Love Your Lips

Melanin, that stuff that gives color to your skin and hair, is also one of your primary natural defenses against the harmful effects of over exposure to the sun (or more precisely the UV rays that are part of sunlight.) Melanin serves as a physical barrier that scatters UV rays. It also absorbs UV rays to effectively reduce the amount of radiation that penetrates into the epidermis. As a stand-alone sunscreen, your skin’s melanin has an SPF of somewhere between 1.5 and 4, according to a report in the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

But did you know that your lips have virtually no melanin?

Wait a minute! You just said melanin is the stuff that give skin its color, and my lips have color, so what gives?

Your lips get the majority of their color, not from melanin, but from the tiny blood vessels that run just beneath the surface of the skin on your lips. Bottom line: your lips have very little natural protection from harmful UV rays, so it’s up to you to provide your lips with some TLC. Fortunately, it’s not that hard to love your lips. There are plenty of high quality lipsticks that feature SPF protection of 15 or higher. If you don’t wear lipstick, you can still choose and lip balm with and SPF of 15 or higher. Just keep in mind that the SPF in lipstick or lip balm needs to be replenished, just like regular sunscreen. Reapply every two hours for optimum protection.