To lighten your lips, know first what actually causes your lips dark. If you can identify the reasons for discoloring your lips, you can easily pink up your lips.
Every woman wants pinkish, reddish and beautiful lips because a couple of pretty lips enhances the overall beauty of the face. When your face looks beautiful and smart, you feel also better to expose yourself.
But, unfortunately, many people acquire dark lips in different ways. And, today, I will show you what things can be accountable for causing dark lips in both women and men.
The reasons for dark lips and tips to brighten them
1. Dry and Chapped Lips
Lips look better and beautiful when the natural moisturizer for the lips is in the right amount. The skin of the lips is always open, it loses its moisturizer easily for a slight rough thing.
Especially, the smokers and the mouth breathers experience dry lips more. The lip lickers also face dry lips. In cold and windy weather, you may also face dry lips. Sometimes, dryness may cause cracked lips. Dry lips finally created dead skin cells, darkness and dark spots on lips. To keep your lips always moisturized, you can use “Burt’s Bees 100% Natural Lip Balm“. It is a good quality lip moisturizer.
2. Your Lifestyle and Habits
Your lifestyles may also leave dark spots on your lips. Smoking, alcohol and regular usage of narcotic may bring discoloration on the lips. The darkness on the lips and in the inner lining of the mouth is called a smoker’s melanosis. Illicit alcohol and homebrews containing acidic substances may cause black spots on lips. Lack of sufficient water causes dehydration and it first attacks the sensitive skin, like lips, face, under-eye, etc.
You Can Also Read “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business“. It is a New York Times Bestseller Listed Book. This book describes scientifically how to be accustomed to good habits.
3. Old or Expired Lip Products
Sometimes, lip care products may cause dark lips. The inferior, low and inexpensive products are formulated with chemical materials that are harmful to the delicate skin – lips. The over and longtime use of lipsticks also leaves dark hues on the lips.
Unfortunately, your date expired products may harm your beautiful lips. If you do not remove your lipstick from the lips at night before going to bed, this also frequently causes black lips.
4. Melasma/Hyperpigmentation
Melasma means hyperpigmentation on the skin caused by the excessive deposition of melanin. Generally, melanin is occurred by excessive sun exposure. It may occur on any open skin of your body, like face, lip, hand, neck, etc. As the face is the most open part, it is affected mostly by melanin.
Usually, melasma causes darkness on the upper lip. The darkness caused by hyper-pigmentation forms as symmetrical patches. But, you don’t face any itching or rashes. Using SPF lip balm can protect your lips from sunspots and sunburns.
5. Sun Exposure
You may also get discoloration on your lips from chronic sun exposure. The persistent sun exposure burns the skin both on your lips and face. But, dark lips are more focused. The UV rays also trigger the melanin deposition in the various parts of the body. But, the face and lips are mostly burned.
Don’t move in the sun rays without sunscreen on your lips, hands, face and other exposed areas if you want to remain them bright. Use SPF lip balm when you go out.
6. Anemia
Anemia is also liable for dark and black spots on the lips. Anemia occurs basically in women during their pregnancy. Often anemia means the deficiency of iron. But, any type of anemia can cause black lips.
Anemia occurs when the oxygen-carrying compound (hemoglobin) is less than the normal amount. And, hemoglobin is responsible for the red color of the blood. So, the deficiency of hemoglobin causes the discoloration of the lips. Sometimes, this discoloration looks blue and in cold weather, it becomes acuter.
7. Unhealthy Eating
Eating disorders mean the deficiency of nutritional foods. The eating disorders cause various problems, like bulimia, and anorexia nervosa. For example- bulimia means repetitive vomiting and the corrosive action of stomach acid. This problem may cause long-term damage to the lips.
So, it is not abnormal to get the discoloration on your lips. Besides, many do not eat sufficient amounts of vegetables, fruits, and water. These 3 things help to retain the lips and skin smooth, clean and bright.
You Can Also Read “It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways“. This book helps you to form good eating habits in just 30 days and helps to reduce lots of disease symptoms.
8. Lentigo
Lentigo affects the skin, including lips and face. Lentigo is related to a flat brown to black spots. Lentigo may be occurred usually by chronic sun exposure and systemic diseases, like Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.
9. Some Medications
Different types of medications cause hyperpigmentation and discoloration of the skin, including lips, necks, and chin, etc. But, lips are most affected by these medications. The medications are as follows:
- Certain photosensitizing drugs such as- isotretinoin, acitretin for treating other skin disorders
- Tricyclic antidepressants such as- imipramine, desipramine
- Tetracyclines (minocycline) are high power antibiotics. And, other kinds of antibiotics may also cause lip discoloration.
- Antipsychotic drugs for treating particular psychiatric conditions.
