Our lips are one of the most noticeable features on our face, yet they’re often overlooked in our skincare routines. Despite being one of the first areas to show visible signs of aging, many of us do little more than swipe on some Chapstick now and then. As we age, lips can lose volume, definition and develop fine lines around the mouth—often leading to a thinner, uneven appearance. The good news? With the right lip care routine, you can help prevent and minimize these signs of aging.
Note: This post previously published on April 8, 2022, and I’m sharing it again today with updated insights and shopping information.
How to Protect Your Lips From the Visible Signs of Aging
Lips are quite different than other parts of our skin yet like the eye area, they are actually much more delicate. They tend to to dry and flake more rapidly than the skin on the face. Dehydrated lips can also look rather shriveled, develop cracks and even lose their natural color.
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A proper lip care routine helps. What is a proper lip care routine you ask? It includes exfoliation, moisturizing and the occasional use of a lip mask. It also requires SPF.
1. Use SPF During The Day
You’re applying sunscreen to your face and body, but forgetting your lips? Lips need sunscreen to prevent them from drying out and becoming chapped and flaky. With proper SPF protection you can safeguard your lips. Choose lip treatments and balms that already include SPF (at least SPF 15) in their formulations and contain moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, glycerin and shea butter.
Here are some lip balms with SPF I like.
Sun Bum Lip Balm – SPF 30, $4,49
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EltaMDUV Lip Balm BroadSpectrum SPF 36, $19
This lip balm is formulated with a moisturizing blend of bee and candelilla waxes as well as castor seed, olive oils and glycerin.
Eco Lips Classic Plant Pod® Sport Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen Lip Balm, $3.99
This lip balm not only protects but also moisturizes and soothes your sensitive lips. It contains organic aloe vera, Fair Trade Certified™ coconut oil, and cocoa butter. Bonus: Plant Pod® Is The First Plant-Based, 100% Plastic-Free Lip Balm Tube!.
Jack Black Intese Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25, $10
This one has been a favorite of mine for years! It contains vitamin E, shea butter and antioxidants. It also helps your lipstick stay on for hours and hours.
Aquaphor Lip Repair Lip Balm with SPF 30, $4.76
This fragrant and paraben-free SPF lip balm is ideal for those with sensitive skin. It’s formulated with a blend of hydrating ingredients, like petroleum, glycerin, castor seed oil and shea butter. It’s also a steal at under $4.
2. Use a Replenishing Lip Treatment at Night
Nighttime is when your lips replenish themselves, so why not help them along with a healthy dose of ultra moisture? I always keep some on my nightstand and apply to my lips (and use hand cream) right before I turn out the lights.
Here are some lip treatments I love.
Theraderm Anti-Aging Lip Complex, $35
This daily lip treatment contains a peptide designed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles around lips, while atelcollagen increases lip volume without unpleasant stinging. Infused with soothing avocado oil and vitamin E, this complex helps hydrate and rejuvenate for smooth, luscious lips.
Burt’s Bees Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment, $9.99
This intense lip moisturizing treatment with natural emollients, waxes and oils shields lips from dryness while hydrating when you sleep and gets them ready for lip color the next day.
ILIA Lip Wrap Overnight Treatment, $26
I adore this thick, emollient overnight lip treatment.
Sara Happ Lip Slip, $30
This deeply hydrating lip treatment doesn’t just coat the lips, but brings lips back to life using restorative natural oils in a comfortable cashmere-soft, glossy balm. I rub the excess into my cuticles.
Revision Skincare YouthFull Lip Replenisher, $42
This proprietary formula replenishes the appearance of volume and contour. Potent antioxidants defend against environmental stressors. Hyaluronic acid delivers immediate and intense hydration to help lips look fuller and more youthful. I have been known to use this over my lipstick during the day too.
3. Protect Your Lips from Aging: Exfoliate!
Exfoliation is important almost everywhere on your skin – including your lips. It boosts cell turnover and improves the appearance of rough texture. Exfoliation can also greatly help remove flakiness from chapped lips in gentle manner. Just please don’t over-exfoliate or scrub too hard which can lead to bleeding and infections. Exfoliating your lips a couple times a week will do.
