Are your lips falling victim to the cold weather? There’s still time to save them from the depths of parchedness. Start paying your lips some service now and keep them looking luscious for the upcoming winter season.

I often wonder why it is that we tend to disregard certain areas of our skin, thinking they need less attention than others. The fact is, our lips, along with our hands and neck are one of the first areas of the skin to show the signs of aging. Most of us take our lips for granted, assuming they need nothing more than some lip gloss to keep them shiny and beautiful. However, our lips are naturally dry with extremely thin skin. Their lack of sebaceous glands is what causes us to have the constant urge to lick them, hoping to quench their thirst. Unfortunately, swiping saliva onto our lips does exactly the opposite of providing moisture. Saliva quickly evaporating as well as the damage caused by digestive enzymes present in our saliva greatly contributes to the dehydration our lips. So how do you kick the habit of licking your lips and replace it with something more effective than lip gloss to keep your pucker looking lush and smooth? It’s really quite simple. If you already tend to your skin every morning and night, then you’ll just have to add a couple of additional steps to your skin care routine.

• Like the rest of the skin on your face, your lips need to be exfoliated. You should incorporate this step into your skin care regimen at least once a week. The best time to exfoliate your lips is at night before bed. A gentle lip treatment such as the EI Solutions Lip Refine works fabulously. The EI Solutions Lip Refine uses time released AHA to smooth fine lines and improve the texture of the skin on your lips. Prior to applying a lip refining treatment, you can condition your lips by gently massaging them with a wet washcloth. This very quick and easy exfoliation process will help to keep your lips healthy, full and kissably soft.
• Heal and hydrate the skin of your lips with a good lip balm treatment. The choices of lip balm treatments are endless. My all-time favorite is the EI Solutions Lip Primer, which works wonders when teamed up with the EI Solutions Lip Refine. The EI Solutions Lip Primer is oil-free and hydrates and nourishes your lips with aloe vera and various other botanical supplements.
• Protect your lips from the sun. Due to their constant exposure to the sun, your lips are actually more susceptible to skin cancer than other areas of your face and body. A SPF must be used on your lips everyday! If your lipstick doesn’t already have a SPF value, be sure to include a lip balm with sun protection such as the EI Solutions Hint of Color Therapeutic Lip Balm SPF 18. This lip balm can be used alone for a splash of color or under your own lip stick or gloss for instant protection against UV-light rays.

Take a rain check on dry and chapped lips by protecting and moisturizing them now. Not only will you benefit by having softer and smoother lips, but you will also be fighting the effects of aging by preventing fine lines and wrinkles. While others suffer from painfully cracked lips, you’ll stand out in the crowd as your healthy lips shine in all their plump glory!