How Does Lip Plumper Work?

Lip plumper, as the name suggests, has the effect of plumping the tissues of the lips. These are cosmetic products different from normal lipsticks. Lip plumper can be with or without color. Tinted lip plumpers can be applied on their own while colorless lip plumpers can be applied under the lipstick. These products contain ingredients which get absorbed in the lip, reflect light and lips shimmer and look shiny. This gives effect of fullness to your lips, and they start to look shiny and bigger.

Lip plumpers contain natural or chemical ingredients which have an irritating effect on the lips and often slightly sting the lips. This irritating or stinging effect makes the lips slightly swollen or puffy as the flesh of the lips fill with more blood. The ill effect is that the surface of the lip skin being very delicate gets damaged and after some time you may experience peeling of lip skin. Lip plumpers are also available in strip form. These are applied on the upper lip, the lip skin absorbs the ingredients of the skin and the wrinkling effect on the skin is covered up temporarily.

It is better to use natural ingredients for lip plumping. These are mostly harmless as compared to the chemical agents which can cause damage to your lip skin. The most common ingredients used in lip plumpers include:

• Cinnamon- a natural spice extensively used in cooking. This, when applied on the lips, dilates blood vessels, increases blood circulation and slight swelling will be noticed on the lips to give them fuller effect.

• Ginger- is another natural product extensively used in lip glosses to give fuller effect to the lips.

• A few drops of honey can be added to the above products. When applied it will moisturise the lips and you will get sweeter taste.

• Peppermint- is another natural plumping agent that causes plumping by irritation or burning sensation but also has cooling effect. This is a very effective plumping agent.

• Chemical ingredients used for lip plumping are retinol. This does not cause much irritation to the lips. It gets absorbed in the skin and gives filling effect to the lips.

• Like retinol collagen is another agent which, rather than dilating blood vessels, gets absorbed in the lips to give fuller effect.

• A very small quantity of venom is often a constituent of lip plumping products. Like bee sting, which has inflammatory effect, venom also has swelling effect on the lips making them full and attractive. This needs to be applied as per the instructions on packaging.

Though these products add to the attraction of lips, they should be applied cautiously as long term continuous use may have adverse impact.