Lips are a prominent feature on the face and are often overlooked in skin care. The skin on the lips is very thin and does not contain any sebaceous glands, which are oil glands. Environmental, emotional and other stresses can cause dryness and even damage the delicate skin of the lips. Blackened and chapped lips can be signs of more serious diseases.
Sunburn
Sun exposure can cause the lips to dry, crack and darken. Lip skin does not contain sweat or sebaceous glands to cool and moisturize the skin. The drying effects of the sun can burn the lip skin especially in fair skinned people. Tanning booths can also dry and burn the sensitive skin of the lips. The American Academy of Dermatology, AAD, recommends wearing a lip balm that contains a sunblock with a SPF of 15 or higher to protect against sunburn.
Windburn
Extreme cold and wind can also cause dryness and chapped lips. Blustery winter days dry the surface layer of skin causing cracking or chapping of the lips. The best winter protection for the lips is moisturizing lip balm that also contains sunscreen, notes the AAD. Because the skin of the lips is so thin, blood vessels are located near the surface. In extreme cold, the blood vessels in the lips can constrict thereby reducing oxygen to the skin surface and causing the lips to turn blue. Dark blue lips can almost look black.
Contact Dermatitis
Licking the lips soothes the skin only temporarily. Continual lip licking results in more dryness, redness, thickening and may even cause scaling around the lips. This condition is referred to as lip licker's dermatitis, according to "Pediatrics for Parents." The constant licking causes contact dermatitis from the saliva. Stop lip licking, use a medicated balm until the dermatitis goes away, and refrain from excessive licking of the lips in the future.
Smoking
Smoking can cause discoloration of the lips. The tar and nicotine in cigarettes stains the lips as well as the fingers and teeth. Long-term smokers are easy to spot because of the yellow stains on their skin. These stains do fade when you quit smoking.
Cancer
One of the symptoms of lip cancer is skin discoloration. The skin on lips can appear pale, dark or discolored. Other symptoms include deep cracks in the skin that have hard edges, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a hereditary disease that can cause freckles and irregularly shaped brownish spots, also called melanotic macules, around the lips. These can be small, brownish-black spots and can last for many years, according to the Merck Manuals.
Melasma
Another skin condition that causes dark skin discoloration on the lips is called melasma. It is a common skin disorder than affects sun-exposed areas of the face. It is a common condition in pregnant women and is associated with the female hormones progesterone and estrogen, notes the National Institutes of Health.
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