40 Year Old Adventure in Aging: Lip Treatments.

Oct 6, 2014

Shelley W.

Ok, last weeks installment I left off mentioning that my next one would cover SPF's and lip treatments. Well, I decided to cover lip treatments and leave SPF's for another post in the next few days.

What I've come to discover is that aging skin means that lips take a serious beating...often a very painful one. Not only that I've found fine lines popping up causing my lipstick to apply horribly. So now I've resorted to using various lip repair creams and serums to plump up my lips skin to cancel out some of those pesky lines and of course soothe the dryness.

Some goodies that I have on rotation as some formulas do not work well with all the various lipstick brands/formulas I have.

*SkinCeuticals Antioxidant Lip Repair: This stuff saved my lips when I experienced a horrible reaction to Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (lanolin was the offender). Turned my lips black. Yes, black. It is touted as a "restorative treatment for damaged or aging lips". It contains vitamin 3 and silymarin (antioxidants) that not only helps with rehydrating the lip but the vermillion border as well ( this is where you will see lipstick bleeding out into this zone). I apply this sometimes once or twice a day depending on what lipstick I plan on wearing. For evening I top it off with Lypsyl (a beeswax lip balm) or La Mer Lip Balm). $38.00 and can be found at the Dermstore, some derma offices and Bluemercury.

*VenEffect Anti-Aging Lip Treatment I must mention right now that this stuff is crazy expensive. But it feels sooooo good on the lips. Just a smidgen of it is needed and once it hits those lips...you will literally feel them exhale.lol. This stuff reduces lipstick bleed and it does not change the color of your lipstick...just wait a few minutes before application of color though. $85.00 and I picked this up from SpaceNK online.

*Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask Even though this caused me great grief what didn't work for me might work for others so I must suggest it. When I first started using it my lips were in heaven. Applied right before going to bed I would wake up the next morning with well moisturized lips. Loved it!! The top ingredient lanolin, I learned, was an irritant for me and after 30 days of use I had the ugly reaction that I discussed above.

*Hourglass N 28 Lip Treatment Is a nice luxury treat but it can be on the messy side. I love the antibacterial gold tip. I risked two days of using this since it contains a derivative of lanolin. I found that I was constantly having to re-apply throughout the day. It makes for a great cuticle oil though if you're into multi-tasking products. $42.00 Sephora, Barneys, Hourglass website/store.

There are far more affordable lip balms/treatments on the market but if I listed them all here it would read like a book.

One thing that I had to stop doing was using a lip scrub. I found that it actually did more harm than good for me. Instead I take a soaking wet baby washcloth and gentle scrub my lips in a circular motion and then apply slather my lips with honey. I let it sit for about 15-20 minutes then with the same baby washcloth I remove it and go in with my night lip treatment.

Well, next time I will focus on SPF's and discuss the importance of their use in aging gracefully.

Oct 6, 2014

Cindy R.

Shelley! I love when you make these threads!! you need a beauty blog!!

Oct 6, 2014

Traci L.

Love this , great information.

Oct 6, 2014

Shelley W.

@Cindy...awww thank you Cindy. I wish I had the time to do a blog and a YouTube channel because I've certainly been asked to do so by many beauties. xxx

Oct 6, 2014

Ashley F.

Love this, thank you for taking the time to write it. I've been looking for a lip treatment to add to my routine, have you by chance tried the PTR un-wrinkle lip treatment?

Oct 6, 2014

Shelley W.

@Ashley...you're welcome. Glad it was of some benefit. I actually have the PTR Un-Wrinkle Lip Treatment in my closet. I haven't had the chance to crack it open yet. I think I might have my MIL try it...she's in full menapause while I'm in the pre stage and I'm curious to see what results she gets from it as her lines are much deeper...along with lost volume.

Oct 7, 2014

Shelley W.

@Sandy...I just found that for myself they weren't great for me. Just dried the mess outta my lips even further...leaving slightly irritated. If they work for you please don't stop doing so because of my personal account. I just know that for me I had to leave them alone...even my fave DIY method (brown sugar, honey and olive oil).

Oct 7, 2014

Ciciii C.

Hello... I just wanna say you do NOT look 40 at all! :) Your doing good for yourself. But I have a Q if some of the stuff didn't work, did you have any regret buying these expensive items? I mean you mentioned some 80-89$ stuff in that paragraph and I'm just shocked. You are so beautiful, why are you on an adventure on spending these amounts of money? I'm happy you finding things up to your standards though :) I always ask people why spend so much. I hope I'm not offending

Oct 7, 2014

Shelley W.

@Ciera...hmmm...I wouldn't call it spending too much as I can afford to go high-end with cosmetics and skincare. I also enjoy my drugstore goodies as well but what I've noticed over the years is that I get more bang for my buck when it comes to some higher-end products...especially when it comes to skincare. When I was in my early 20's drugstore was great for my needs but now that I'm older my entire skincare program just can't consist of all drugstore as I have multiple allergies to various ingredients. And some of the stuff in my collection I receive for free because my husband is a cosmetic chemist and now a practicing dermatologist so he sent stuff stuff on a daily so half gets donated and the rest split up between myself and his staff. Do I have regret for buying some expensive items? Not really...I actually have regret buying stuff that caused my skin great havac regardless of price point (Burt's Bee's Cleansing Wipes that left painful welts on my face and the Maybelline face primer that almost had me crash into the center divider on the freeway because I had a hard time shifting and scratching my face because it burned my skin so bad).

Oct 7, 2014

Ashley F.

I truly believe you get what you pay for with high end. I made the switch about a year and a half ago and the difference is visible. I do like to do my research first though! Let us know about the PTR Shelley, I was considering it for my mother who also has deep lines and lost volume in her lip area.

Oct 7, 2014

Ciciii C.

:0 That is bad. Like I said you REALLY don't look like you in your 40s! :) And well , if its satisfying you its satisfying me also.

Oct 7, 2014

Roz X.

Very informative, as always. I use a nubby cotton washcloth as well for exfoliation.

Oct 8, 2014

Tina K.

Thank you so much again for sharing/teaching us!

Oct 8, 2014

Shelley W.

You're welcome Tina.