You don’t need a calendar to remind you that there’s a big day on the horizon. Store shelves are decked out in red and pink; heart-shaped boxes of sweets abound, and every other ad on your social media feed is either for jewelry or flowers. Valentine’s Day is nearing, which means taking time to let the people you love know how you feel about them. But what about you?

Valentine’s Day is a great day to start a healthy, happy lip regimen that will perfect your pout all year long. Developing a lip care routine isn’t complicated; in fact, the extra pampering will make your lips look luscious and feel fabulous in just four simple steps.

Step #1 Exfoliate – Just like your body, your lips love a great scrub. But before you take a loofah to your lips, think about the condition they’re already in. You don’t want to injure them further. If your lips have deep cracks, exfoliate with a damp washcloth or soft toothbrush. If they’re only mildly dry or slightly flaky, gently exfoliate them with a homemade scrub. For a sweet lip treat, mix brown sugar with melted coconut oil and a few drops of lemon juice and massage it onto your lips for 30–45 seconds. You’ll have pillowy soft lips in seconds without the chemical aftertaste of store-bought treatments.

Step #2 Replenish and Refresh – Freshly rejuvenated lips need moisture, or they’ll quickly dry out. Those eight 8-ounce glasses of doctor-recommended water help a little, but kissable lips crave hydration. Before applying lipstick or even lip gloss, use a humectant-based lip serum or balm. Humectants, like aloe vera, attract much-needed water to the skin, which plumps and restores their youthful appearance. Aloe Vera also has healing anti-inflammatory properties that help neutralize damage caused by environmental toxins.

Step #3 Soothe and Smooth – Cracked lips need instant love and attention, and emollients stop further damage and make lips feel smooth and silky. Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, and Cocoa Butter help skin repair itself by preventing moisture loss. All three ingredients sink deep into your skin and work exceptionally well when used overnight when skin repair is at its peak. So, if your lips are looking lifeless, treat them from the inside out at bedtime. In addition, Vitamin E also has antioxidant properties. It fights off free radicals and minimizes the damaging effects to the skin.

Step #4 Protect – When you’re out and about and enjoying yourself, it can be easy to forget about your lip care routine if you don’t have something handy to rely on. Lip balm is a lip savor, and having a go-to tube in your pocket, purse, car, and desk means you’ll be protected wherever you are. Prevent chapping and cracking from putting your pout out of commission by frequently applying an occlusive product with cocoa butter or all-natural beeswax. Cocoa butter and all-natural beeswax prevent moisture from escaping, and both ingredients make lips feel softer while protecting them from wind, sun, and cold.