Did you know that the health of your lips mirrors the overall health of your physiology? That’s what Ayurveda teaches us in a comprehensive section entitled “austh roga” or “diseases of the lips” (in the Madhav Nidan book) where we read of different kinds of doshic and toxic imbalances and conditions that can affect the lips.
With SV Ayurveda you can learn how to manage and minimize the negative effects of the environment, stress, and other factors on the health, appearance, and sensitivity of the lips. With Ayurvedic Dravyaguna, or pharmacopeia, we learn about unique tree barks, flowers, and plants that we can use to make balanced lip care products. It is possible to nourish, replenish, and even enhance the color, tactile sensitivity, and health of our lips through natural means. If you are concerned about the health and look of your lips, here are some factors you should consider:
- The environment plays a major role, in the health of our lips. What kind of climate you live in, and/or what the current season is. Whether the climate is hot or cold, excess temperatures directly impact the moisture balance and health of our skin, as our lips are constantly exposed to daily climactic changes. The best way to shield your lips from daily environmental wear and tear is to put on a good lubricating and hydrating lip balm that will nourish and protect at the same time.
- Diet, particularly in relation to the seasons, plays a major role for slowing down aging and the wear-and-tear of your lips. For example, in cold windy weather, the ayurvedic shastras advise us to rehydrate the whole physiology through proper foods and drinks: warm, easy to absorb and hydrating herbalized drinks, soups,and meals. An important detail that helps prevent from malnourishment and
dehydration is to make sure you eat your meals on time. In addition, it is important to keep the physiology well lubricated with good lipids in extreme weather conditions, whether hot or cold. Make sure you consume healthy fats, such as clarified butter or ghee, olive oil, some coconut oil. Stay away from processed fatty foods - Stress plays a major role in the health of the lips. When we manage stress properly in daily life, by maintaining a balanced rest-and-activity routine, our overall health improves, and impacts the health of our skin and lips.
- Synthetic lip products are to be avoided by all means. Applying synthetically manufactured and preserved products – lipsticks, lip colors, gloss, even moisturizers with synthetic fragrance and colors will locally damage your lips, resulting in dryness, premature aging and wrinkling. The ayurvedic shastras state that ojas, the most refined by-product of our digestion that gives our complexion glow, is directly related to the absence of synthetic and toxic build-up in our body. Let your light shine through by reducing the use of toxic chemical beauty products, particularly lip products that contain preservatives and burn the ojas of the lips. Traditionally, in India, women lubricate and oleate their lips by applying ghee, clarified butter, at night before sleep. They apply and leave it on. You may also opt to do so, but the all-natural SVA lip balm base that I have created is deeply rehydrating and oleating to all the layers of the skin.
What’s in your SVA Lip-balm?
All the SVA lip-balms contain beeswax combined with organic Shea butter, not only to coat the lips so as to protect against
cold windy weather, but this combination also supplies thorough nutrition to the inner layers of the lips, specially with long term use. The vegetable glycerine molecules that I also use in the base formula are known for rehydrating the lips without clogging the micro channels. In addition to this rich base, I have added ayurvedic herbs. Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is a wonderful flower that directly nourishes the nerve endings in our body. I have added it to the base of all my lip balms, to help reinstate the intelligence of the tactile nerve endings in our lips. The lips are a highly sensitive area where thousand of nerve endings intersect. With time, we lose the plasticity of our nerve endings, and the sensation in our lips. Sensitive plant will nurture and replenish the health of your nerve endings. I have also added specific essential oils, for example, lime, to help open the channels and nurtures; or sweet orange to nurture the channels without clogging them.
Lip-balm health benefits ingredient wise:
All the SVA lip-balms have Sensitive Plant in a base of organic Shea butter, Beeswax, and kosher vegetable glycerin, in addition to unique ayurvedic flower, tree barks, herbs and plants to further target health benefits based on your specific needs. Some of the lip-balms also carry peppermint oil to open the channels of the skin and carry the moisture deeper into the cells. Here are the new SVA lip-balms based on the actions of their ingredients.
Orange Zest: In the Orange Zest Lip-balm, you have Babul (Acacia nilotica) is great for enhancing firmness in the lips, due to its sandhanya effect – it tones the layers of the skin and enhances their cohesion reducing sagging. If you are concerned about the youth of your lips, this is the one you should chose.
Ashoka: Another great herb with anti-aging properties for the lips is Ashoka. Ashoka (Saraca asoca) has a unique uplifting property for the heart and emotions, enhancing the blissful sensitivity of the lips, and giving a rich natural red color. I have added the essential oil of Rose Absolute to further enhance the soothing properties of Ashoka.
Manjishta: Another ingredient I have used is Manjistha (Rubia cordifolia). Our lips are daily exposed to all kinds of environmental allergens and toxins that challenge the health of our lips. In particular, if an individual carries a pitta body type, or has a pitta aggravation, then they will experiences imbalances in their lips, dryness, chapping, darkening of the lips, extra sensitivity, etc. Manjistha is a famous herb for pacifying the reactivity of the toxins and thus support the health of the lips when imbalanced by such toxins. Manjistha also carries a rich deep color.
Age-Defying Lip-balm with Babul: Another ingredient I have used for its unique nurturing properties, enhancing the natural tone and color of your lips, is beet root. Long term use of this lip balm, that also contains Sensitive plant, will fully nourish and replenish your lips. This toxin-free preservative-free formulation also contains beeswax to give deep sustained longterm lubrication; Shea butter nourishes the lipid areas of the lips; and vegetable glycerin gives sustained rehydration to the perfect base to fight again extreme hot or cold, and windy weather.
