Anti-Aging and Lip Care

No matter what your age, you are beautiful when you smile. You feel vibrant and want your lips to look youthful and healthy. Unfortunately, the areas most often exposed to the elements, the face and hands, are also the areas most likely to show the first signs of aging. Lips naturally change over time due to sun exposure, genetics, and smoking. That’s why it’s so important to use SPF 15 or higher level daily on your lips. To learn more about SPF, visit our article on sun protection.

“Lips have an extremely thin outer protective layer,” explains Dr. Charles Zugerman, associate professor of clinicaldermatology at Northwestern University Medical School. “As the body ages, the already thin layer becomes progressively thinner.”

“To compound matters, we lose the oil and water barrier that keeps lips hydrated,” adds Dr. Zugerman. “Without proper attention, lips can age faster than other areas of skin.” Lips require more moisturizing and conditioning as they get older, therefore it is particularly important to protect aging lips. “Many people are surprised to find out that some cumulative damage to the lips and the skin resulting from years of overexposure to the sun, cold air and harsh weather is actually reversible,” says Dr. Zugerman. He suggests reintroducing moisture to lips and then protecting them carefully to minimize, and in some cases even reverse, the effects of aging on the lips.

Here’s how you can expect lips to change over time:

  • Less collagen is manufactured, so lip volume decreases
  • Skin elastin quality deteriorates, so skin breaks down easy and wrinkles can develop
  • Upper lip elongates, flattening the cupid’s bow
  • Lost structure at the borders
  • Drier, thinner skin, and rougher texture

Doctors can use hyaluronic acid as a filler to plump lips and reduce wrinkles, but that can be expensive. Lip aging is natural and you don’t need surgery, lasers, or injections to make a visible difference. Dry and flaky makes your lips look thinner, so you can rejuvenate your look simply by applying a moisturizing lip balm.

While no one can erase all the effects of time, advances in technology and our understanding of the aging process have led to options to combat the effects of time. Blistex specializes in lip skin science, so Blistex brings you anti-aging science to help lip appearance.

Look for the following ingredients:

  • Hyaluronic filling spheres to help give lips a fuller appearance
  • Anti-oxidant complex to promote lasting lip health