Today’s article is looking at our best carrier oils for lips. Weather, aging, cold sores, and having too much fun can all play havoc with our most luscious facial features. So we’ll look at the best carrier oils to keep our lips healthy and pouting well with our collagen-boosting recommendations.
We’ll look in-depth at
- Why you need to use carrier oils for lips
- What can these carrier oils help with
- A deeper look into our top five carrier oils for lips
- Our top five recipes using our carrier oils for lips from our aromatherapist experts
You Need The Best Carrier Oils for Lips Because…
The lips lose shape or firmness due to age, but conditions like cold sores or acne also play a part. Frowning and scowling are also terrible news for the lips, affecting skin firmness and, over time, wrinkles. The best carrier oils for lips improve the skin's elasticity around that sensitive lip area, building back the collagen and creating a sound structure for your lips to take center stage.
Why Do I Need A Carrier Oil At All?
Carrier oils for lips are derived from plants and are used as base ingredients to dilute essential oils to be used safely on the skin, especially the sensitive skin of and around the lips. They form important parts of any product or treatment containing essential oils, which are too potent to be used topically. Carrier oils make essential oils safe. But more than that, they burst with nutrients to help “Oil” the building blocks of the lips, preventing flakiness and dehydration as well as smoothing and refining the surface and structure of the lips.
What Can Carrier Oils For Lips Help With?
Weather
Using carrier oils for lips in your daily skincare regime will create a barrier on the sensitive skin of your lips. Keeping them moisturized in either very hot weather or very cold weather. Extremes in temperature do our skin no good at all, and by using carrier oils for lips and the rest of your face, you will at least be beating the weather in one area (even if you are boiling or cold, your lips will be perfectly fine). Moisturizing oils such as coconut and sweet almond oils will lock in all the moisture, letting the inclement weather bounce off your lips like it’s hit a shield.
Cold Sores
Herpes simplex. Simple, it isn't. It is the gift that keeps giving. Stressed - here, have a cold sore. Feeling unwell - here, have another cold sore. It’s a bit cold or warms out; you get the gist. They are the absolute worst.
Carrier oils for lips are here to save the day; they can’t cure them, unfortunately (being a virus, nothing can), but most of our carrier oils include anti-inflammatory properties such as castor oil or sweet almond oil, deep penetrating and soothing.
Use around the sore to keep the rest of your lips from cracking. Regular use of carrier oils within your lip routine will help ward off cold sores; you’ll never be free of them, sadly - but your lips won’t crack as much when they decide to flare up.
Aging/Plumpness
As we age, our skin loses definition and plumpness. This is mainly due to collagen loss and can lead to “lizard lips” when the once pillow soft lips are suddenly (it seems) replaced by ones that look as if you are of reptilian descent.
Before we head off to the cosmetologist with filler in a syringe, we will naturally boost those little puppies back up with some naturally occurring collagen. For example, we use carrier oils for lips to boost the production of elastin and collagen in our lips and surrounding areas. In addition, we recommend rosehip seed oil and Jojoba for more mature skin.
9 Best Carrier Oils For Lips
1. Coconut MCT Oil
The manufacturing of this oil leaves in some of the skin-loving triglycerides, which are removed in the manufacture of fractionated coconut oil. Coconut is one of the best carrier oils for lips because the triglycerides in coconut oils increase collagen supply. This plumps and firms skin cells and so is particularly useful for lips.
Coconut MCT oil is easily absorbed and penetrates deeply into the skin, leaving it hydrated, stronger, and nourished. Coconut MCT oil is non-comedogenic, which means it won’t block your pores, making it a “go-to” base for moisturizing lip treatments. Coconut MCT oil absorbs fast and is great for more mature complexions.
Safety: Unfortunately, if you are allergic to nuts, this carrier oil isn't for you!
2. Grapeseed Oil
This wonder carrier oil for lips is a byproduct of wine manufacturing. Although, in contrast, normally, the oil is extracted by solvents, here at VINEVIDA, we source our Grapeseed oil from experts who have mastered the complex process of cold pressing, leaving us with an inconceivably pure product.
