Moisturizing with lotions or oils can often help relieve dry skin around the mouth. If your stubborn melasma isn't responding well to over-the-counter products, it's worth making an appointment with your doctor to talk through the different prescription options. It is important to identify the underlying cause of melasma to select the most appropriate treatment. Note: Dark pigmentation on the upper lip can be caused by the use of tanning booths and beds. "This article was very useful. Treatment As hormones stabilize, the dark patches of melasma usually fade. Use a cotton bud to dab a couple of drops of glycerin onto your lips every night before bed. Let it cool and leave it on the hyperpigmented area for 5 to 10 minutes. While we love at-home microneedling tools, if used improperly you run the risk of scarring and infection, therefore it might be best to stick with the pros if its your first time. You can undergo certain treatments, such as dermabrasion or microdermabrasion to help lighten the appearance of dark spots. Exfoliate. 2 Use Aloe Vera. Buff your lips daily with a clean toothbrush, a damp washcloth or a lip scrub to remove flakes and boost circulation. Gently rub the mixture into the lips using small circular movements. Most home remedies will take a week or two to produce visible results, so don't give up on them too early. Rose water with honey Consider some health tips to lighten skin above upper lip 1. To wax their upper lip hair, a person can apply hot wax to this area of skin and press it down firmly with a cloth strip while it cools. After you have rinsed the yogurt off, apply a little Avalon organic lotion (pick a scent you like, or unscented). The overactivity can happen for any number of reasons (which is one of the reasons melasma is so hard to treat), but the two biggest causes are sun exposure and hormones, hence why you sometimes hear melasma referred to as a "sunstache" (sun!) Answer (1 of 4): Hey, Wendy. There's also oral tranexamic acid, which when taken in low doses for a short period can help suppress pigment production and clear up melasma. Both these treatments help "sand off" the upper layer of your skin with the help of abrasive materials. For people who find the discolorations unsightly, treatment may help to fade stubborn patches. Consider wearing a hat with a brim to protect your face from the sun. Leave this for the entire night and wash in the morning. She specializes in Mohs surgery and cutaneous oncology. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Minnesota. Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter. These medications can change hormones and lead to melasma. Leave overnight and rinse off the next morning. If it pops, no one will even notice your flaws. However, it is correctable with time. Most doctors find it to be safe in all skin tones when done correctly. Some possible causes include skin cancer, a vitamin B12 deficiency, excessive iron in the body, thyroid disorders, smoking, age spots, and dehydration. Honey-Sugar Scrub -Scrub the dark upper lip with a mixture of honey and sugar to whitening the skin.You can take half spoon sugar and honey ,mix well and apply on your upper lip. Beetroot: Beetroot juice helps to restore a bright, healthy color to lips thanks to its vibrant purple color. Womp womp. It primarily affects women (fact: 90 percent of people with melasma are female, says Dr. Okereke) in their 20s, 30s, and 40sso really, any adult woman can get it. How to get rid of dark lips permanently or forever. Stick to just one exfoliating product at a time and use it as directedand if you're using other strong actives, like retinoids or vitamin C, use your chemical exfoliant on alternating days/nights to avoid irritation. When melasma appears, it can cause tan, brown, grayish brown, or bluish gray patches and freckle-like spots. There are numerous potential causes for a dark spot on the lips. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. This article was co-authored by Tymia Yvette. Trying natural remedies is a good place to start. Applying lemon on lips can be an effective home remedy for lip pigmentation. Women who develop melasma as a result of pregnancy often see the patches fade months after the baby is born. It helps prevent untoward pigmentation caused by temporary hair removal techniques. Weve said it once, and well repeat it: you need to wear sunscreen on your face every single day, especially if youre trying to prevent fine lines. Microneedling is the process of pricking the skin with ultra-fine, small needles to generate new collagen and reveal firmer, smoother skin underneath. Cancer of the lip. Thankfully, you do not have to live with this condition because you can try ways to reduce and treat discoloration in your upper lip. Unlike pigment-targeting lasers that work by zapping excess melanin in the skin, microneedling helps treat melasma by creating tiny wounds in the skin which triggers a healing response. Do it once daily. That is why the dark patches develop often during pregnancy, or if a woman is taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or oral contraceptives. A few options may help fade or treat dark patches: The following list of medications are in some way related to or used in the treatment of this condition. While tretinoin alone is not going to resolve the issue for good, it will certainly help make the affected skin shed quicker. You can try hydroquinone cream or other OTC medications to lighten your skin. Avoid waxing the area and choose threading instead. This Melasma Serum with Tranexamic Acid and Niacinamide, This Melasma Serum with Azelaic Acid and Niacinamide, This Melasma Cream with Azelaic Acid and Arbutin, This Melasma Cream with Arbutin and Vitamin C, This Melasma Cream