It’s said that in summer, your complexion becomes more beautiful. But there’s a patch of skin that suffers just as much in summer as in winter. The lips! Heat, air conditioning, open sun, wind, spices, sweat, chlorine, ice-cream – these are just some of the different irritants our lips are exposed to every year on holiday. That’s why you should take care of your lips when travelling.
So how can we help them? What should be your lip care routine when travelling?
If you think that lips crack the most in winter, you’re wrong. Think of all the times in the summer when you had to chew and lick your dry lips or ask your friends if they had any lip balm or at least lipstick handy, because “for some reason” those lips suddenly got dry.
Spring and summer bring an avalanche of challenges for lips. They are exposed to changeable weather, frequent cold and dry winds, and when the sun heats up, there are even more dangers: the body loses a lot of water, the air gets hot, the wind is dry, and the air conditioners that keep us cool in the car and at work give an extra blow to the delicate skin of the lips. Finally, barbecue spices and cold drinks scratch your lips, and if you also like to swim in chlorine pools, you’d better run and find a lip balm right away.
Lip care when travelling – facts about lip skin:
- Lip skin is much thinner than normal skin. It is much more vulnerable to damage than the skin on the face or hands, but it also has a tendency to regenerate faster.
- The skin on the lips, especially the corners, is very sensitive to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The condition of the lips deteriorates when the body is deficient in fat-soluble vitamins A and E, water-soluble B vitamins (especially B2, B6, B9 and B12), as well as zinc, calcium and magnesium. Lip damage and corner cracking can be a sign that the body is deficient in iron and unsaturated fats, which are essential for cell structure and renewal.
- Dry lips are usually the first sign of dehydration, indicating that the body is lacking simple water and is suffering the consequences of a permanent “drought”.
- The skin of the lips is almost devoid of melanin, which provides protection against the sun’s harmful rays. So make sure you choose a lip balm with at least SPF15 in summer. Such a product will also be a good choice to protect your lips from dryness.
Lip care when travelling and beyond – what’s bad for your lips?
Licking.
Licking your lips damages the already weak protective layer of your lips, making them even more vulnerable.
Dry air.
Dry indoor air is also very damaging, so it’s always a good idea to try to keep the indoor humidity at an optimum level.
Lip biting.
This bad habit is simply damaging to the lips. In some cases, the lips are bitten so hard and so often that a variety of difficult-to-treat infections develop on the lips and on the lining of the mouth. This habit should simply be avoided, but it is rarely linked to a person’s emotional state. If it persists, it is worth seeking professional help.
Wrong face cream.
In winter, face creams should be chosen that contain little or no water. Naturally, when a cream is applied to the face, it also gets on the lips, so if you use a moisturising and water-rich cream instead of a nourishing and protective face cream in winter, there is a very good chance that not only the skin on your face will be damaged by the cold, but also that on your lips.
Toothpaste.
Toothpaste can also be drying and irritating to the skin on the lips, so if you feel that toothpaste is “burning” your skin when brushing your teeth, then you should choose a milder version. Fluoride compounds or sodium lauryl sulphate can sometimes be harmful, so it is important to pay attention to the ingredients when choosing a toothpaste. After using any toothpaste, you should thoroughly remove any toothpaste residue from your skin.
Caffeine.
Although indirectly, caffeine affects the overall condition of the skin and lips by drawing fluids out of the body, leaving dry skin. It is therefore important to drink plenty of water when consuming caffeine.
Lipstick.
Dark coloured lipsticks can affect the natural colour of your lips and can make them darker over time.
Lip care when travelling
Lip care while travelling – 5 tips for healthy lips:
- Consume plenty of fluids. For soft and moisturised lips, don’t forget to drink water periodically throughout the day. Chapped and cracked lips can also be caused by insufficient fluid intake and dehydration. Dehydration is often a consequence of diseases. It can also be caused by the immoderate consumption of caffeinated beverages, as caffeine removes fluid from the body.
- Good nutrition. It is recommended to take care of your lips from the inside first and to eat a full diet – it is important to eat lean, high-quality meat, oily fish and nutritious fruit and vegetables. Make sure your diet includes foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins E and C, which are very good for the skin.
- Balm. Lip balm should be one of the main highlights of your summer make-up bag. It protects your lips from the sun’s rays and moisturises them to prevent dehydration and chapping.
