The Lips

There is a place where the face becomes the mouth.

The surface is softer. Thinner.

Our lips.

They part and meet. Stretch into a smile, close around the edge of a cup, shape a word, and meet another pair.

We use them constantly.

And most of the time, we hardly notice them at all.

A Place Between

Biologically, the lips are different from the skin around them.

The visible part of the lip is called the vermilion. Anatomically, it is considered a transition zone - not quite the ordinary skin of the face and not quite the moist tissue inside the mouth.

Here, the protective barrier is much thinner than ordinary skin.

There are very few of the oil-producing glands that help keep skin lubricated, and blood vessels lie close to the surface. A dense network of sensory nerves makes this area especially responsive to touch, temperature, pressure, and movement.

An exposed place, remarkably attuned to what it encounters.

Caring for the Lips

There is no requirement to do anything to the lips.

Plenty of people leave them alone most of the time, and they do just fine. Others reach for whatever happens to be nearby when the lips feel dry. That can work too.

Care begins to change when we become a little more interested in what we are doing.

The lips can usually meet ordinary life on their own, but that does not mean they cannot benefit from some help. Cold, wind and dry air can make a thin, exposed surface feel more vulnerable. A little added protection can make those conditions more comfortable. And even when nothing is wrong, adding softness or slip can simply make the lips nicer to feel.

What we put there matters as well.

Many products called lip balm contain long ingredient lists made up of waxes, oils, flavorings, stabilizers, synthetic ingredients, or petroleum-derived materials. None of that automatically makes a product flawed. But if knowing what you are putting on your body matters to you, the ingredient list is worth reading. Even something described prominently as a “beeswax lip balm” may contain beeswax as only one part of a much larger formulation.

Our own approach is to pay closer attention to the materials themselves.

Oils give movement and slip. Butters soften with body heat and add substance. Waxes stay closer to the surface and offer more persistence and protection. Changing their proportions changes the experience: how quickly something melts, how much remains on the lips, how soft they feel, and how often we want to apply it again.

That opens up another possibility for care.

Putting something on the lips does not have to be a response to a problem. It can be a small sensory practice: noticing texture, warmth, softness, scent, or the way the lips move against one another afterward.

You can leave them alone. You can reach for whatever works. Or you can pay a little more attention to the materials, the circumstances, and the experience you want to create.

That is the approach we take.

&c.

If you’d like to see how these ideas take shape in what we make, explore our Caring for the Lips collection. 

For more on the small practices of everyday care, visit Use + Practice.