The Latest In Skin Care - Lip Plumpers
Fuller looking lips have been in fashion for decades. This beauty trend is so popular, that many women and men have turned to plastic surgery and injections to achieve their ideal look.
With many celebrities sporting luscious pouts and makeup artists opting to achieve this fashion by overlining the lips, more and more people want to get the look on everyone's lips (1).
However, not everybody wants to permanently change their appearance or want to go the cosmetic augmentation route to achieve this. For these individuals, there is an alternative route.
Enter lip plumpers and lip plumper glosses.
What Are Lip Plumpers
Lip plumpers and volumizers are beauty products, that are applied to the lips, in order to make the tissue in the lips appear fuller. These items can help to improve the condition of the lips, improving their overall look and feel (2).
Existing in many forms, lip plumpers vary from lipsticks to glosses, and can even be bought in liquid form. They are either translucent or tinted in color. When clear, these products can be used under lipstick.
As a topical solution to thin lips, lip plumpers offer the user a temporary boost in volume and color.
Summary:
Lip plumpers are beauty products that temporarily give the appearance of fuller, bee-stung lips. They are non-invasive, topical treatments.
Natural Lip Plumpers
While there are many chemically based lip enhancing products on the market, many are based on certain natural ingredients that have volumizing effects.
While not as effective as clinically manufactured balms or glosses, these ingredients can be safely used to provide your lips with a little more body. Cinnamon, cayenne pepper, wintergreen essential oil, peppermint essential oil, anise oil, black pepper, and clove oil could all be used in do it yourself lip plumping recipes (3). As these substances already have the properties you are looking for, it is advised to seek out lip plumpers that already contain one or more of these active ingredients.
Summary:
Lip plumpers are generally made from natural ingredients including cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and clove extract. These ingredients give near instant plumpness to lips and can be used safely to volumize.
What To Look For In Lip Plumpers
While the natural approach is something you could consider, modern technological advancements have led to the discovery of compounds and substances that could boost the production of collagen in the lips.
Some formulas use synthetic ingredients, like palmitoyl oligopeptides, while others include more natural extracts that result in fuller lips (4).
All of these ingredients have one thing in common; they are all irritants that work to inflame the lips and soft tissue. While this might sound severe, there are various strengths available, and most of these products may be safe if used correctly.
Let's take a look at some of the natural ingredients that can be found in lip plumper gloss and why they work.
1. Cinnamon
Cinnamon naturally stimulates the lips by irritating them slightly. This forces more blood flow to the area, resulting in a more swollen, redder pout (5).
2. Peppermint
Peppermint oil also helps to stimulate blood flow to the lips, while simultaneously having a cooling effect on the applied area. Due to its menthol content, this ingredient is a common addition to lip enhancers
3. Cloves
Cloves are a mild irritant that nourishes the skin of the lips, imparting better circulation. With more blood flow in the area, lips appear more prominent.
4. Cayenne
Rich in vitamin E and its active substance capsicum, cayenne is a great lip plumping agent. This spice promotes blood flow while improving the condition of the skin.
Summary:
The ingredients found in lip volumizers range from natural to synthetic. While some formulations include palmitoyl oligopeptides which affect the collagen in the lips, others make use of more natural ingredients such as cinnamon, cayenne, peppermint and clove.
How Does Lip Plumper Gloss Work?
Lip plumpers and volumizers rely on one or more ingredients that cause blood to rush to your lips. The irritation, triggered by these ingredients, causes the skin to tingle, which leads to fuller looking lips (6).
Summary:
Lip enhancers work by promoting blood flow through the use of irritants.
Benefits Of Lip Plumpers
There are some notable benefits of using lip plumpers, here are a few you should know about:
- Fuller Lips Without Surgery: Using a lip plumping product is the only way to get fuller lips without getting injections or fillers. They offer women and men a quick solution to thin lips that are not permanent. This means that if you don't like the way you look with full lips, you can simply remove the product.
- Nourishing The Lips: Many plumpers contain ingredients such as cacao and shea butter, olive oil and other types of fats that work to moisturize and nourish the skin. Not only will you get fuller looking lips, but healthier skin as well.
- Instant Results: The hyaluronic acid, cinnamon and other active ingredients in these lip enhancers can improve collagen production and blood flow, which could give you almost instantly fuller lips in no time at all.
- Lasting Results: Many lip enhancing products claim that regular use may lead to long-term results that look more natural than cosmetic surgery.
When you consider these benefits, it may be worthwhile trying out a lip plumper gloss.
Summary:
There are many advantages to using lip plumping products. Apart from getting fuller looking lips without the need for surgery, these beauty products can help to improve the condition of your lips by nourishing them - giving you instant and long-lasting results.
How Long Do They Work For?
The duration of your pout will depend on many different factors. Each brand and product will have different quantities of different ingredients, which makes it difficult to give a general answer.
However, some volumizers may work for 30 minutes, while others could last for a few hours. Every person will experience results differently, as no one individual is the same.
