Debunking Beauty Myths: Do Lip Plumpers Really Work?
Full lips are an enviable trait. For those who don’t have them naturally, yet want a pouty look, there’s no shortage of products offering to help. These lip plumpers claim to instantly boost lip volume without the need for cosmetic procedures.
It seems like a quick fix—and certainly less expensive than a procedure, but many of these products present more risks than benefits. As usual, it’s all about the ingredients and keeping the beauty myths rooted in reality.
What’s in Your Lip Plumper?
Here’s a surprising fact: Most lip-plumping beauty products do “work” to a certain extent, but the method in which they work isn’t doing your lips any favours.
Many popular lip plumpers contain ingredients like Capsaicin (which gives chilli peppers their heat), Menthol or Potent Menthol derivatives, Cinnamon, Mint, and Ginger Oils. If you use a lip product with one or more of these ingredients, you might indeed see fuller lips short-term, but that isn’t because your lip’s volume is increasing.
Instead, these ingredients cause lips to puff up because they’re irritated. All these ingredients are sensitising, and any numbing, cooling, burning, or tingling sensation you feel means your lips are irritated. The temporary look is often that of a fuller pout, but the routine irritation can damage the delicate skin on the lips, eventually leading to thinning—the exact opposite of what you want.
Which Ingredients Work for Visibly Fuller Lips?
Although topical skincare products don’t replace (or equate with) results from injectable lip fillers, there are ingredients that can make a visible difference in the fullness and texture of lips with consistent use.
Humectants such as hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate can work with plant sugars such as glucomannan to plump by keeping water that would normally evaporate at the surface of the lips. Messenger peptides such as palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and signal peptides like palmitoyl tripeptide-38 can get lips back to a fuller state over time by helping to revive underlying substances that provide support. Learn more about the anti-aging properties of peptides.
This will visibly improve thinning lips, and you can also turn to line-smoothing emollients like squalane and cocoa butter which also help prevent moisture loss. Smooth, moisturized lips instantly look fuller than dry, flaky lips!
Lip Plumping Without Pain
Achieving fuller lips without the potential damage from using lip plumpers is possible with some tried-and-true makeup tips:
- Line your lips slightly outside the natural lip line (don’t go overboard) with a liner that’s close to your natural lip colour.
- The shade of your lip colour impacts the appearance of lip fullness: Very dark shades tend to make lips look smaller, while more neutral or lighter pink and rose-toned colours make them seem larger.
- Dab a bit of lip gloss on the centre of your bottom lip; the light-reflecting properties of gloss make lips appear fuller.
- Use a gentle lip treatment with peptides to smooth lines and uneven texture, enhance fullness, and target key factors within lips that lead to loss of firmness.
As an extra beauty tip, taking good care of your lips will also make a difference. Use a hydrating lip balm loaded with beneficial ingredients as part of your skincare routine to smooth lips and diminish the appearance of lines, leading to a plumper appearance. During the day, use a lip balm containing SPF to protect lips against skin-thinning sun damage.
Explore Paula’s Choice range of natural lip scrubs and lip boosters. You can also check out other common beauty myths to make more informed choices about what products to use in your skincare routine.
References for this information
- Cosmetics, February 2017, ePublication: http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/4/1/9/htm
- Contact Dermatitis, September 2016, pages 333–344
- Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, May 2009, pages 861–863
