Hyaluronic Acid for Lips: Benefits & How to Use for Results
When it comes to hydration, Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is considered the holy grail of gentle nourishment. It is found naturally in our bodies and its function is to retain water in all our tissues.
Hyaluronic Acid is especially great for our skin where about 50% of all the HA in our bodies ends up. So how beneficial is it in a lip care routine?
Benefits Of Hyaluronic Acid For Lips
Similar to the rest of your skin, your lips will also benefit from daily Hyaluronic Acid supplementation. These benefits include:
1- Hydration
Because it can retain 1,000 times its weight in water, HA is considered an effective humectant. It functions like a sponge, absorbing moisture from the air to increase skin hydration. This prevents dryness and cracking of the lips while keeping them soft and supple.
Hyaluronic Acid is a great treatment for dry, chapped lips. It will promote healing and improve hydration over time.
Other methods to help moisturize your lips:
Aloe Vera for Lips: Benefits, How to Use & Side Effects
Using Niacinamide For Dark Lips – What You Need to Know
2- Anti-ageing
Hyaluronic acid in our body and skin diminishes with age, leading to an increase in wrinkles, fine lines, and dryness. This makes our skin, including our lips, look older and tired.
Adding hyaluronic acid to the lips and skin during our skincare routine plumps up the skin, decreasing wrinkles and fine lines.
Related Articles –
Vitamin C Serum on Lips: Benefits & How to Use
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3- Plumping
Hyaluronic Acid draws and holds water in and between the cells of the skin. It also increases the production and maintenance of collagen. The combination of these effects makes the skin of the lips look plumper and more supple over time.
HA will not have the same effect as lip fillers (it will not make your lips much bigger) but it will give a naturally full and healthy look.
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4- Healthier Skin Barrier
Just like the rest of your skin, your lips have a protective skin barrier under the initial thin layers. This barrier is what keeps the lips healthy looking. Hyaluronic acid keeps the moisture barrier lubricated, allowing other nutrients and ingredients to penetrate well and keeping the skin healthy.
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Can Hyaluronic acid lighten dark lips
Hyaluronic Acid is not a bleaching agent and will not directly cause your dark lips to lighten, but it can help indirectly.
Hyaluronic acid promotes the turnover of healthy lip skin cells through its hydrating and collagen-boosting properties. It also keeps the skin barrier healthy and capable of combating free radicals that cause dark spots.
As the lip keeps resurfacing itself with healthier cells, over time, pigmented lip cells will be replaced by lighter, healthier cells and maintained, giving the lips a lighter look.
Other effective methods to lighten lips;
How to use Apple Cider Vinegar to Lighten Dark Lips
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How to Use Hyaluronic Acid for Lips
Hyaluronic Acid can be used topically on the lips as a serum, in a lip balm, or in a lip mask. It can be used alone or with other ingredients in a skincare and lip care routine.
According to experts, 2% is the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid that can be safely used on the skin and approved by dermatologists. Using solutions with more than 2% will draw water out of the skin rather than into it.
Many professionals are also specialized in giving hyaluronic acid lip fillers that plump up the lips. However, this is a minimally invasive procedure that needs to be done by a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon in a clinical setting.
How To Apply
- Firstly, use a cleansing wipe or a cleanser wash to make sure products, residue, and dead skin cells are not still on the surface.
- Leave your lips damp. HA will work even better when applied on damp skin (more hydration).
- Test-patch a small area and see how your lips will react before applying your chosen formulation to your whole lip.
- If you have no bad reactions, you may go ahead with your application.
- Apply your chosen HA formulation. Follow the instructions of the product you are using for the best results.
- HA can be used with other ingredients like B5, ceramides, Vitamin C, and a range of others. It is versatile and usually well tolerated.
- However, be sure to check with your skincare professional for advice if you are unsure about what you should and should not mix with HA.
- Remember to add SPF to your routine after your lips have been treated.
Video How to Plump Lips with a Hyaluronic Acid Serum
How Often To Use Hyaluronic Acid
You can use Hyaluronic Acid every day. It is widely tolerated in all kinds of skin since it is one of those ingredients that are also naturally found in our bodies.
Therefore, many experts recommend reapplying HA every time you wash your skin.
