Chapped lips? Stay calm, and use ghee instead of a lip balm

Our kitchens are a storehouse of ingredients that not just make our food tasty and healthy, but can also work wonders for our holistic health. Beauty and skincare is one aspect where the kitchen can work magic. Ghee, dear ladies, is one MAGICAL ingredient, and is great if you’re looking for a safe alternative for a lip balm.

This healthy fat is known for its several health benefits when consumed regularly in moderate quantities. It also has immense beauty benefits when applied topically. One such way of using it in our beauty regime is to apply ghee on our chapped lips. Ghee instantly moisturizes and nourishes the flaky skin and restores our lips to their usual form.

Dr Rasya Dixit, Dermatologist and Medical Director, Dr Dixit Clinic, New Delhi, tells HealthShots, “Ghee consists of fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). These are the most important components of ghee.”

The expert further shares that to prevent the cracking of lips during the winter season, one should use a product that acts as a barrier.

“Ghee can provide us the sort of protection one is looking for. Therefore, ditching lip balms for ghee isn’t a bad idea,” suggests Dr Dixit.

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Here are the wonders that ghee can do to your cracked and dry lips:

1. Treat chapped lips

Ghee is naturally the most powerful carrier oil. A drop of it applied to the lips can help the skin to stay lubricated and hydrated for a longer time, keeping them smooth.

2. Lighten dark lips

Ghee is loaded with antioxidants, making it a perfect lip oil for pigmented lips. Massaging your lips each night with ghee might help remove the residues of lipsticks and dead skin from your lips. Keep incorporating ghee in your daily night time skincare regime for pink lips!

3. Exfoliates lips

Ghee, when mixed with two pinches of brown sugar, can be used as an easy-peasy lip exfoliator. Wet your lips with your fingers and rub this mix in circular motion. Remember to do this gently since the skin on our lips is as thin as the skin under our eyes.

4. Lip plumper

Mix two drops of peppermint oil to a spoonful of ghee. This concoction will act as a lip plumper for achieving a fuller lip look. The moisturizing goodness of ghee with a plumping effect of peppermint is worth giving a shot!

5. Protects lips

With the winter season comes the dreadful problems of dry lips. Applying ghee as a lip balm will create a protective moisturising layer on your lips that will protect them from drying out and getting flaky.

Here’s how you can make your own quick and easy ghee based lip-balm at home!

1. Heat a pan and add 4 teaspoons of ghee to it.
2. Add a spoonful of coconut oil.
3. Once melted, add a teaspoon of honey to it.
4. Mix the ingredients well and turn off the heat.
5. Pour the content into a jar and add 2-3 drops of your favourite essential oil (Only, if you wish to suppress the smell of ghee).
6. Freeze the container.
7. Once it hardens, you can use the mix as a homemade lip balm and place it back in the refrigerator.

A word of caution

“If one has a habit of licking lips once you apply ghee, it can do more harm to your existing dry lip condition. Since our saliva itself has various enzymes to digest food, it can make our lip dryness worse. Therefore, using ghee as a lip balm right before you sleep can be beneficial for the dry lips condition and one should refrain from licking the lips throughout the day since it is what causes lips to dry out in the first place,” says Dr Dixit.

Things to remember for lip care

For healthy lips, choose your lipsticks wisely. Buying a cream based lipstick over a matte powdery one in winters is always a good idea.

Also remember that for beautiful skin, you need to be healthy from within too. Eating a lot of vegetables and nuts rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 will help you achieve a moisturised skin naturally.

Drinking 8-10 glasses of water each day is as essential as a healthy diet!