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Over the past several years, the beauty trend of plump, prominent lips has increased dramatically in popularity. Brought forth by the Kardashian family in large part, this trend has seen an influx of lip fillers within beauty influencers, as well as a mass production of lip plumping products on the market to give you the desired look without the injection.
However, while some products can naturally make your lips more pronounced with gentle and side-effect free ingredients, there are some options which may cause irritation and even dermatitis when used regularly. We checked in with NYC Dermatologist Dr. Hadley King to get the rundown on what to avoid when looking for your next plumper, and what actually works—this is what she had to say.
First and foremost it’s important to understand how lip plumpers work to help you achieve the look. While some formulations work to hydrate the lips in order to create the illusion of a bigger pout, other ingredients instead irritate the skin, causing swelling, otherwise known as the plumping effect. It’s this method that could be tough on the skin in the long run, dehydrating your lips and rather creating an inverse effect than desired.
“Lip plumpers can contain irritants like cinnamon oil or peppermint oil that cause temporary swelling. This is safe for most people, but it can cause irritation, particularly if the skin is sensitive, or if the product is used frequently,” explains King.
Although the irritant ingredients may temporarily create a plumping effect on the lips, the aftermath of using this product may not be worth the hassle as it can cause chapping and even skin irritation and eczema flares.
“Avoid any triggers—allergens or irritants in foods or topical products,” King suggests, in order to sidestep the dry, dehydrated lips that certain plumpers can cause. “And apply moisturizers that contain humectants to hydrate, emollients to support the skin barrier, and occlusives to help lock in moisture,” she adds.
In general if you’re still inclined to use a plumping lip product, it’s ideal to choose one which has hydrating ingredients as well, especially as cold weather approaches which naturally dries out your lips. As for an irritant free plumping option, King suggests PCA Skin's Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster.
“It contains sodium hyaluronate and konjac root to instantly hydrate and increase lip volume without irritation. The dehydrated microspheres penetrate the epidermis, and once they come into contact with water, they swell and draw moisture into the upper layers of the skin in the lips, creating an instant lip-plumping effect,” she explains.
This option also plumps the lips without causing unnecessary irritation, while also boosting collagen production over time which can help to fight off age lines surrounding the lips. King also notes that while many lip plumpers cause the tingly, burning sensation that accompanies the actual plumping, this product does not.
“It does not contain the tingly essential oils and other irritants that many lip plumpers use to cause swelling as the use of these can irritate the skin and although they do cause temporary swelling, they can leave the lips dry, irritated and flaky,” she says.
Because the skin of the lips is thinner and more sensitive than the rest of your skin, it’s more prone to dehydration, and lip plumping products may exacerbate the issue. With this, focusing on keeping moisturizing ingredients in your lip care routine rather than plumpers will allow for healthier and naturally larger looking lips while maintaining hydration.
However, there are lip plumping options that won’t cause this irritation, so it’s important to check the ingredients list before purchasing to ensure that it includes emollients and occlusives as well.
Specific ingredients to avoid are menthol, camphor and phenol which have been known to dry out the lips, although they do cause that tingly feeling associated with plumping. Instead, making sure to exfoliate your lips once a week and keeping the skin hydrated will be one of the best ways for a naturally more plump pout without the irritants.
