Skin cancer of the lips accounts for 10 percent of all skin cancer cases. Over 3,500 new cases of skin cancer of the lips are diagnosed each year. Whether you’re skiing and snowboarding this winter, laying out next summer, or just cruising around town anytime of year, here are a few things you can do to help you keep your lips protected:

Choose your lipgloss
carefully - Because of it’s shiny, reflective nature, some dermatologists claim that applying lipgloss and then going in the sun is the equivalent of taking a magnifying glass and focusing the concentrated sun rays directly on your lips. Wow. I’m a lipgloss junkie and I’ve never realized how harmful some lip products could be. If you’re going to wear lipgloss, choose one that has a high level of SPF included in its formula.

Use a high SPF Chapstick or lip balm - If your absolute favorite lipgloss doesn’t have SPF in it, you MUST find a chapstick or baselayer lip balm that has it so that you can wear the protective product underneath. Look for an SPF level on the label, or for ingredients like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide (sunscreens that will provide the protection your lips need). We would recommend wearing a lip balm with at least SPF 30 underneath all your lip colors at all times. The bonus: these products will keep your lips extra moisturized too!

Opt for a lipstick instead - Since lipsticks have more pigment than lipglosses, using one will provide you with better sun protection. Matte lipsticks especially have an advantage over glosses because they are less reflective and have the most coverage of lipstick formulas.

Yellowing of the teeth is a natural part of aging, but lifestyle and dietary factors like smoking and drinking red wine and coffee quicken the process. White teeth make a beautiful smile! Simple tips at home for whitening your teeth can really work if you do them consistently. Listed below are some simple tips to turn smiles from ashen to alabaster:

1. Brushing and Flossing Habits: Brush your teeth twice daily - as soon as you wake up and last thing before going to bed. Brushing teeth daily with powdered neem leaves not only makes them pearl white ‘but also keeps them healthy. You can also try brushing with a mixture of soda bicarb and powdered salt to make your teeth sparkling white. Rubbing salt on the teeth and rinsing off after sometime is equally helpful in making the teeth sparking white. You should rinse your mouth after you eat anything, so that food does not stick to the teeth. Flossing after every meal helps to erase stains between teeth.

2. Things to avoid: Quit smoking as tobacco is the top tooth stainer. Smoking tends to discolour the teeth to an unpleasant grey. Do not chew betel leaf, betel nut or tobacco. Avoid excessive tea/coffee/beverages, as they tend to stain the teeth. Don’t scrape the surface of teeth with any sharp instrument as these will roughen the teeth and make them even more yellow.

3. Homemade remedies: Dry and grind orange peels to a coarse powder and brush your teeth daily with this powder for making them beautiful and sparkling white. Eat sugarcane daily to make the teeth strong and beautiful. Roast full turmeric and powder it. Apply this mixture on the teeth daily to get sparkling white teeth. Boil fenugreek seeds in water, let it cool and then gargle with the strained water to make your teeth strong and sparkling white. Powdered cloves and lump sugar not only makes your teeth white but also keeps them healthy if used daily.

4. Dentist’s choice: a dental tray together with a gel kit lightens teeth in about a fortnight period. Whitening strips are effective for whitening front teeth while paint-on gels can cover all the teeth.