Sun Protection for Your Lips

All right ladies, let’s be truthful. Summer means tanning, tanning, and more tanning! And who could blame us? I myself love admiring my newfound bronze color when I come home from a long day in the sun! Come on, we all do! And yes, we all know that we are not to leave the house without adequately applying sunscreen to every inch of our bodies! But how many of us actually think closely about what effects the sun’s powerful rays have on our lips? And although summer is wrapping up and we’re headed into the fall season, it’s just as important to treat our lips properly to avoid…

Wrinkled Lips 

Lip health may seem minor and it’s often neglected. Even if we don’t always pay them much attention, our lips really do play a big role in our lives! A lovely smile goes a long way. Radiant, healthy, fresh-looking lips play a major role in our overall facial appearance. It seems hard to believe, but our lips, just like the rest of our bodies, can get sunburned, purely because of the delicacy and sensitivity of that particular area. Burning our lips year after year is eventually going to result in lip wrinkles, which is unfortunately a huge sign of aging.

Lip Cancer

Lip wrinkles aren’t the worst thing that could happen to us. In the same way that we could potentially get skin cancer from sitting out summer after summer, lip cancer is a danger if we don’t protect our lips properly. In a study conducted by the University of Texas Medical School to evaluate the role of ultraviolet light (UVL) as a risk factor for lip cancer, researchers found that only 37% of their 299 survey responders used lip protection as well as sunscreen for their long days at the beach. Yes, we all love the beach (and being outside in general!) but it’s important to remember that the sun’s UVL rays can be detrimental to our lip health.

The Scoop on SPF

So, just as we do with sunscreen, it’s important to choose lip products that are clearly marked with SPF. Many lipsticks, glosses and chap sticks now contain sunscreens. When choosing a product, remember that the SPF rating is simply a measure of the fraction of sunburn-producing UV rays blocked. SPF 50 offers the best sun protection for lips by blocking out about 98% of the UVB rays. Nowadays we see SPF 80 or even SPF 110! That, ladies, is all about the marketing. It makes you think you’re getting better protection when you’re really not. Stick with SPF 50, and if you must, SPF 30 will do the job… but try not to aim lower than that!

It’s time we take charge of this and start showing our delicate lips some respect! When you’re choosing your chap stick, lip gloss, or lip stick, make sure to read closely! Let’s preserve those beautiful smiles all year long!

Note: A special thank you goes out to my friend Laura Kinkead, who's responsible for the blog post above. :)