightening treatments to penetrate quickly and deeply. Scrub your lips 2-3 times a week and follow up with a dab of olive oil or lip balm if you are not applying a lip mask immediately afterwards. Here’s the 3 options you can use for exfoliating your lips, choose one:
- Slather lips with Vaseline, then gently scrub them with a soft-bristle toothbrush using gentle, circular movements. Rinse with warm water.
- Mix together 1/2 teaspoon each of honey and baking soda. Apply the mixture on your lips; leave it on for a few minutes then gently rub to remove dead skin.
- Mix a small amount of raw sugar with a few drops of water. Apply the mixture onto lips and rub it in circular motions. Wash off with lukewarm water.
Step 2: Treatment
The skin of our lip has only 3-5 cellular layers, making it extremely delicate. Plus, lips don’t have any oil producing glands and therefore tend to dry out faster. So, they need constant nurturing.
Below are the following options you can try to get rid of dark lips naturally.
① Lemon Juice:
Lemon juice lightens skin and busts dead cells. Use its natural potency to lighten dark lips by making a “lip mask”: mix equal parts of honey, yogurt, and lemon juice into a thick paste. Apply the paste to your lips and leave on for at least an hour. Then scrub it off using warm water and circular movements of your fingertips.
② Milk:
The lactic acid in milk is one of the most potent (yet gentle) skin lightening ingredients. Apply a few drops on a cotton pad and place on your lips; leave overnight and wash off in the morning.
③ Rose Petals
Crush 4-5 clean rose petals and mix them with enough honey to make a paste. Apply this paste on your lips twice a day; there is no need to rinse it off. The combination of skin softening honey and color restoring rose petals makes for a superb treatment to lighten dark lips.
④ Beetroot Juice
Slice a red beetroot and store the pieces in your refrigerator. Simply massage your lips with a juicy piece in your leisure time. Sit with a beetroot slice in your hand whenever you watch television.This will do the trick! It will remove tan from the lips naturally and colors up your lip too. Pink lips are all yours in few weeks.
⑤ Saffron
Saffron is considered good for curing dark lips and promoting smooth, glowing, pink lips. So, you can combine a few strands of saffron with fresh cream, plain yogurt, or clarified butter and apply on your lips for 15-20 minutes on a regular basis. You may combine saffron with rose petals and glycerin, too.
⑥ Cucumber
When darker pigmentation develops on the upper lip, use cucumber juice as a soothing treatment that helps lighten the skin. For the best results, try combining the cucumber juice and a small amount of lime juice. Directly apply the liquid to dark areas of the upper lip, and leave on for 15 minutes before gently rinsing off with water.
⑦ Turmeric
Mix together enough turmeric and milk to create a paste. Next, lightly dampen lips and exfoliate gently with tooth brush. Add turmeric paste and let sit for 5-10 minutes, then scrub off gently again. Follow with your favorite lip balm and you’re done! Repeat daily for a couple weeks or until desired pigment.
⑧ Cilantro
Add one cup of cilantro to a blender with a small amount of water. Blend the contents and then strain the juice using a fine sieve. Before going to bed, dip a cotton ball in the juice and spread across your upper lip. Store the remaining juice in a glass container and continue the treatment for about 15 days.
Step 3: Protection
In order to keep our lips healthy, plump and rosy, we need to give extra protection considering our lips are void of natural protection from the harsh elements.
- Keep your lips soft, supple and hydrated by moisturizing them with balms containing conditioners like aloe vera, vitamins A and E, and cocoa butter.
- For the daytime, choose balms with an SPF of at least 15, since lips have no natural sun protection and are hence extremely prone to hyper-pigmentation.
- Remember, smoking not only dries the lips, but it also reduces oxygen supply to the lip skin which provides the essential nutrient to blood cells.
Ditto for excessive coffee, tea, and alcohol, which cause dehydration. Keep your lips hydrated by drinking sufficient amounts of water. - Foods rich in Vitamin E help keep lips soft and supple. So always make fruits and vegetables your first choice.
Saved this page as PDF, extremely helpful article. I will surely try them all.
In tumeric n milk remedy the photo has powdered milk. Shud we use fresh milk or powdered will do .plz answer.thx u
@Jasmeet,
You can actually add some milk powder or fresh milk in the mixture instead of water but if you’ll use the powder milk, water is needed to make a paste..
Hi.. Thanx for such amazing tips. Can you please help me out with dark ‘upper’ lips!?!
Nice tips thank u for all these tips
my libs naturaly dark can i do this tip
Thx,But i need to know that how can we get chubby cheeks naturally. Kindly let me know.
how to remove tan frm upperlip
my libs naturaly dark can i do this tip?
Nice tips
Thnx