Grapeseed oil is a wonderfully thin carrier oil; it is slippery and easily absorbed. Chock full of vitamin E and Omega chain acids is one of the best carrier oils for lips because it penetrates the top layer so easily, then pours in luscious goodness to the underneath layers. This workhorse gets down into the skin's structures to improve your skin texture after damage (by the weather, cold sores, or split lips) has been done.
3. Almond Oil
If you want to make a luscious and thick oil to boost the healing of damaged lip skin, one of the best carrier oils for lips is Sweet Almond oil. A beautifully rich, thick oil. As comforting as it is sweet, nurturing with a delicate warm fragrance. It’s so thick and conditioned; it’s just the thing for lips that needs that little extra TLC. For that extra oomph, it penetrates the epidermis to begin rebuilding collagen and elastin...
Sweet Almond oil is emollient and wonderful for hydrating and toning areas of dry, tight lips. Its non-comedogenic properties won’t block the pores around your lips and will strengthen the tissue elasticity. In addition, the moisture in sweet almond oil boosts elastin and collagen production, puckering those lips back up nicely.
Sweet Almond oil is a little thick but blends well with other carrier oils such as grapeseed.
Safety: Unfortunately, if you are allergic to nuts, this carrier oil isn't for you!
4. Argan Oil
Argan oil is one of our best carrier oils for lips. Thanks to its composition (80% no less) of fatty acids omega 6 and 9. Argan oil is a hydrating and nourishing carrier that can easily blend with essential oils.
It’s absorbed into the skin of the lips, leaving a thin layer of residual oil and a very faint oily smell. A powerhouse component of this oil (as well as the fatty omega acids 6 and 9) is Linoleic acid which is known to strengthen the skin barrier on lips, promoting cell turnover—making the skin soft, plump, and firm.
This is one of the best carrier oils for damage made to more mature lips or very dry lips that need a little more love than normal when rebuilding those essential under-skin structures of the lips.
Safety: Not everyone loves nuts; if you have an allergy to them, I’m afraid Argan oil isn’t for you.
5. Tamanu Oil
Unlike the other oils mentioned in this article, Tamanu oil is a solid at room temperature and must be warmed before use. Tamanu oil is cultivated from the Tamanu tree, which is native to East Africa. Tamanu oil is a helpful carrier oil used in treatments to promote the formation of scar tissue (cicatrisant) on lips following cold sores or severe cracks.
This lip-loving oil is easily absorbed, pilling all of its plumping, toning's, and firming goodness into the lips and surrounding areas.
Safety: Unfortunately, if you are allergic to nuts, this carrier oil isn't for you!
6. Avocado Oil
Just like the fruit is good for your insides, the avocado oil is just as wonderful for your skin, specifically the skin on and around your mouth and lips. It’s a thick-ish, glossy, easily absorbed oil, making it a fantastic base for lip balms and ointments because of its emollient nature.
When used in treatments for lips, this carrier oil is so thick and luscious it can become sticky or tacky; you would do well to blend it with another of our carrier oils to get a double dose of regeneration. However, the properties in avocado oil make it a real “workhorse” oil; it absorbs easily and contains a multitude of “good stuff,” specifically for more mature lips because it increases collagen production and reduces inflammation.
7. Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is chemically closer to wax than an oil; its composition makes it one of the most wonderful carrier oils for lips. It has Vitamin Bn E, Zinc, Copper, and all lip-loving fats keeping it nourished and hydrated. As jojoba oil is more of a waxy substance, it has a similar consistency as naturally occurring sebum which protects our skin and newly formed skin cells.
8. Castor Oil
Castor oil has a rich, thick, honey-like texture - wherever it is placed (if not blended), it will stick. Its properties, when used topically, are mainly emollient and will nourish, moisturize and cool the skin. BUT, if you warm it up and leave it seep into the skin, it deeply penetrates different layers of skin, and the effects are even better.
This is one of our best carrier oils for lips when it’s warm. It dives deep down into the dermis and scatters its triglycerides among the skin cells - pumping them up with its hard-working fatty acids making the cells underneath stronger, resulting in smoother exterior skin on your lips.
