The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
Kiss goodbye to dry winter lips
Natural or tinted, old favourite or new treat… there’s a balm for you
Lip balm, just like lettuce, has come a long way since I was a lass. My mum only ever bought the round, wet type (lettuce) and either Lypsyl or Vaseline (lip balm). Although I seem to recall in my late teens an explosion of flavoured balms in strawberry, cherry, peppermint and bubble gum. They were considered ‘kissing potions’ and had a rollerball. Girls would go to the ladies’ en masse and exit with patent pouts.
A few years ago, Mad Beauty collaborated with Kellogg’s to create cereal-inspired lip balms including Frosted Flakes complete with a vintage Tony the Tiger illustration. Apparently, they were grrreat (couldn’t help myself there). Indeed, frosted flakes is something I know all about because that’s what my lips look like in winter if I don’t use moisturising treatments.
The reason lips become dry and chapped so easily is partly because the skin is thin, with only three to five cellular layers, compared to the 16 or so on the rest of the face. They also lack sweat and sebaceous glands. These factors make them vulnerable to transepidermal water loss (evaporation, basically), especially in cold, hot or dry conditions. With a paucity of melanocytes to produce the protective pigment melanin, their vulnerability to UV damage increases, which is why whatever the season, you should use a high SPF in the sun.
To offset dryness, for starters, don’t keep licking your lips – like many things in life, this shortcut to relief makes matters worse in the long run. And if you get to that annoying ‘bitty’ stage, resist the temptation to bite the skin off. Instead, soak lips when you wash at night and smooth out rough spots with either a gentle exfoliating scrub or a flannel. Then slather on a lip treatment.
In these, I am something of a connoisseur and have been using Aurelia London’s Probiotic Lip Balm (£18, aurelia london.com) on and off for months – the little pot goes a long, long way. The formula not only hydrates but encourages repair. It also strikes a good balance between density and softness (if a balm is too hard and waxy, it won’t spread well; too soft and it won’t stay put).
Dibbing clean fingers in pots is fine morning and night, but for on-the-go moisture, I prefer a more hygienic stick or squeezy applicator. Again, I avoid those that are too solid because they drag the skin. Lanolips The Original Lanostick (£13, lanolips.co.uk) is glidey-slidey and contains waxes, butters and high-quality lanolin. Its twist-up bullet has a slanted tip so you don’t end up with a weirdly shaped minisculpture of the kind I fashion when I start with flat versions. When it comes to tubes, Biossance Squalane + Rose Vegan Lip Balm (£12, cultbeauty.co.uk) is super-moisturising and lip-lusciously luxe.
A bit of a tint doesn’t go amiss for daytime – while lips feel the love, your face gets a cheery pop of colour. Nivea Cherry Shine Caring Lip Balm (£2.45, boots.com) is really pretty. For a full-on glam lippie/balm, Charlotte Tilbury’s Hyaluronic Happikiss (£27, charlottetilbury. com) contains hyaluronic acid (obvs) and c-peptide for hydrating and conditioning. The finish is totally mwahmwah, darling.
I still like Lypsyl. A bargain for everyday use, it’s enriched with aloe vera, avocado oil and vitamin E, complete with SPF15 (£1.50, lloyds pharmacy.com). It has a malleable texture and does the job just as it did all those years ago. Round lettuce, on the other hand, I can do without.