- Exfoliate. Lip exfoliation is, strangely enough, also necessary, because the lips, like other parts of the body, need to be exfoliated of dead skin cells. You can simply use a soft toothbrush and use it to gently massage your lips in the morning. You can also use gentle peels of your own making, e.g. by mixing honey and brown sugar. After the scrub, don’t forget to apply a moisturising lip balm.
- Recovery and nourishment. If your lips are deeply chapped and dry, just applying a balm won’t be enough. To restore your lips to a healthy state faster, buy or prepare at home a restorative lip mask.
Lip care when travelling – what to use?
The right ingredients
The main thing to consider when choosing the right product is the ingredients. For example, quality balms should contain beeswax, shea butter, vitamin E, almond, jojoba or coconut oils.
People with sensitive skin are advised to use lip balms containing camphor or menthol. Those who are allergic to conventional lip balms should choose those containing rosehip seed oil.
Even with the huge choice of quality products, it’s not easy to choose the right one for you and you’ll probably try many others before you find the one. In general, experts say that when choosing between pencil balms and liquid lip balms, the latter are better because they create a thicker protective layer and the lips retain moisture under the blanket longer.
Which is better – lip balm or lip serum?
Although all our handbags and children’s backpacks are full of lip balms, due to the poor condition of our dry lips, we decided to try a new option after the winter – BLISTEX CONDITIONING lip serum.
We’ve tried it and we can assure you that BLISTEX really does, as the manufacturer claims, help to restore and maintain moisturised and great-looking lips.
Blistex lip serum
This lip serum has an excellent combination of oils and vitamin E. When used daily, the ingredients in this lip serum can help keep lips soft, smooth and healthy.
Our older children also liked this product, especially because of one interesting and innovative thing: BLISTEX lip serum comes with a convenient dosing pump, like those found in face creams or serums. Just one drop is really all it takes to make the lips softer and visibly nourished. I don’t know why, but that dispenser in the lip balm contributes to our children wanting to brush their lips more often!
This BLISTEX serum is completely versatile – it is suitable for both daily care and in critical lip conditions. However, don’t wait for the worst – use the serum daily, preferably before leaving the house, going to the beach, nature, hiking, just keep it handy.
Our tip: use this serum every night before going to bed – it works great as a restorative night time lip mask! When you wake up in the morning, you’ll notice the difference – instead of pale, dry lips from the night before, you’ll see nourished, beautiful lips ready for even the boldest lipstick!
Lip care on the go and Blistex
We tried and loved the Blistex brand when we were getting ready for winter in Thailand. Before the trip, we had to prepare cosmetics for a longer stay. When I travel, I have the most problems with my lips and hair care. Because indoor air-conditioning and dry air, hot air outside, high humidity, salt water, it makes my lips suffer – dry and chapped. That’s why I bought “Blistex ProtectPlus” before my trip, which was recommended by a friend. And it lived up to all my expectations, with the biggest plus being the UV protection.
The glycerol in “Blistex ProtectPlus” traps moisture when the weather is dry. The rhizomatous cordgrass forms a windbreak. Wheat germ oil moisturises lips damaged by heat. Calendula oil soothes chapped lips from the cold (in air-conditioned rooms, on planes and especially in airports). OSPF 30 provides protection against the sun’s UVB rays. Especially when travelling, we love products that have multiple functions and don’t require us to carry around a lot of different products.
You can find the full Blistex range on the Blistex Facebook account.
Lip care when travelling
3 simple homemade masks to help extremely dry lips:
- Yoghurt, sugar and kiwi mask. Mix natural yoghurt with brown cane sugar and leave for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar. Then add a teaspoon of soft kiwifruit to the mixture, stir and apply to the lips for 20 minutes. After that, you can just lick it off!
- Honey mask. Dissolve 1 tbsp of honey in a water bath. When the honey has melted, apply generously to the lips and leave on for 20-30 min. Then rinse with warm water. It is recommended to apply this mask 3-4 times a day for a better effect.
- Cottage cheese and cream mask. Mix 33% fat cream and cream curd at room temperature in a 1:1 ratio. Spread the mixture over chapped lips and apply a moist gauze compress on top. Leave on for 40 minutes, then rinse your lips with warm water and apply a lip pencil.
IMPORTANT! If your lips are particularly damaged and do not heal for a long time, it is a good idea to see a doctor as this may be a sign of infections or other health problems.
