Lips do so much for you. Every smile, laugh, chat and song, your lips are right there. And every moment is better with lovely lips. But your lips are one of the most sensitive areas of your skin. The skin on your lips is only 0.2 millimeters thick – roughly one tenth of normal facial skin. So it’s no wonder that regular lip care is important to keep your smackers ship shape and your delicate lip skin protected against becoming dry, brittle and cracked. And remember you should pay exta attention to your lips to protect against the sun when the UV index is 3 or above or when wind and cold strikes.

Your lips are a bit different to the rest of your body. Normal body skin has sebum and sweat glands that produce a natural protective film. This is missing from your thin lip skin, making them really sensitive. So your lips need natural fats such as shea or cocoa butter to stay soft and supple, just the way you like them. These moisturising ingredients from nature are very similar to your body’s own fats, such as sebum. With the right lip care, you’ll provide your delicate lip skin with moisture and protect it from drying out or becoming rough and cracked.

We’ve all grown up knowing we need to slip, slop, slap to protect our skin from sun damage. Your lips need to be protected too. And in case you’re tempted to skip it, you might like to know that lips have little or no melanin, the natural skin pigment that screens out the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Sun damage can alter collagen (which gives lips body and resilience) and can even lead to melanoma. Lips should be protected from the sun whenever the UV index is 3 or above, even on cloudy or cold days. Choose an SPF 15 for everyday protection or go the extra step and protect your lips against the harsh Aussie elements with a lip balm with medium or high sunscreen protection, like Blistex Ultra Lip Balm SPF 50+.

It’s a good idea to work lip protection into your daily skin care regimen even if you spend most of your time indoors. Outdoor factors such as sun, wind and cold can speed up the rate of lip moisture loss. But lips also frequently suffer indoors from a lack of moisture in centrally heated or air-conditioned rooms where the relative humidity is low. Dryness is also the enemy when a winter cold or flu strikes. Lip irritation can even be caused by certain types of food, cosmetics and cigarette smoke.

If your lips get chapped, time is of the essence. The sooner you show them a little love, the faster they’ll feel normal again. For seriously dry lips, Blistex recommends using a product like Blistex Intensive Repair which has an instant cooling relief and repairs dry, chapped lips for softer more hydrated lips with visible results in just 24 hours. It’s also a good idea to drink plenty of fluids (like water or unsweetened teas). And even though it’s tempting, try to not moisten your lips with your tongue – it removes additional moisture from them through the evaporation on the skin surface.

Cold sores are caused by a form of the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) and may develop when you have a cold or fever. They also can be triggered by sun exposure, emotional distress and health troubles. Try Blistex Antiviral Cold Sore Cream ^ at the first sign of a tingle for effective treatment of cold sores.

Keen to fight off those fine lines? Using a lip care product with a sunscreen and effective moisturisers can help reduce the effects of sun damage and moisture loss – two of the main contributors to an aged appearance. Most Blistex products provide proven moisturises with sun protection ranging from SPF 15 to SPF 50+.

When it comes to giving your smile a boost with your favourite lippy, rember that lip balm or cream works best when worn under lipstick as it allows protective ingredients to be in direct contact with your lips. As a bonus, using a moisturising lip care product before you apply your lipstick also helps the color go on more evenly.

We care for the health and wellbeing of all creatures great and small. So we fully support the elimination of inhumane animal testing. We verify the safety and efficacy of our products only on human volunteers and via in-vitro means rather than through animal testing in virtually all markets, including all of North America, South America, Europe and Australia. We consider the use of product testing on animals unnecessary given the many viable alternatives available to us at this time. The only cases in which such testing may occur on our products is in the rare circumstances when another government’s regulators mandate such steps during their registration processes. But we fully support further development of alternatives to animal testing and the continuing efforts of advocates on this issue in the hope that local authorities in those few foreign entities who continue to utilise animal testing protocols can be persuaded to change their course. That’s why we’re also a contributor to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) where a great deal of pioneering research has been done in the development of alternative test methods.

Blistex does not test or certify any of our products to be gluten-free. If you have allergies and sensitivities, it’s best to talk to your doctor.

No, you can’t become addicted to a lip care product. Even if you really, really like using it, there’s no such thing as physical addiction to lip balm. However, you may get used to the feeling of having that amazing feeling of having moist, comfortable lips. Lip care products provide great care and comfort for your lip skin and you might not want to be without supple and irresistibly beautiful lips.

We get it, change can be scary. So we understand your disappointment when you can’t find a product you have come to love. But research in cosmetics regularly brings new improvements and we always want to give you the best possible care for your lips. That means we sometimes have to part with products or reformulate their ingredients. But rest assured it will be worth it – you’ll feel the improved formula of your new Blistex product.