HappyLifestyleJournal
In less modern times, essential oils from various plants used to be the only beauty product women needed. With the advent of new technology and various marketing gimmicks, the natural cures of the days of yore have gone by the wayside — until now. Essential oils like argan oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil and the ubiquitous olive oil are making a comeback in beauty aisles all over the world.
The efficacy and wholesome nature of these oils have made them a desirable ingredient on the health and beauty market. They are either sold in their natural forms, or can be found as bases for lip balm, lipstick, hair products and skin care products.
There is a new trend today that may change the way we moisturize our lips forever. The it girls of beauty have found another way to harness the wholesome natural goodness of essential oils — by using it as a lip moisturizer! Why not, right? If you aren’t quite convinced yet here are some benefits of swapping your old lip balm for lip oils:
HYDRATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
For centuries women have rouged their lips to appear more attractive to the opposite sex, and for centuries rouging has always been effective. Aside from helping us land the men of our dreams what else have we gotten from rouging — dried lips, that’s what! Lips have one of the thinnest layers of skin in the body and are the most prone to drying out. Lip oils are aiming to change that. The formulas are thin and spreadable like lip gloss or solid and waxy-like lipstick but one thing is strikingly different, lip oils won’t dry out your lips. These oil based formulas are more suited to provide and lock in moisture in our lips.
Lips also heal faster from chapping when they are kept moist. So although you feel like the waxy formula you swipe on has provided some moisture to your lips there is actually less moisture and more wax on it. Opt for the more emollient lip oils instead.
KEEP YOUR LIPS SQUEEKY CLEAN
Our lips come in regular contact with saliva, which is a breeding ground for bacteria. Lip oils help seal in splits and cracks which happen due to dry lips, and therefore prevent infections and irritations.
LIP OILS ARE JUST AS CONVENIENT AS REGULAR PETROLEUM BASED LIP BALMS
A number of these lip oils are available in solid or “balm” form just like their petroleum based cousins. In fact, lip oil formulas promoted by the leading beauty brands come in lip stick and lip gloss forms. Complete with a sleek bottle design to allow you to carry the product anywhere.
IF YOU WANT TO GO COMPLETELY ORGANIC, YOU CAN!
The formulas on the market today could be a mixture of 14 essential oils and fortified with all sorts of cosmetic enhancers that are hard to spell and pronounce, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make equally effective lip oil at home. Here is a recipe for a great D.I.Y lip oil substitute from Wellnessmama.com:
- WELLNESS MAMA’S NATURAL LIP BALM RECIPE
-2 tablespoons coconut oil
-1 tablespoon beeswax pastilles (or more if you want the formula to be more solid)
-1 tablespoon Shea butter or cocoa butter
Melt all the ingredients in a double broiler (a glass bowl on top of a pot of boiling water will do, taking care that the bowl should never come in contact with the boiling water). You may add oils for fragrance or food and natural coloring to provide a “tint” to your natural lip balm. After the solution is mixed thoroughly transfer to small tins using a dropper.
THE DOWNSIDE
One of the downsides of lip oil formulas is their tendency to “bleed out” on your lips making application kind of messy. They also don’t stay on as long as petroleum based lip color. This can be easily fixed by some Kleenex and a great lip liner.
