When it comes to your face, it’s not just the eyes that are the most captive feature; your lips also play an important role in enhancing your aesthetic quotient. But our lips are the most ignored part of your face. Honestly, how much do we care about them apart from lathering a lip balm or gel to counter the seasonal dryness and paint it with a lipstick? We fail to understand that they too need pampering and TLC just like we do with our face and eyes. But our ignorance gives our lips a lot of trauma and sometimes they lose their charm and colour too. Yes, simple everyday mistakes that we do unknowingly can damage or discolour our lips. Here Dr Apratim Goel, Dermatologist and Laser surgeon Director, Cutis skin studio, Mumbai talks about the basic mistakes that make our lips look dark and discoloured.

‘Lips majorly add to the beauty of your face and hence discoloured lips are a cause of worry in many,’ she says. Some people may have dark lips naturally although there are certain factors that may cause darkening of lips. Here are some of them:

Smoking: It is not for nothing that we have coined the term smoker’s lips. People who smoke too much including both men and women not only make their lungs go weak but also exposes their lips to trauma. Tobacco and nicotine darken the lips and the inner lining of the mouth making your lips discoloured which is called smoker’s Melanesia.

Medical conditions: Probably you don’t have too much control over this situation but if you are suffering from a serious illness like cancer or blood-related disorders certain medications prescribed to treat the condition can also make your lips look dark and discoloured.

Frequent drinking of hot beverages: Tea and coffee lovers, we know this is not going to be good news for you, but face the fact. Your daily dose of Java is fine, but if you are chronically dependent on the cuppa to get going and keep you on a roll throughout the day then your lips will have to pay a price for your addiction. Hot beverages that contain caffeine like tea and coffee are known to cause damage to the lips.

Constant biting and licking of the lips: These habits cause damage to the small capillaries of the lips and sometimes they don’t heal properly and thus leads to discolouration of the lips.

Low vitamin B levels: Women are ignorant about their health and vitamin deficiency is common among them. However, particularly low levels of vitamin B can lead to skin discolouration.

Hormonal changes: Change in hormonal levels that are contributed by age, infection, diseases, and other factors.

Allergic reactions: Sometimes certain allergic reactions to some kind of food or medication can also lead to discolouration of lips, though this might be a temporary one.

Quick tip: It is necessary to avoid the above-mentioned vices and habits to keep your lips looking healthy and pout worthy. Apart from that, drink lots of water every day. Water can help the lips stay hydrated. When the lips are dry, it can enhance lip discolouration making it look darker. This also helps in expelling toxins from your body. Habits like smoking, drinking too many caffeinated drinks and lip biting should be avoided. Eating healthy foods should be encouraged to help the body build up enough strength to fight certain diseases that might cause the lips to darken.Read more at:http://www.sheindressau.com/green-bridesmaid-dresses | http://www.sheindressau.com/yellow-bridesmaid-dresses