Castor oil is mostly composed of ricinoleic acid. When absorbed by the skin, Ricinoleic acid stimulates and supports elastin and collagen production, which are the building blocks of skin cell regeneration. When used for lips, your pout will rival Marilyn Monroe!
9. Rosehip Oil
Rosehip oil is a carrier oil for scars made from the fruit after the flower has gone. It is bursting with Vitamins C and F.
This carrier oil for lips counts on this vitamin C to hydrate skin cells and increase collagen production. Then the Vitamin F contained in the oil plumps and moisturized the lips with its unctuous ways.
Both do this by tunneling deep into the skin, spreading their skin firming goodness into all layers to make a nice supportive, healthy skin structure. It’s a thick oil but absorbs into the lips like liquid gold (the carotenes from the color of the hips). So less is more when using this oil.
The Best Carrier Oils For Lips Recipes
Lip Balm For Cold Sores
This lip balm contains Melissa essential oils, which are wonderfully soothing and anti-inflammatory when you have a cold sore flare-up. Especially good at targeting the herpes simplex virus, Melissa essential oil paired with deep penetrating coconut oil will soothe and heal the blisters.
Recipe:
- ¼ cup of grated beeswax
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1.5 teaspoons of sweet almond oil
- 5 drops of Melissa essential oil
Method:
Melt down the beeswax and coconut oil in a microwaveable, suitable non-metallic container.
Add the sweet almond oil and the melissa essential oil. Stir well, decant into small pots, and wait for the balm to harden before use.
Safety: Unsuitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, unsuitable for people allergic to nuts.
Daily Chap Stick Recipe
This is a great everyday Chapstick to nourish and feed sensitive lips.
Recipe:
- ¼ cup of grated beeswax
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1.5 teaspoons of any other carrier oil
Method:
Melt down the beeswax and coconut oil in a microwaveable, suitable non-metallic container.
Add in any other carrier oil you choose. Stir well, decant into small pots, and wait for the balm to harden before use.
Safety: Unsuitable for people allergic to nuts. Unsuitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Plumping Lip Balm Recipe
This is a great Lip Balm to naturally (temporarily) plump up lips.
Recipe:
- ¼ cup of grated beeswax
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1.5 teaspoons of any other carrier oil
- 3 drops of cinnamon essential oil
Method:
Melt down the beeswax and coconut oil in a microwaveable, suitable non-metallic container.
Add in any other carrier oil you choose and your three drops of cinnamon essential. Stir well, decant into small pots, and wait for the balm to harden before use.
Safety: Unsuitable for people allergic to nuts or cinnamon. Unsuitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Against The Weather Lip Balm Recipe
This is a great conditioning recipe to help lips stay hydrated during extreme temperatures, hot or cold!
Recipe:
- ¼ cup of grated beeswax
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1.5 teaspoons of castor oil
- 2 drops of geranium essential oil
Method:
Melt down the beeswax and coconut oil in a microwaveable, suitable nonmetallic container.
Add in any other carrier oil you choose and your two drops of geranium essential. Stir well, decant into small pots, and wait for the balm to harden before use.
Safety: Unsuitable for people allergic to nuts. Unsuitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Nut-free Lip Balm Recipe
This is a great all-rounder if you are allergic to nuts; please use this as your base and add the oils as per the recipes above.
Recipe:
- ½ cup of grated beeswax
- 2 tablespoons of Castor oil
- 1.5 teaspoons of any other carrier oil
- UP TO 3 drops of essential oil
Method:
Melt down the beeswax in a microwaveable, suitable non-metallic container.
Add in the Castor oils and any other carrier oil you choose and up to three drops of essential oil. Stir well, decant into small pots, and wait for the balm to harden before use.
Safety: Unsuitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Conclusion
Our best carrier oils for lips are varied and offer a natural and cheaper way to plump up your beautiful lips. Our carrier oils for lips target the underlying skin cells to boost your pout naturally without resorting to fillers and silicones. If you use any of our carrier oils for lip recipes, please let us know; we love to hear from you!