- Chemotherapy drugs for treating cancer
- Some drugs (phenothiazines) for treating vomiting and nausea
- Antimalarial drugs for preventing or treating malaria
- Hydroquinone (skin-lightening ingredient)
10. Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome
Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome is a genetic condition. Hyperpigmentation of the skin, mucosal membranes and the presence of gastrointestinal polyps occur. This condition increases a very high risk of intestinal cancer. For this, you may experience dark skin patches through the dark mucosal lining of the mouth.
11. Toxins and Poisons
Your lips may face discoloration for a different number of toxins and poisonous things. These toxins are silver, mercury, bismuth, copper, etc. Besides, some caustic substances, like strong alkalis, acids, and other toxic elements may cause chemical burns on your lips. Thus, you may experience darkness on the lips.
12. Smoking
Smoking is harmful to health. It even may cause death. Smoking also causes some skin problems around your mouth and lips. The lips are most affected by smoking. The lip skin becomes very dark by smoking. It also causes dryness, fine lines, and wrinkles on or around the lips. The teeth also become dark or brown for smoking. The only way to get natural lips is to discontinue smoking.
Read also “Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking“. It is one of the best selling books. It shows you some natural ways to stop smoking permanently.
13. Dehydration
You face dehydration in two ways such as- one is not taking enough water and the second is the lip licking. The common symptoms of dehydration are dry skin of the face, chin, hands, lips, and neck. Dryness causes dead skin cells on lips and lips look darker. A person should drink 8-10 glasses of water a day to keep his skin hydrated and moisturized. Hydrated lips look supple and healthy.
14. Allergens
Allergens come with different types of lip care products. It may come from your lipsticks or lip glosses or lip balms. Basically, the fragrances and dyes infused with the cosmetics are liable to cause allergy. And, allergens may cause dark spots on your lips. If you understand the particular cosmetics are causing allergies, you must terminate them.
15. Caffeine and Hot Beverages
Many people cannot control the craving and aroma of taking freshly hot coffee or tea. Even, people who have the habit of taking many cups of coffee or tea, they drink these items during the hot sun. It is true that hot coffee or tea gives us freshness and removes monotonous.
But, excessive drinks are not good for health. The excessive amount of hot tea or coffee can cause harsh on your body. Even, more than 5 cups of hot tea or coffee are harmful to the face skin. Your lips may become darker to almost black with a huge intake of hot caffeine. Hot caffeine also stains your teeth.
16. Lack of Lip Care
The lip skin is very thin and subtle. It may be harmed easily by anything. So, you must take care of your lips properly and regularly. In winter, the lips are mostly victims. We see many men and women do not take care of their lips during this period.
So, they notice, their lips become dry first, then they become chapped. Finally, the dryness and chapping leave dark patches, dead cells, and cracking on your lips. With home remedies, you can easily treat your dry lips. Read “how to take care of your lips“. This article will show you how to get pink, supple and smooth lips always.
17. Dermatitis
Dermatitis is two types such as- contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis is not harmful to the lips. Usually, contact dermatitis is harmful to the woman’s lips. The contact dermatitis comes with the touch of lipstick, lip gloss, lip liners, and lip balms. Having dermatitis, these lip products cause darkness on the lips over time without causing any dermatitis symptoms like itching.
Generally, the cheaper cosmetics made with dyes contain dermatitis. So, the dermatologist suggests not to use inexpensive lip care products. Most of the reputable cosmetic brands try to avoid these harmful dyes.
What else can be liable for your black lips?
- Injuries and allergic reactions
- Inappropriate dental fixtures may also cause dark lips. But, it is rare.
- Your lips and mouth can be allergic to any toothpaste.
- Hormonal changing levels of the infection, age, and diseases are also responsible for black lips.
- Lack of vitamin B also sometimes creates discoloration on the lips. Take vitamin-rich foods or multi-vitamin pills.
Summing Up
If you have acquired dark lips, you may easily turn them bright or pinkish. There are also many natural ways to lighten dark lips. Using lip balm, lipstick, lip gloss, and lip cream can also cover up your dark lips.
But, to get natural pink soft lips, you need to care for your lips properly and avoid the things that generally darken your lip color. (unfortunately, you cannot lighten your dark lips if they are dark from birth, genetically or naturally).
Don’t use inexpensive, chemical-mixed, old or expired lip products. And, if you have liked this article “What Causes Dark Lips”, share it with others.
Source
- Why do I have dark spots on my lips? By Jon Johnson On Mar 29, 2018
- 16 Ways to Lighten Dark Lips By Scott Frothingham On July 27, 2018
- 10 Proven Ways To Get Rid Of Dark Lips Naturally By Kushneet Kukreja On Dec17, 2019
- Rare Types of Anemia By Louise Chang On Sep 15, 2018
- Peutz-Jeghers syndrome By Anna C. Edens Hurst On Oct 26, 2017
Hello, nice and educative writeup, thumbs up.
But you did not talk much about those born with dark or should i say black lips(am a victim) and what can be done cause is really embarrassing. Whoever sees me always ask if am a smoker and have never and will never try that shit