Towards happier lips

People develop dark lips overtime due to various environmental, medical and lifestyle factors. This is caused due to an excess of melanin and is also know as pigmentation. Exposure to sun, excess tea, coffee intake, smoking, lip sucking, allergic reaction, dehydration are common causes of lip darkening. It is very important to understand the exact reason for lip darkening; if it is because of hereditary reasons, its very difficult to treat this condition.

A few simple ways of lightening the lips include over the counter creams, in clinic treatments, lifestyle changes etc. For ensuring healthy lips, it is advisable to use a lip balm with a spf of more than 15. Lip creams containing kojic acid can be used as it helps to prevent the production of melanin which gives the dark colour to the lips. Lifestyle changes are important including reducing excess of tea, coffee, smoking, etc. It is advisable to remove the lipstick before going to sleep. Few home remedies like application of aloe vera, orange slice also can help in lightening the lips.

For a signature lip lightening treatment that softens, exfoliates and lightens the lips use this  comprehensive five step treatment:

1. Start with cleansing the lips with a vitamin A and vitamin C cleansing milk.

2. This is followed by hydradermabrasion that uses a gentle vacuum to exfoliate the skin on the lips. Water is passed through this probe which penetrates into the lips while hydrating them.

3. A Q-switched laser is passed over the lips which targets the pigment cells. This helps to reduce the pigmentation while lightening the lips.

4. A gentle peel containing kojic and lactic acid is applied on the lips. Lactic acid helps to exfoliate and rejuvenate the skin.

5. A brightening mask containing seaweed and marine plants is applied to further brighten the lips.

The pricing per session starts from Rs 3,000 onwards.

– Dr Batul Patel is a dermatologist.