1. "Those lips that Love's own hand did make"
Ah, Shakespeare. He is referring to lips that the goddess of Love crafted with her own hands. Lips have always been an important feature in beauty, across time and cultures. Smooth, full lips are not only attractive, but also suggest youth and sensuality. Because we look at lips when people talk, they are a prominent feature that benefit from some TLC.
2. Lip Plumpers
Young women don't have wrinkles, but they sometimes like to have fuller lips. Lip plumpers are an ingenious cosmetic trick to give you fuller lips. The skin on your lips is thin, and the lips have an impressive blood supply. Lip plumpers are hot pepper or other irritants that penetrate this thin skin and cause dilation of the blood vessels. When the blood vessels dilate, the lips fill with blood like balloons, giving you an instantly fuller look. They have the added bonus of giving your kissing partner a tingling sensation that he will certainly feel long after you have stopped kissing him.
3. Exfoliate
A second cosmetic concern regarding the lips is that they can be flaky or scaly. This can happen from excess dryness (chapped lips), as well as from sun damage. Use a fine scrub or mild exfoliator to buff your lips to a smooth pink. This should be done in moderation, though, as it is easy to over-exfoliate lips and develop irritation that will be neither attractive nor good for kissing.
4. Moisturize and Protect
Once you have exfoliated your lips, it is important to moisturize them. Because the skin is thin and because your lips are subject to constant wetting, they dry out easily. Use a lip balm regularly throughout the day to keep moisture locked in and prevent dryness. Always choose a lip balm that has a sunscreen. The thin skin on the lips accumulates sun damage over the years, which can lead to hard, scaly spots (called actinic chelitis) and even skin cancer, such as squamous cell carcinoma. Protection is essential.
5. Stop Smoking
This seems like a no-brainer, but it is important to mention here. Smoking is bad for lips for two reasons. First, smoking causes wrinkles, and lips are prone to developing fine vertical lines that give them a crepe-paper look and make it nearly impossible to get a nice, smooth line of lipstick. The actual act of smoking worsens these wrinkles, as the vertical lines form from puckering your lips on the cigarette. Some people take this as far as to never drink out of straws; I don't think that is necessary, though (unless you are working on a super-thick shake from In-and-Out Burger in California, which, I say from experience, is nearly impossible to suck up through a straw).
6. Fillers and Botox
Finally, cosmetic procedures can be done to improve problem lips. Specially, fine line fillers can be used to smooth the vertical wrinkles around the lips, as well as to fill the lips themselves for a poutier look, if desired. Botox in small doses can also be used to relax the fine lines around the lips, and can smooth out wrinkles for months at a time. Although many MediSpas advertise for lip fillers, not everyone does this well. Lips that have been treated with Botox or fillers should be barely noticeable and natural-looking, not like two hot dogs without buns. Ask to see photos of before and after treatments, to be sure that your physician can provide results that look like something "Love's own hands" created.
