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How to take care of our lips on a daily basis? Cocoa with or without sun protection?

MADRID, 26 Nov. (EDITIONS) -

Surely you never stop to think about your lips, if you should take care of them the same way you do with your teeth. If we wash these three times a day, according to the recommendations, what should we do with our lips? Should we use cocoa every day? What is better, with or without sun protection? Cocoa or Vaseline?

To resolve all our doubts, we asked the member of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV), Dr. Manuel Vicente Leis, a member of the Idelia Clinic (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid), who remarked in an interview with Infosalus that the The skin of the lips has some peculiarities that make it more sensitive to external aggressions, but daily care is not necessary for this.

On the one hand, he points out that there are no sebaceous glands in the skin of the lips as in the rest of the skin of the face and, therefore, they do not have that natural lubrication. On the other hand, he points out that its outer layers are made of thinner skin than the rest of the body and, therefore, it is skin that is more exposed. "Furthermore, it is an area that is highly vascularized and quite innervated. All these characteristics make it especially sensitive and delicate against external aggressions", affirms the dermatologist.

On a day-to-day basis, under normal conditions, the doctor points out that it is not necessary to apply cocoa if the lips are fine, they are not dry, itchy, or have any other condition. However, with the arrival of the cold, and in the event that they do present that dryness or itching, it is advisable to use moisturizing cocoa, based on natural oils, such as shea butter, or based on hyaluronic acid.

"We have always thought that Vaselines are the best, but since they are derived from petroleum, they create an insulating layer that, secondarily, prevents the skin from perspiring well, causing the opposite effect of what is desired, greater dryness. They are recommended for this reason. moisturizing cocoa based on natural oils. If we do not have a very dry mucosa or with little skin, we do not have to add extra products, "he adds.

He draws attention to the fact that on many occasions we enter into a vicious circle and the products we use are not the best, or are based on petroleum derivatives that make the lip dry out more; so that we end up throwing more product and a spiral is generated from which it is difficult to get out. "Therefore, unless there is pathology or dry lips, no special care is necessary," says the specialist.

AVOID COCOA LIPS WITH PERFUME

Another important point that he emphasizes is to avoid that these products carry perfumes or gallates because they very easily induce contact allergies on the lip: "The typical case of the person with dry lips who buys a bar or a cocoa from She begins to put it on and sees that she needs it more and more because the skin on her lip becomes dry and even inflamed. She has developed a contact allergy to cocoa components such as perfumes or gallates, which also appears in makeup lipsticks." .

Of course, in the opinion of the dermatologist at Clínica Idelia, it would be advisable to use cocoa with photoprotection in the summer, or if we are going to go skiing or mountain climbing. "In the skin of the lips there are no melanocytes and therefore this skin does not defend itself well against ultraviolet radiation," he warns.

MOST FREQUENT PATHOLOGIES OF THE LIPS

In fact, he points out that it is common to see acnetic cheilitis in elderly people, or in those who have worked all their lives abroad, or even in smokers, a mucosal damage caused by the sun that can evolve in cancer over time. "The lips are a frequent site of sun-induced and tobacco-induced squamous cell carcinomas," he points out.

Dr. Manuel Vicente Leis also emphasizes that the lips are an area of ​​the body that is very frequently affected in people with atopic dermatitis: "It dries out a lot, it itches, cracks appear and sometimes medical treatment with corticosteroids is needed, for example, in addition to of hydration".

Now they are seen a lot because of the masks, according to him he continues, irritative dermatitis with peeling and itching since we wet our lips more with our own saliva, which instead of moisturizing them dries them out. Also a consequence of the environmental cold, the dermatologist says that cheilitis due to irritation is common, with a lot of dryness and fissure in the skin of the lips.

Ultimately, the member of the AEDV warns about lip peelings, which, if necessary, defends that they should be done gently, with specific products for the area, since it is a thinner skin, and not with those who exfoliate other areas of the body because it would be "excessive".