Caffeine Free Alternatives. Is Caffeine Shrinking Your Lips?

Sometimes I get questions sent to me, from customers who are confused as to why their lips won't stay plump for more than 30 minutes.

The following information is vital to help you maintain your lovely full lips, for as long as possible.


With permission from the Author, Thienna Ho (the inventor of CandyLipz), I will attach the following information that was taken directly from the official CandyLipz Blog....

"Are you a caffeine addict? Do you know that getting a caffeine rush causes your body to react as if someone is scaring the hell out of you! When you are frightened, your hands and feet get clammy and cold. Your mouth dries and your lips shrink. Why? All your extremity blood supplies get cut off. They get diverted to your brain and muscles so you can think clearer and bolt away from danger quicker.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulating substance in the world. It is found in coffee, soft drinks, tea, cocoa nuts, and many medications. 

Caffeine eye creams and gels are used to reduce eye puffiness and swelling.  It is also used to treat headache. Caffeine is known to have vaso-constrictive properties- it causes blood vessel narrowing in your skin and brain.

Researchers found that after you drink a 12-ounce cup of brewed coffee which contains about 250 mg of caffeine, your blood vessels start to  constrict within 30 minutes and continue to constrict for up to 90 minutes to 2 hours!

Caffeine also has a mild diuretic effect- meaning it reduces body fluid levels which can lead to dehydration. How? It causes you to urinate more. If after drinking a caffeinated drink your mouth begins to feel dry, this is an indication that you are dehydrated. Your lips are like a sponge. They absorb water and plump up. When dehydrated, they dry out and shrink. Remember to drink enough water for your body. Take your body weight and divide by 2. This is how many ounces of water you should drink a day.

Next time, when you are thinking of your next caffeine fix, know that you are going to trigger your fight or flight response when you put caffeine in your body. It may affect the appearance of your lips!

If you use a lip suction device and you wonder why the effect on your lips is not as pronounced or long lasting as expected, ask yourself if you have been caffeinated! Caffeine may be a lip shrinker.

Trivia: Did you know the following pain reliever drugs key ingredient is caffeine- Excedrin, Anacin, Midol Darvon Compound, Fioricet, and Migranal."

Thienna, a Vietnamese boat person, holds 5 degrees including a BA in Economics, a BS in Microbiology, a Master in Genetic Engineering, a Master in Business Administration, and a PhD in Scientific Nutrition. She has 4 Guinness Book Of World Records previously held by men including the most sumo squats in 1 hr (5336), the longest wall sit (12 hrs) & most weight deadlifted in 1 hr (100,000 lbs} & 1 minute (4000 lbs). She won 13 awards for “Unlocking The Mystery Of Skin Color" & "Cooking On The Light Side”. She founded Thienna Inc. & CandyLipz LLC. & holds multiple patents. Her latest invention, CandyLipz, won 10 prestigious technical design awards. She was crowned woman inventor of 2013 in Seoul, Korea. She is the creator of The Sulfur Diet and is considered to be one the world’s leading experts in human skin color and skin health.

(Thank you Thienna!!)

"How will I ever survive without my daily caffeine hit?" I can hear you ask!! 

Personally, as an ex-caffeine addict, I can tell you to fear not, it is totally possible to survive! You just need to keep your eyes on the prize (full lips) and remain dedicated!

Yes, I was one who used to get debilitating headaches if I didn't drink any tea or coffee. I was also one that struggled to keep my lips full for longer that 30 minutes!

I decided to suck it up and deal with the headaches for a day and thanks to a lovely friend, I was introduced to Rooibos tea, which is naturally caffeine free.

I started drinking much more water than I had been previously and I continued to steer clear of caffeine..... 

It literally took me 2 days to get over the 'no caffeine' situation. 2 DAYS! 

It has been almost a month that I have been caffeine free and I can honestly say, my lips DO stay fuller for much longer now and being adequately hydrated is really important, you can't just drink no caffeine and not drink any water - that won't work.

Don't forget that caffeine is also in soft drinks too, so they also need to be avoided.

