Oooh!! This Is What Lip-Plumping Glosses Are Actually Doing to Your Lips

When I was in middle school, I discovered Sally Hansen’s Xtreme Lip Inflation, a slick lip gloss that, the packaging promised, would help my lips look fuller. Once I tried it, I immediately fell in love with the stinging, tingling, burning sensation and the way my lips seemed to plump up after each application. I didn’t question what was happening to my lips or what was in the product that made my mouth tingle—and frankly, I didn’t care.

Today, the resurgence of lip-plumping glosses as a trendy beauty product has made me reminisce about my discontinued lip-plumping favorite—and find a few new glosses to try while I'm at it. But now, the stinging on my lips has made me wonder what actually does cause that tingle, and if I should be worried about the burn that I find so satisfying. So, I talked to a couple professionals to find out more about my lip-plumping habit.

Ever noticed how super spicy foods can irritate your lips and make them swell? Most plumping glosses use similar ingredients.
While the shiny finish of glosses is partially why your lips appear fuller when you wear them, lip-plumping glosses also contain ingredients that cause a reaction in your skin to create temporary fullness. According to plastic surgeon Lara Devgan, M.D., M.P.H., many plumping lip glosses contain mild irritants such as capsicum (an ingredient found in chili peppers), cinnamon, or menthol. When applied to your lips, the irritation causes blood to rush to the surface of the skin, which results in a “mild and temporary plumping of the lips due to transient swelling,” Devgan explains. For instance, E.l.f Cosmetics’ Lip Primer and Plumper ($3) contains a cinnamon oil blend to help plump lips, Debra Lin, a cosmetic chemist on the brand’s research and development team, tells SELF. Glamglow’s Plumprageous Gloss Lip Treatment ($24) uses capsicum resin from peppers to make lips appear fuller.