with Azelaic Acid and Glycolic Acid, This Melasma Cream with Niacinamide and Kojic Acid, All The Best Products for Getting Rid of Melasma, FYI: Exfoliating Gloves Are The Key to Smooth Skin, clinical instructor at Mount Sinai hospital, Your Best Skin Ever: Skin Care Treatments and Products, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Treatment involves avoiding the irritating substance if possible. Add 1 teaspoon of water and mix until you've created a loose paste. That means chill with the derma-rollers/microneedlers and scrubs and stick to these tried-and-true products, below, instead. Last Updated: November 26, 2022 How to Use the Best Blackhead Removal Tools Safely, Pls Read This Before You Try an Eyebrow Serum, Celebs Are *Obsessed* With This Skincare Treatment, Just the *Best* Treatments for Under-Eye Wrinkles, The Best Anti-Aging Creams, According to Experts, The Best Face Lotions for Your *Exact* Skin Type. The bleaching properties of lemon can brighten up the skin and lighten the green shadow or dark patches. The second step would be using a broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen. Interested in implementing vitamin C into your skin care regimen? Not to mention, these exfoliating acids have major skin-smoothing benefits too. Additionally, the importance of sunscreen can never be overstatedespecially when it comes to preventing wrinkles. Lemon contains vitamin C, an antioxidant agent. Apply it every night after cleansing and toning, and follow it with an ultra-hydrating moisturizer as an easy, at-home routine that shouldover timereduce those fine lines. Home remedies can help. How do I get rid of a dark line that is beside my lips? Rash upper lip: if above the lip, on skin, may be dry skin from winter, try coconut oil, or irritation from runny nose or eczema, rarely get eczema from strep, If i. Also, get a lip balm stick with vitamin C in it, like Avalon organics soothing C lip balm. Opt for a product that comes with a SPF of at least 30. That healing response turn prompts your cells to make to make brand-new, fresh skin that hasnt yet experienced the effects of hormones and sun, explains Dr. Maiman. You can take tretinoin a type of vitamin A to encourage your body to shed dead skin cells at a better rate. Soak a cotton ball in this mixture and apply it to the dark upper lip area. Read More. Full disclosure: This sounds sexier than it actually is. Cut a lemon into half, and rub one half on the dark patch around your lips for 10-15 minutes. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. 5. Carrot juice 8. Email: help@wowskinscience.com. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. (In terms of prevention, we hear lots about eye creams and preventing crows feet as we get older, but not nearly enough about mouth-area wrinkles by comparison.). But the emergence of fine lines usually reflects a change in many of our skincare journeys, myself includedand sometimes, that might include getting creative with new treatments (both of the professional and the at-home variety). On how to get rid of dark upper lip skin, I always recommend applying sunscreen all the time you go into the sun. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the paste is dry. ), excessive heat (from things like hot yoga or hanging in the steam room), and an overly harsh or an aggressive skincare routine. But be warned: You don't want to overdo it since inflammation can trigger melanocytes and end up worsening your melasma, says Dr. Okereke. The treatment is mostly painless and requires little-to-no downtime, but multiple treatments are necessary to see a significant reduction in melasma. The dark patches typically last until the pregnancy ends. Those spots look quite unsightly, and they are very unattractive when they are on your upper lip. Oils are famously revered for their anti-aging benefitsthey fight free-radical damage to cells and are typically rich in antioxidants. Turmeric with milk 4. lime 5. "Chemical sunscreens only block UV light, but zinc sunscreens block all types of light, making them more effective at preventing melasma," says dermatologist Saya Obayan, MD. The same goes for smoking, too, whether it's old-fashioned cigarettes or electronic ones. Her writing appears in Refinery29, The Knot, StyleCaster, and more. Rinse away to reveal beautifully soft lips. Other causes include anemia, vitamin deficiency, and excess fluoride levels in the skin. Do this every day. I accidentally left it on a few minutes longer than the allotted time. Apply lemon juice mixed with some milk around the mouth and lips, over the dark skin and gently rub it. There also the genetics thing: If your mom or grandma has or had melasma, chances are you could too. Tymia Yvette is a Makeup and Lash Artist and the founder of Tymia Yvette Beauty LLC, a makeup artistry and lash extension company focused on customized beauty services based in Baltimore, Maryland. (You know how wild we are for sunscreen here at Byrdiewe rounded up our favorites here.) Memory usage: 65344.0KB. - Get your skincare regime in place and apply sunscreen (SPF 50) not only during summer but also in winter. Pomegranate Seeds and Milk -Well, take some seeds of pomegranate . Lip cancer. Trained by MAC Cosmetics, Tymia's work has been featured in the Bravo A-List Awards 2008, the BET Honors Award Show in 2011, 2012, and 2013, the Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week 2011, 2012, and 2013, and the White House Correspondent's Dinner in 2014. This will help reduce the appearance of dark spots over your lip. Melanin levels in the skin cause the skin on the upper lip to be dark. Although melasma does not require treatment, a doctor can distinguish melasma from other skin disorders that may need to be treated.