Lip colour can vary from person to person. Some individuals have naturally rosy or pink lips, while others may have lips that are naturally brown, beige, or even purplish in hue.
Dark lips, also known as lip hyperpigmentation or lip pimentation, often result from an overproduction of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin and lip colour. This excess melanin can make the lips appear brown, purple, or even black in some cases.
Although dark and hyperpigmented lips are seldom a health concern, they might be something that has you feeling self-conscious and affects your self-confidence. However, do you really want to be masking your lips with dark, bold colours that make you look goth-like (seriously, in Malaysia?) and make you even more uncomfortable?
The condition is more prevalent in women. Keep reading to understand the causes, prevention tips and most recommended treatment for dark lips by top aesthetic doctors.
Sun exposure
Just as your skin tans and darkens under the sun’s rays, your lips can also experience changes in colour. When exposed to sunlight, your skin produces more melanin as a protective response to ultraviolet rays.
Smoking
Both cigarette smoking and vaping can contribute to the darkening of your lips, often referred to as “smoker’s lips”. Habitual and regular smoking transfers nicotine and tar on the lips as well as to the surrounding area that may lead to discolouration of the skin.
Aging
Just as the skin starts to loosen and sag over time, lip color can change with age. Do you notice babies and young children often have naturally pinkish lips? The lips may darken or become more subdued as they grow older.
Lifestyle factors
Habits like excessive coffee or tea consumption, alcohol intake, and poor dietary choices can contribute to lip pigmentation.
Sunscreen
Always wear sunscreen or lip balm with an SPF of 30 or higher, even if you are inside.
Say no to smoking
It’s time to quit smoking! By quitting smoking, you reduce your exposure to nicotine and tar, which can help prevent further melanin production in your lips.
Lighten your lips with a lemon
Lemons are a known skin-lightening home remedy, and you can use them to help chemically exfoliate your lips. Simply slice a lemon in half and hold it to your lips for no longer than a minute. When you’re done, rinse off the juice. The citric acid from the lemon will help remove the dead skin cells.
Topical creams
There are many topical creams available in the market that help reduce the pigmentation of lips. The creams contain ingredients such as kojic acid, hydroquinone, etc. that work as skin whitening agents by controlling melanin production.
If you haven’t had any luck with DIY treatments and topical creams to help fade hyperpigmentation, lip discolouration, here’s the aesthetic treatment that you can’t miss!
Bet you didn’t know this! Laser treatments aren’t just for lightening areas on your skin, they can also be done on your lips! Get soft and pink lips with laser lip lightening – one of the most popular and advanced aesthetic treatments for lip hyperpigmentation or dark lips.
This method, also known as laser lip whitening, is designed to reduce or eliminate excessive pigmentation or darkening of the lips. It’s basically a method of deep lip exfoliation. It entails exposing the lips to precisely targeted light and heat from a laser beam. The laser removes the targeted cells, just like other exfoliation methods.
Depending on the specific method, the laser will either melt the pigment deposits within the lip tissue, or destroy the overly pigmented surface skin itself and trigger resurfacing.
Don’t worry, even though it’s using a laser, the procedure is completely safe, non-invasive and painless. The procedure is painless and quick (around 30 minutes).
Some people need only one lip pigmentation laser treatment, while others may need as many as 6 or more. As a general rule, though, most people require between 4 and 6 sessions total, including touch-ups
Truth be told, there’s nothing wrong with having genetically dark lips. The best thing you can do for yourself is embracing your natural beauty, but if this is something that you feel is holding you back from living your best life, laser lip lightening is a relatively easy cosmetic fix.
Laser lip lightening treatment is performed in Premier Clinic by our skilled and experienced aesthetic doctors as part of our comprehensive services. If you wish to find out which type of laser treatment can help you with lip whitening, please contact us for further information:
Whatsapp: https://wa.me/60126625552
Call: +6012-662-5552 (Malay/English)
Call: +6012-773-2074(Chinese speaking)
Email: contactus@premier-clinic.com
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