Makeup · Lips
Lipstick
Doctor review pending
Adds colour to the lips. Dark or two-toned lips are normal.
At a glance
- How long to wearA few hours; reapply after meals
- When to removeEvery night, before bed
- After openingAbout 12–18 months
- Patch testIf your lips peel or react
Choosing it for deep skin
- Buy registered, labelled lipsticks. Unregistered market lipsticks in Nigeria have shown lead and bacteria.
- Nudes on deep skin need to be brown or caramel, not beige.
- A brown or espresso liner blends a darker outer lip into the colour.
- If your lips peel, choose fragrance- and flavour-free, and use balm underneath in harmattan.
How to apply
- Smooth your lipsApply a thin balm and blot off the extra. Do not scrub lips.
- Line first if you likeLine slightly into the darker outer lip with a brown liner.
- Fill inApply lipstick from the centre outward.
- Blot and reapplyBlot on a tissue, then apply a second thin layer for longer wear.
- Check your teethPress a clean finger between your lips and pull it out to remove extra.
How long to wear it
- Most lipsticks last a few hours. Reapply after eating or drinking.
- Long-wear and matte formulas dry lips. Use balm at night.
- Remove lipstick every night with an oil or balm remover.
Don’t use it if
- Over a cold sore. Throw away any lipstick used on it.
- On cracked, peeling or sore lips until they heal.
- If you are allergic to carmine (CI 75470) and it is on the label.
- Any "pink lip" or lip-lightening product.
- Unregistered lipsticks on children, who may eat them.
Safety and the evidence
Registered lipsticks are low in lead; in an FDA survey the highest was 7.19 ppm.
Evidence C — market survey · FDA — limiting lead in lipstick
Market lipsticks in Ijebu-Ode had 11.5–56.4 ppm lead plus bacteria. Buy registered, labelled products.
Evidence C — market survey · Kasim 2020 — lipsticks, Ijebu-Ode
Castor oil is a common cause of allergic sore lips; fragrance and flavour are others.
Evidence C — patch-test case series · DermNet — Contact reactions to lip products
Carmine (CI 75470) can cause lip allergy.
Evidence C — case reports · Case report — carmine allergy from blush
Never use a "lightening", "whitening" or "toning" product as makeup. NAFDAC caps hydroquinone at 2% in cosmetics and bans mercury.
Evidence C — case reports; regulation · Voice of Nigeria 2025 — NAFDAC hydroquinone limit
Evidence grades: A systematic reviews or several trials; B at least one trial or consistent controlled studies; C observational studies, surveys or case reports; D expert opinion.
Keep it clean
- Never share lipstick; cold sores and bacteria spread this way.
- In shops, test on your hand with a fresh applicator, never straight on your lips.
- Heat melts lipstick and spoils it. Do not leave it in a car.
- Throw it away if it smells odd or changes texture.
Important
See a doctor if
- Stop all lip products and see a doctor if lips stay sore or peeling for more than 2 weeks.
- See a doctor about new, patchy darkening of the lips.
- Get emergency help for fast swelling of the lips, tongue or face, or breathing trouble.
Emergency in Nigeria: call 112 or go to the nearest hospital.
Sources
Doctor review pending. Education only, not a diagnosis. Product types, not brands.