Having dull, dark, discolored lips or dark spots on lips is a pretty common problem that robs you of your charm.
More often than not, dark lips are caused by factors like frequent intake of hot, caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee, over exposure to sunlight, reaction to chemicals found in commercial lipsticks, lip plumpers, and other cosmetic products, hyperpigmentation, and the habit of licking or biting the lips.
Besides, issues like iron deficiency, excess iron, low levels of vitamin B-complex, vitamin A, vitamin, C, calcium, magnesium, etc., dehydration, allergies, hormonal discrepancies, and cigarette smoking also contribute in causing this problem.
Unusually dark lips, though, may indicate problems like kidney, gallbladder, or liver disease. In rare cases, black lips or dark brown spots on lips may be a symptom cancer or Peutz–Jeghers syndrome (also called hereditary intestinal polyposis syndrome). Some individuals, on the other hand, have naturally dark lips as their lips contain more melanin.
How to Get Rid of Dark Lips
Here are 8 solutions that can help you lighten your lips color and make them attractive.
- Lemon Juice
- Natural Fruit Juices
- Homemade Lip Scrub
- Milk Cream
- Rose Petals
- Coconut Milk
- Saffron
- Topical Steroids
Regularly apply a mixture of lemon juice and sweet almond oil on your lips and leave it overnight to reduce the dark coloration. In case you do not have almond oil, you may use glycerin in its place. It can cure your problem because lemon has natural bleaching properties, and almond oil and glycerin moisturize the lips. If you cannot leave the mixture on your lips for the whole night then you can scrub it on your lips gently for about 10 minutes and then rinse it off. You may use a combination of lime juice, honey, and glycerin, too.
Take two teaspoons of honey and add a teaspoon of strawberry juice in it. Coat your lips with this mixture regularly for at least half an hour to get rid of dark lips. Apart from this, you can use natural fruit juices like that of beetroot (you may simply rub a piece of beetroot on your lips), pomegranate seeds, red grapes, carrot, cucumber, or coriander to fade the discoloration. Plus, you may apply a combination of two mashed raspberries, two teaspoons of aloe vera gel, and a teaspoon of honey.
Exfoliate your lips using a homemade lip scrub prepared by mixing one teaspoon of granulated sugar, one teaspoon of honey, and half a teaspoon of almond oil. Alternatively, you can simply combine sugar and extra-virgin olive oil. Scrub your lips gently with this recipe almost once a week to restore your natural lip color and shine. At times, people exfoliate their lips by scrubbing with a wet toothbrush having soft bristles to slough off dead skin cells.
Massage your lips regularly with milk cream or yogurt to lighten your lip color naturally and keep your lips moisturized. You can also use a mixture of crushed rose petals and milk cream to get pink lips.
Soak a four to five rose petals in raw milk for a few hours. Next, grind the mixture to get a paste. You can add some honey or glycerin as well. Finally, apply this paste on your lips for about 15 minutes, two times in a day to get rosy lips. Besides, you may a mixture of rose water, rose petals, glycerin, and lemon juice. Another easy solution is to apply a mix of one drop of rose water and a little honey.
Daily applying fresh coconut milk on your lips works as an excellent natural remedy to promote reddish and glowing lips, thereby eliminating the problem of dark lips.
Saffron is considered good for curing dark lips and promoting smooth, glowing, pink lips. So, you can combine a few strands of saffron with fresh cream, plain yogurt, or clarified butter and apply on your lips for 15-20 minutes on a regular basis. You may combine saffron with rose petals and glycerin, too.
Your dermatologist may prescribe mild topical steroids to heal dark lips. Do not use these topical steroids for long, though. You can use them for three to four weeks.
Tips to Prevent Dark Lips
- In order to reduce the chances of developing dark lips, you should avoid taking extremely hot foods and beverages. Plus, do not take tea or coffee in excess.
- Kick the habit of constantly licking and biting your lips so as to avoid dark, swollen, chapped lips.
- Protect the lips from the harmful rays of the sun by choosing lipsticks, lip glosses, or lip balms with sunscreens (SPF 15 or more). Avoid wearing shiny and clear lip glosses as they tend to increase the chances of sun damage by directing the sunlight the lips.
- As dark lips can be caused by nutritional deficiencies, it is essential to take a healthy diet consisting of vital vitamins and minerals.
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