Lipstick can darken your lips but this does not hold true for all lipsticks.

Lipstick has been a great cosmetic product to enhance your beauty for a complete look. With so much awareness in the skincare world, there have been concerns regarding lipstick being a potential damage to your lips, sparking debates among beauty enthusiasts. In this blog, we aim to examine what is pigmentation on lips and how it occurs with the use of lipstick.

What is lip pigmentation?

Melanin is the component that gives your lips their natural color. More melanin suggests darker skin while less melanin means your skin tone is light. 

Lip pigmentation is a result of increased melanin deposition on your lips, resulting in darkening. Just like hyperpigmentation, your lips also tend to get pigmented due to sun exposure, smoking, your diet, and food allergies. Sometimes certain lip products may be the cause of lip pigmentation. 

How does lipstick cause dark lips?

Dryness and chapping with the matte lipsticks

This is a common concern among individuals. Applying long-lasting matte lipstick can dry out your lips and give way to chapped lips. So, if you consistently wear matte products on already dry lips, there are chances your lips may get darker with time. 

However, with so much advancement in the beauty industry, there are high-quality lipsticks being created that do not harm your lips in any way. These contain moisturizing ingredients such as butter and oils to promote lip hydration. Moreover, caring for your lips regularly through exfoliation and moisturizing can cut off any potential dryness that may be associated with lipstick. 

Our personal favorite is the Pout Love shades by Pinksoul. These are completely organic matte lip creams that do not contain any harsh chemicals that would harm your lips. They come in shades of pink, nude, deep red, and pinkish-nude. If you seem to be experiencing issues with your lips, the Pout Love collection is the best lipstick for pigmented lips.

Allergic reactions

This rarely happens, but certain ingredients in lipsticks can cause an allergic reaction to your lips rendering them dark. This is because the spark of certain allergies may cause irritation and subsequently pigmentation. 

The dermatitis associated with lips is called allergic contact cheilitis. This is characterized by inflamed and swollen lips with patches of scaly skin on your lip skin. if your complexion is very light, you may notice that your lips turn super red. For dark skin tones, your lips will experience a dark purple and brownish shade. 

Deep shades of lip color

When it comes to deep tones of lipsticks, you need to be aware that they contain a high amount of chemicals and dyes. These dyes stain the outer lining of the lips and also affect the moisture levels in the delicate skin. 

More often than not, these dark shades of lip color do not get effectively removed and stick to your lips. This build-up of pigments along with other chemical ingredients may dry out your lips causing them to chap. 

Chemicals and preservatives

Lipsticks are formulated with a variety of chemicals, preservatives, and metals which are readily absorbed into the thin film of your lips. These include chromium, zinc, cadmium, parabens, and magnesium among many others which may prove toxic to your lips. As you ingest these, they are likely to cause pigmentation and other associated effects like dryness, fissuring, and sensitivity. 

How does lipstick cause dark lips?

Natural oils and butter

Organic lipstick is formulated with natural oils and butter such as cocoa butter and shea butter. These plant-based ingredients are best to offer ultimate hydration to your lips for long-lasting moisture. Conventional lipsticks comprise dyes, fragrances, and other harsh chemicals that may be drying and irritating to your lips. Organic lipsticks do not contain any such additives; hence you need not worry about any allergies or associated sensitivities. 

Vegan

Unlike conventional lip products that use beeswax and lanolin, there are no animal byproducts in organic lipsticks. This is a major difference between organic lipstick and other lipstick. They only contain plant-based oils like jojoba oil, argan oil, and cacao butter which is known for its moisturizing properties. These oils not only give the lip formulas their natural color but also are very long-lasting which suggests you don’t have to reapply as frequently. 

Enriched with vitamins

Most organic lip formulas are vitamin E enriched. This enhances the overall condition of your lips as it keeps them smooth and nourished. Inorganic lipsticks on the contrary contain synthetic lubricants, parabens, petrolatum, and mineral oil to produce their signature quality. These cause lip sensitivity and more often than not leave your lips feeling dry and chapped. 

The Final Verdict

Often ignored, lip pigmentation is a serious issue when it comes to your beauty. Not only do bad lifestyle habits like smoking and exposure to sun cause your lips to get dark, but certain lip products may also add up to the problem. Therefore, it is important that you make sure you are purchasing organic formulas and do not fall for conventional lipsticks that may darken your lips.