Here, I will share with you what my favourite beverages are now and I will also share with you, a way to get a natural (caffeine free) energy boost!

VITAL - ORGANIC ROOIBOS TEA

Vital's Rooibos tea is certified organic and naturally caffeine free and rich in antioxidants.

The Rooibos plant is indigenous to South Africa and is exclusively grown in the Cedarberg mountain areas of the Western Cape.

I adore the flavour of this tea and i drink it with just a dash of milk.

I especially love the Vital brand because they are a very eco-friendly brand.

You can buy this tea in Woolworths/Safeway.

REPUBLICA - ORGANIC DECAF

Republica's Organic Decaf is certified organic, naturally decaffeinated and chemical free.

They use the most natural method to decaffeinate their coffee, simply by using just water and air! This poses absolutely no risk to your health AND the coffee beans retain exceptional aroma and taste.

This decaf is amazing. You would not even know that it was decaf at all, it tastes exactly like its caffeinated counterpart.

I am not a fan of the 'instant coffee - hot water - milk' method of making coffee, so I heat up enough milk to fill a mug, in a saucepan on the stove (yes, you heard right. I don't own a microwave - personal choice), and as the milk heats up I give it a whisk with an egg beater to froth the milk up then pour it into the mug - ta da! A decaf latte!

I like to sweeten it with a little bit of coconut sugar - delicious!

You can buy this product from Woolworths/Safeway.

LOVING EARTH - DRINKING CHOCOLATE

Loving Earth's Drinking Chocolate is all kinds of amazing.

It is Certified Organic,  Low GI, Gluten Free and Vegan,

It consists of organic raw cacao, organic coconut sugar and organic raw dark chocolate.

If you have ever had Panna Chocolate before, you will understand what I mean, but this drinking chocolate tastes like hot Panna Chocolate in a cup. Seriously. It's very, very good!

Mix it into a little hot water to help it dissolve (or you can just mix it directly into the hot milk) and then once it has been 'worked in' add the rest of the hot milk. Ugh. So good!

You can buy this from your local organic grocer or health food shop.

Now, after all that talk of no caffeine, I know you've been waiting to hear about this natural energy boost that I mentioned earlier!

ALL NATURAL ENERGY DRINK

If you've never heard of this before, it is...

Bragg's Organic RAW UNFILTERED Apple Cider Vinegar - WITH THE MOTHER.

It is not to be confused with regular apple cider vinegar that you get from the supermarket!

You can buy Bragg's ACV from you local health food shop.

This product has many, many more benefits than just being able to give you a boost of energy, but seeing as thats all that I'm focusing on here, for now, I'll just write the ingredients to create yourself an amazing, healthy energy drink.

1 large glass of warm filtered/spring water (not hot)

1 teaspoon of raw honey

2 teaspoons of Bragg's ACV

Mix raw honey into the warm water to dissolve it. Shake the bottle of ACV very well, to loosen sediment, before adding to the water/honey mix.

Mix all in together and drink!

It kind of tastes like a honey lemon drink and always gives me a huge boost to keep me going!

STAYING HYDRATED 

Not everyone enjoys drinking plain water all the time. I recently got this infuser drink bottle as a bonus when I purchased my iron supplement. 

It is the best idea! I used to just dump a bunch of fruit or berries into a mason jar to flavour the water, but it was annoying to dodge the berries whilst drinking, so this bottle is so good!!!

You can buy these on eBay, they are around $11. Just search 'infuser drink bottle'.

You simply unscrew the mouth piece off the middle section, fill it with whatever you like - I've been loving a lime & mint combo and also the mixed berry combo (pictured).

It really makes drinking water and staying hydrated much more exciting!

Phew! If you read to this point, I hope you found this post useful and hopefully these were good tips for you to move on to having a caffeine free body!

It really is power of the mind, if you tell yourself that you can't do it, then you won't succeed. 

Stay focused, try alternatives and enjoy your lucious, long lasting, full CandyLipz lips!

I'd love to hear your thoughts and hear about how you go if you choose to give this a shot, so make sure you leave me a comment!!

Happy plumping!

xox