LOOKING after your lips should be a key step in your skincare routine.
And you might up the ante on lip balm after finding out that your pout is one of the first areas of your face to show signs of ageing.
Your lips can develop pesky fine lines, lose volume, shed definition around the cupid’s bow and even go through pigmentation changes.
Lips are particularly vulnerable to ageing as the skin on our mouths is much thinner than elsewhere on the body.
This makes our pouts more susceptible to damage from environmental factors like UV radiation and pollutants.
And unlike the rest of our skin, lips don’t have oil glands – so they can’t produce natural oils to keep them moisturised.
This makes them prone to dryness and chapping, which can contribute to the appearance of ageing.
And while we might not have been aware of this, lots of anti-ageing whizzes are.
That includes professional make-up artist Kat James, who hasn’t let her lips fall victim to ageing.
She still has a juicy pout at 51-years-old.
And it’s all thanks to her carefully-considered lip-care routine and ditching matte formulas, which can accentuate the appearance of fine lines and be unnecessarily drying.
Kat spilled all to Fabulous, sharing that she swears by an exfoliate-then-hydrate method to stop her lips from ageing.
“Lips that have lines and texture need a little extra TLC,” she tells us.
“The first step to achieve a more smooth, supple appearance is to exfoliate the lip area.
“A favourite with pro make-up artists, is the L38 – Resurfacing Lip Peel 2% Mandelic Acid + Pomegranate Enzyme By French brand Typology (£23.90).
“This resurfacing lip peel is concentrated in exfoliating actives that eliminate dead cells and renew the lip’s surface.
“As a result, lips are softened, smoothed and plumped.”
Where make-up is concerned, Kat won’t put matte lipstick anywhere near her lips.
“When it comes to lipsticks, if you have lines on your lips, it’s best to avoid matte formulas,” she says.
“Instead use tinted balms or gloss, to create a smooth, softened appearance to lips.”
What’s more, balms and glosses have hydrating benefits in them that will help your pout retain moisture, further helping reduce the signs of ageing.
Dermatologist and skincare enthusiast Andrea Suarez - known as Dr Dray - revealed why you should wear suncream.
The one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference – and this matters for all ages – is protecting your skin from the sun, Andrea stressed.
“The vast majority of external aging is due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation,” she continued, not because you’re “not using some jazzy serum or layering 90 different things on your face everyday”.
“If you’re not doing in your 20s, get on that now.”
But she said the use of sun cream alone doesn’t go far enough. Andrea urged that you also wear sun-protective clothing like broad-brimmed hats and long sleeves, on top of not staying out too long in the sun.
Doing this over your lifetime – and all year, not just during the summer or on sunny days – “will reduce the visible signs of photoageing”, Andrea said.
Those are wrinkles, muddled pigmentation and sagging skin.
