A recent poll of 1,000 18- to 50-year-old men and women revealed just how important a great smile is to one’s career, social and love life.

Among the findings:

• 94 percent of survey respondents say they’re likely to notice a person’s smile the first time they meet;
• 75 percent consider great smiles as in important feature when trying to attract the opposite sex;
• 71 percent believe that people with nice smiles have an easier time making friends;
• And 64 percent perceive people with attractive smiles as being more outgoing that others – often a critical consideration in job interviews.

So, how do you achieve and maintain a more beautiful smile? Jacksonville’s Parkway Plastic Surgery offers these tips:

1. Moisturize: Use a high-quality lip moisturizer daily and keep a tube with you while out and about. Avoid petroleum-based lip balms and look instead for ingredients such as natural beeswax, almond oil or vitamin E.
2. Hydrate: Moisturize from within by drinking plenty of water and eating lots of fruits daily.
3. Break bad habits: Smoking can do a real number on your lips. Repetitious movement causes tiny vertical lines around the lips, and nicotine can darken or discolor lips. Because caffeine components are known to blacken lip tissue, avoid or minimize your coffee and tea intake.
4. Avoid sun exposure: Lips have a very thin layer of skin – far thinner than skin covering other parts of the body. They also have very little melanin, the pigment that helps protect skin tissue against the sun. As a result, lips can burn easily. Plus, sun exposure can negatively impact the production and maintenance of collagen, the naturally occurring protein that helps to keep skin supple.
5. Volumize: If your lips are showing signs of aging or sun damage, consider a rejuvenating procedure like Juvederm or Restylane to return lost volume and diminish fine lines surrounding your lips.

Get your lips kissably healthy with a visit to Jacksonville’s Parkway Plastic Surgery. Call 904-396-1186 to schedule a consultation.