The question
My lips burn easily. Can you recommend lip balms and lipsticks with a high SPF?
The answer
We are told time and time again to slather our faces, necks, arms and legs with sunscreen but specific spots like the lips often go unnoticed and uncovered. This is bizarre considering how easy they are to treat with an SPF product and how simple reapplication is. There is also the anti-aging argument for using a lip protectant since sun damage can cause the thin skin around the mouth to develop wrinkles and lines.
Both Nivea's Sun Lip Care and Sport Lip Treat Mint from Kiss My Face contain an SPF of 30 (the minimum SPF recommended by the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation) and come in a convenient stick, making them travel-friendly and a cinch to reapply. As for a lip colour, I suggest you layer it on top of a lip balm with SPF to get the best protection instead of searching out a lipstick with SPF.
If you can, avoid high-shine glosses, which will attract UV rays just like tanning oil would on your body; opaque lip colour provides better protection when worn over top of an SPF.
Bahar Niramwalla is a celebrity makeup artist and beauty expert who has appeared on CTV, Global TV and City. Follow her on Twitter: @baharniramwalla. Have a beauty question? E-mail style@globeandmail.com.