Lip enhancers are great temporary fillers to flat lips. However, as with anything that is intended for short-term use, you should not use these products on a daily basis.
While there are many natural lip plumping glosses available, not all of them contain safe for long-term use ingredients. If you experience any adverse reactions, it is best to stop use immediately. Always consult the label to see how you should use the product and stick to the safety guidelines. If you are concerned about whether you should start using a specific beauty brand, you could seek advice from a medical professional regarding the active/inactive ingredients.
Summary:
How long a lip plumper works for will vary from product to product and person to person. Some may last for hours, while others only work for 30 minutes. As every person is different, your results may not be the same as someone else.
Is A Lip Plumper Safe To Use
At present, there is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the safety of lip plumpers. And while we know that they work by lightly irritating the lips, some of these products may include ingredients that could cause a more severe reaction. Some reactions to look out for include:
- Itchiness: Lip plumpers will almost always cause a slight tingling or burning sensation. However, if this feeling does not subside, it could turn into a persistent itch (described as a spiky sensation). This is most likely a reaction to the ingredient niacin. Niacin is included in these formulations to boost blood flow to the superficial capillaries in the lips.
- Redness: When the skin is irritated, some redness is normal. However, serious redness may be due to an adverse reaction that causes a rash.
- Burning: It should be noted that if you experience an intense burn when using a lip plumper, you should wash it off immediately. A light burning sensation is normal, but anything more could mean that you are having an allergic reaction to the product.
- Swelling: While your lips are supposed to puff up, you want to avoid going into anaphylactic shock or developing blisters. Cinnamic aldehyde (a compound found in cinnamon) could lead to allergic dermatitis. Benzyl nicotinate is another ingredient that could cause severe swelling.
- Dryness: When you overuse lip plumpers, they could cause your lips to become overly dry, resulting in cracking or peeling.
Summary:
While many lip plumpers are regarded as safe for use, some may give the user unwanted side effects. These side effects range in severity and include swelling, burning, itching, redness and dryness. If you experience any adverse reaction it is recommended that you stop use immediately or consult a doctor.
Ingredients To Avoid
Many lip plumpers are completely safe to use and should not cause any adverse reactions. Unfortunately, as the market is becoming saturated with knockoffs and cheaply manufactured beauty products, it is advised to carefully read the ingredients list of the volumizer you are using.
To avoid any serious side effects, look out for these potentially harmful ingredients:
- Lanolin Oil/Hydroxylated Lanolin: These compounds are derived from the sweat glands of sheep and could cause diarrhea if ingested (7).
- Polybutene/Microcrystalline Wax: As common binders found in cosmetics, these ingredients improve the viscosity of a formula. However, they have both been identified as toxic as they could lead to organ system toxicity.
- Isopropyl Myristate: This artificial thickening agent could lead to severe skin irritation and may have carcinogenic properties.
- Coloring: Artificial color dyes have long been in cosmetics, however these colorful additives are not the healthiest around. Synthetic dyes found in lip products ((E133) FD&C Blue No. 1, (E132), or FD&C Blue No. 2,(E143) or FD&C Green No. 3, (E110), FD&C Yellow No. 6, and more) often contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury and other radioactive metals. Exposure to these metals may result in symptoms such as heart problems, pain, diarrhea and anemia (8).
Summary:
Unfortunately, not all lip volumizing products are created using the same quality of ingredients. While there are products that contain pure natural components, others may consist of synthetic and potentially dangerous substances. When choosing a lip plumper gloss, try to avoid artificial colors, Isopropyl Myristate, Polybutene/Microcrystalline Wax, and Lanolin Oil/Hydroxylated Lanolin.
Should You Use Lip Enhancers?
Lip plumpers are the only non-invasive way to get fuller lips.
If you would like a temporary change to the appearance of your lips, the obvious answer is to try out different lip plumpers and test which one works best for you. With more and more cosmetics brands bringing out lip plumpers, they are easy to get a hold of and can be purchased in many different forms. It would seem that these plumpers can be very useful, giving the user instantly fuller lips, with results potentially lasting most of the day. Although, most lip volumizing products are said to last less than an hour.
These beauty items contain natural irritants like cinnamon and cayenne pepper that cause a slight reaction, making the lips swell and leaving them looking temporarily fuller. The reaction you experience will depend on the concentration of the irritant present in the product. Some of these plumpers may cause severe burning and other adverse and allergic effects. It is advised never to apply lip plumper to cracked lips or on any sores you may have, as the pain could be unbearable.
With technological advances, these are lip plumper glosses on the market that are less irritating. These typically include retinol or oligopeptides, ingredients that boost and promotes collagen production. Finding quality ingredients on the cutting edge of technology doesn't have to mean a hefty price tag, do your research to find affordable and effective options.
If you decide to invest in lip plumpers, make sure that they are free from harmful additives and make sure to stop use if you experience any side effects.
