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You have not mentioned whether your lips were always black - if they have turned black only recently, you may be able to lighten them again; however, if your lips were always black, then there is no way to change their color. People often have the mistaken idea that their lips should be pink. However, the natural color of the lips varies greatly from one person to the next. There is nothing wrong with having dark lips; if you have dark skin, your lips are quite likely to be dark too. Just like the rest of your skin, the skin of your lips contains the pigment called melanin. The amount of melanin in your skin, including the skin of your lips, is determined by your genes. If you are genetically dark skinned and your skin contains a lot of melanin, your lips are bound to be dark. Light skinned people, with very little melanin in their skin, tend to have pink lips because the lack of melanin allows the skin to take on the color of the blood vessels beneath it. This is because the lips are very rich in blood vessels, making the blood somewhat visible if the skin is translucent. Skin with pigment in it is more opaque, and so the red of the blood vessels is not so obvious.
If your lips used to be pink but have become dark over the years, it is probably simply the result of tanning. The lips do not tan as much as the rest of the body, but they are marginally affected by exposure to sunlight. You therefore need to protect them from sun exposure if you want to lighten them. Try to find a lipstick that provides sun protection, and use it whenever you are outdoors during the day. With regard to lipsticks, you should also note that cheap or expired lipsticks can irritate your skin and cause it to darken over time. If you are currently using any such lipsticks or other products, get rid of them immediately. Once you have taken care of these two problems, your lip color should gradually become lighter.
Finally, you can try a simple home remedy to speed up the lightening process - mix a little lemon juice and honey, and rub it on your lips twice a day. Lemon has a natural bleaching effect, and honey keeps your lips soft and moisturized, thus countering the drying effect of the lemon.
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