By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANSlife): Do you want your lips to be soft and beautiful, with a perfect glow on your face? "As lips do not have sebaceous glands, they may become dry and chapped easily. On the contrary, our skin remains soft and supple because of the presence of the sebaceous gland which is responsible for the secretion of oil. And this is the reason why people have a tendency of licking their lips which makes them even drier", says beauty expert Shahnaz Husain.

Winter dryness can cause the lips to develop cracks and become flaky, while during summer lips may get dehydrated or sunburnt. So, pay attention to your lips all year round with an orderly care routine. Continue reading to learn Shahnaz's various lip-nourishing tips:

Begin with Exfoliation

Dead cells may not be visible to our naked eyes but it is present on undernourished lips, just as they are in the rest of your body and this is when exfoliation comes in handy. Exfoliation improves blood circulation to the lips, allowing them to receive enough oxygen, resulting in younger and healthier-looking lips. However, do not use a facial exfoliator on your lips. To remove dry skin, simply rub the lips with a soft, moist towel.

Before you begin the exfoliation process, make sure that the surface of the lips is properly cleansed. There are several ingredients available that will give you incredible results such as:

. Ground oats, sugar, honey and vegetable oil

. Sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon and honey

. Orange peel powder, brown sugar and almond oil

. Coconut oil, honey, brown sugar and lukewarm water

. Ground coffee, sugar, honey and almond oil

. Lemon juice, petroleum jelly and ground sugar

. The ingredients mentioned above are inexpensive and abundant in vitamins and minerals. Not only are they going to provide your lips with much-needed moisture and nutrients, but will also have antiseptic benefits. . . While scrubbing your lips, be extremely gentle with grainy substances, in order to prevent cuts or bleeding.

Use a lip mask

After getting done with scrubbing, the surface of the lip becomes a fertile ground to accept nutrients. The type of lip mask that one should apply would be heavily dependent on their need such as tending to dry lips, colouring, brightening, simply nourishing, etc. One simply needs to mix up all the ingredients mentioned below, gently apply it on their lips and let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes.

So if you are someone with complains of having dry and chapped lips all the time, here are the ingredients that you need to mix:

. Mashed avocado and honey

. Honey, curd and olive oil

. Honey and lemon juice

. Coconut oil

. Pure almond oil

These ingredients will nourish the skin of the lips, making them softer and smoother. If you want to shower your lips with organic colour, then use the following ingredients:

. 6 Rose petals and milk

. Beetroot juice and honey

. Mashed strawberry, almond oil and honey

. Filled with copious amounts of nutrients and antibiotic properties, the results of using a lip mask on a regular basis can be beneficial.

Apply moisturiser

Instead of using artificially manufactured lip balms, switching to homemade lip balm will not just enrich your lips with proper moisture but also tend to the sensitivity of lips. The simplest lip balm to make is a beetroot lip balm which will require just a beetroot and ghee. Beetroot is rich in Vitamin C, which will help in protecting and healing lips. And ghee will replenish the moisture.

Here is how you can make it: Take half a cup of beetroot juice, mix it with 1-2 teaspoon of ghee and refrigerate it until it solidifies. Be careful about storing the beetroot lip balm inside the refrigerator when you are not using it, otherwise, it will be spoilt because of oxidation.