When using it in lip balms and serums, you may reapply it as often as you’d like throughout the day and night. When using it as a lip mask (if there aren’t also harsh ingredients in it or unless otherwise directed by a professional or the manufacturers), you can apply it every time you wash your face and remove the day’s skincare or cosmetic products.
Hyaluronic Acid itself (not mixed with other ingredients) is safe to be left on your lips all day and even overnight.
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What to Expect using Hyaluronic Acid on Lips
Results: You should start seeing results within 3-5 days of using HA on your lips daily.
Keep in mind that Hyaluronic Acid is not a magic ingredient. It will take some time for your lips to smoothen out and look vastly different.
However, HA is relatively fast acting and the results, even subtly, become visible within days.
Related Article – How to Use Almond Oil for Lips: Benefits, Cons & Recipes
Possible Side Effects of Hyaluronic Acid on Lips
Since HA is natural to our bodies, it is not expected to produce any side effects and allergic reactions are not generally a concern.
However, it has not been studied in people who are pregnant and breastfeeding. So if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should consult your doctor before using it.
People with cancer (especially skin cancer) or a history and/or risk of cancer should also consult their doctor before using HA. Researchers believe that HA may speed up the growth of cancer cells due to its ability to promote hydration and cell function.
Related Article – DIY Coconut Oil to Lighten Dark Lips: Recipes that Work
Best Hyaluronic Acid Products For Lips
1- Asterwood Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Face
Even though this serum says “for face” you can also use it on your lips. Its major lubricants for replacing cell moisture are distilled water and 2% pure HA concentrate. It is also cruelty-free, oil-free, fragrance-free, and paraben-free.
Click here to see the Asterwood Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Face on Amazon.
2- Paula’s Choice BOOST Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster
Hyaluronic acid and konjac sponge spheres in this dewy-finish treatment increase lip volume by absorbing and expanding water to give lips a fuller appearance.
Targeted peptides support the natural form of the lip, prevent thinning, and promote healing for a fuller appearance.
To maintain lips smooth, soft, and full, squalane, soy, cocoa, and shea butter give an additional dose of antioxidants while minimizing moisture loss.
Click here to check out the Paula’s Choice Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster on Amazon.
3- Hyalogic Episilk Hydrating Lip Balm w/Hyaluronic Acid
Episilk Lip Balm was created to hydrate and nourish dry, winter lips. It contains premium hyaluronic acid, cocoa butter, aloe, beeswax, shea butter, and other ingredients (NO petroleum, chemicals, gluten, parabens, fragrance, colors, or GMOs).
Click here to see the price for the Hyalogic Episilk Hydrating Lip Balm w/Hyaluronic Acid on Amazon.
4- Glowiest Sweet Dreams Lip Mask
This lip mask is made of the glowiest Complex (hyaluronic acid and vitamin C), Shea Butter, Evening Primrose Flower Extract, Rice Bran Oil, and Ceramide NP.
The combination gives your lips a hydrated, plumpy look and feel that glows. It is a hydrating lip mask that can be used while you sleep or during the day during your lip care routine.
Click here to get the glowiest Sweet Dreams Lip Mask on Amazon.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can hyaluronic acid dry out lips?
Hyaluronic Acid used in the correct concentration will not dry out your lips. Instead, it will hydrate them.
HA is a humectant. This means that it pulls water towards it. When used in concentrations of 2% or less, it is well-balanced and pulls water from the outside into the skin. On the lips, this will make them hydrated and supple rather than dry.
However, if used in stronger concentrations, especially on the thin skin of the lips, HA will end up pulling water out of the skin, which will dry them out.
Can you use a facial hyaluronic acid serum on your lips?
Yes, you can use a face serum with Hyaluronic Acid on your lips.
The skin is almost the same except that your lips are much thinner. As long as your serum does not have other harsh ingredients in them, you can use it on your lips as well.
Sources:
Secret to Fuller Lips: Hyaluronic Acid | Honest
Hyaluronic Acid Is the Hydrating, Plumping Molecule Your Skincare Routine Needs
What are the Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid for the Lips? – Apoth and Co.
7 Surprising Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid Can I Use Hyaluronic Acid on My Lips? – Procoal
