While the number of studies on the efficacy of aloe vera for chapped lips is limited, several reasons make aloe vera gel an excellent option for dry lips. This article explains why you should consider using aloe vera gel on your lips. Keep reading. Aloe vera gel has healing, moisturizing, and antiseptic effects upon topical application (2). Although no clinical research exists on the use of aloe vera gel on the lips to treat dryness, it may be tried as a conventional treatment for chapped lips. Aloe vera is a storehouse of various constituents, including vitamins, enzymes, minerals, sugars, fatty acids, hormones, and amino acids (2). Therefore, it may be the answer to your dry and chapped lips. But, how effective it may turn out for you remains to be seen when you use it. Moving on, let us discover some of the benefits of using aloe vera gel on the lips in the next section.
Benefits Of Using Aloe Vera On The Lips
The use of aloe vera for the lips may yield some of the following benefits:
1. Adds Moisture
Aloe vera adds moisture to the skin, which can make your lips feel less dry (2). Your lips can feel dry and cracked due to a lack of lubrication. Using an aloe vera lip balm can soothe such drying lips by replenishing the lost moisture.
2. Fights Infections
The anti-inflammatory properties of aloe vera may help fight irritation or infection on the lips (2). This may be helpful in case your lips are extremely chapped, cracked, and bleeding.
3. Keeps Lips Looking Young
The antioxidants found in aloe vera may help fight the signs of skin damage and wrinkles on the lips. When properly moisturized, your lips appear plump and radiant (2). With these benefits, the use of aloe vera on the lips looks like a fruitful solution. For this purpose, you can either get an aloe vera lip balm or make one at home with an aloe vera lip balm recipe. In the next section, we will learn more about using an aloe vera lip balm on the lips.
How To Use Aloe Vera On The Lips
There are two significant ways to use aloe vera on your lips:
1. Direct Application On The Lips
To use aloe on lips, you can extract fresh aloe vera gel from a plant and apply it to your lips. It is easy to extract the gel from the plant. Just slice open an aloe leaf and scoop out the gel with your fingers or a spoon. The natural gel of an aloe vera leaf may feel a little slimy on your lips. However, beware that using aloe vera directly on your skin or lips may cause some side effects as well, such as redness, burning, or a stinging sensation, if you are allergic to it (2).
2. Use An Aloe Vera Lip Balm
The alternative to this is using an aloe vera lip balm. This will be useful if you are unsure if you can put aloe vera gel directly on your lips. You will be able to avoid the harmful effects that could be caused due to the natural chemical composition of aloe vera. Simply dab a lip balm containing this ingredient on your lips as and when you feel the need to moisturize them. Making your very own aloe vera chapstick is not difficult. In the next section, we will share a simple DIY recipe to make your very own aloe lip balm.
How To Make An Aloe Vera Lip Balm At Home
Making your very own aloe chapstick has many benefits. The most important is that you are fully aware of the ingredients being used, unlike the chapsticks available in the market. To make your own lip balm with aloe vera, you can follow the recipe listed below. Ingredients
2 tablespoons of coconut oil 1 teaspoon of shea butter 1 teaspoon of aloe vera gel A few drops of almond oil or jojoba oil
Method Coconut oil provides anti-inflammatory and skin-repairing benefits to the lips, while shea butter acts as a rich emollient that helps moisturize them (3), (4). Similarly, almond oil is an emollient as well, which helps improve skin tone on the lips (5). These ingredients mix with aloe vera to deliver wholesome goodness to the skin on your lips.
But are there any side effects associated with the use of aloe vera on the lips? Let us find out in the next section.
Side Effects Of Using Aloe Vera On The Lips
The topical application of aloe vera on the lips may cause some side effects. The unique aloe vera chemical formula may cause redness, burning, or a stinging sensation upon topical application. The anthraquinones found in aloe vera, namely aloin and barbaloin, may also cause an allergic reaction (2). For this reason, you must always conduct a patch test before applying pure aloe vera gel to your face or lips. However, most lip balms with aloe vera available commercially use purified aloe vera gel, which is free of such harmful constituents. That is why the cosmetics industry finds a wide range of uses for aloe vera in its products. Can aloe clear dark lips? Yes. Aloesin, an aloe vera derivative, inhibits melanin production and reduces pigmentation (6). Therefore, it can suppress pigmentation and may help brighten dark lips. What do healthy lips look like? Healthy lips are soft and smooth. The color may range from reddish-pink to light brown depending on skin tone. Why are my lips dark? Your lips can turn dark due to the adverse effects of certain lipsticks and toothpaste. Additionally, lack of proper hydration, sun damage, pollution, and smoking are other factors that can lead to dark lips.