Cuerpa Rose De Cristal Lip Polish, $22
This delicious rose scented, gentle exfoliating lip polish is formulated with pure sugar crystals, ultra-hydrating exotic oils, and shea butter for the perfect silky lips.
Grande Cosmetics GrandeBUFF, $24
This 2-in-1 moisturizing lip scrub is packed with Ecobeads: a natural, dissolving exfoliant to buff away dry skin, plus a blend of creamy butters to add a blanket of hydration. It’s infused with mango butter, shea butter, and Argan oil to help nourish and protect.
Sara Happ The Lip Scrub, $30
This is the first lip scrub I ever used so I am faithful. Remove dry, dead skin by gently exfoliating with Sara Happ’s original Lip Scrub before hydration and say hello to ridiculously soft, supple and kissable lips.
Fresh Sugar Lip Polish Exfoliator, $21
This brown sugar-based hydrating scrub gently buffs and smooths dry, flaky lips while maintaining moisture.
Eco Lips Organic Lip Scrub Variety Pack, $17.99
You’ll Vanilla Bean, Mint Truffle, Mint and Brown Sugar, so I’d gift a couple to friends who will be forever grateful. Made with Fair Trade Certified™ sugar to gently buff away flaky, dry skin with organic coconut oil and olive oil to moisturize (like jojoba oil), so you know your lips are replenished all day.
4. Use a Lip Mask a Couple Times a Week
After you exfoliate, follow up with a replenishing lip mask. A lip mask is essentially a lip balm that has an extra dose of hydration to help visibly de-chap and restore the contours of your lips. A mask will inject a mega dose of hydration and moisture so you wake up with much smoother, softer lips.
Grande Cosmetics GrandePOUT Mask, $24
This lip mask is a 2 in 1 solution! Key ingredient complex, Volulip™, plumps lips up with moisture, helping to reduce lip lines and wrinkles. Patented complex, DuraQuench™’s Intelligent Hydration, forms a structural layer on the lips, helping to reinforce the skin’s natural barrier while locking in moisture for up to 72 hours!
Eco Lips Intensive Overnight Lip Mask, 10.99
Eco Lips Intensive Overnight Lip Mask will nourish and moisturize while you sleep so you wake up with soft kissable lips! organic jojoba, coconut and argan oils nourish while gotu kola extract supports collagen and helps to rejuvenate dry, cracked and chapped lips. Blackberry fruit extract, high in vitamins A, C, and K, rounds out the formula to renew the skin barrier.
bareMinerals Ageless Phyto-Retinol Lip Mask, $32
This clean, vegan lip mask employs a plant-based retinol alternative that gently renews lip appearance, while hydrating and significantly improving the look of fine lines for soft, smooth lips.
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Lip Mask, $7
This super hydrating leave-on lip mask is infused with hyaluronic acid, squalane, and castor seed oil to treat and soothe dryness. Re-apply it often or wear overnight. And you can’t beat the price, especially since you’ll use it so much!
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, $24
This Allure Beauty Award Winner is a leave-on lip mask that delivers intense moisture and antioxidants while you sleep with its Moisture Wrap™ technology and Berry Mix Complex™ formula.
Do you protect your lips from aging? What are your favorite lip care products?
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Thanks again… I typically make a purchase after reading your pieces, but I feel like it’s a well-informed purchase!
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How do the products discussed relate to “volume loss, loss of line definitions and lines around the mouth”? Or asymmetry?
Great question! While I don’t think any of these products would claim to correct asymmetry, and topical treatments won’t replace the results of fillers or surgery, they can still play a valuable role. These products are designed to hydrate, smooth, and improve the appearance of fine lines and texture around the lips, which can help enhance definition and maintain overall lip health. Volume loss, in particular, is most effectively addressed with filler, but consistent lip care can support a more youthful look and slow the visible signs of aging.