Here's how to avoid the dreaded dry lips
Having dry, chapped lips is a huge pain that often leads to embarrassment and other problems. Besides the flaking and discomfort, having chapped lips can make applying makeup difficult. Instead of wasting good lip products on dry, chapped lips or dealing with cracking, bleeding, or flaking, you can avoid getting chapped lips by taking some precautionary measures.
Why Are My Lips Continually Getting Chapped?
Unlike other areas of the body, the skin on the lips works a little differently. The skin on your lips doesn’t contain any oil glands—this means they are very likely to become dry because the body doesn’t have a natural way to keep them moisturized.
We use and move our lips quite a bit during the day. Even when we don’t realize it, our lips are working to help us eat, speak, and express emotions on our faces. Our lips already lack natural moisture, and when this is combined with constant movement and contact with our tongue, our lips can quickly become excessively dry.
Some people taking certain medications may notice dry lips as a side effect. For example, people using chemotherapy drugs often develop chapped lips as a side effect to their medications. Other health-related factors tied to chapped lips include dehydration and malnourishment. Changes in our living environment, such as seasonal weather changes, can cause lips to suddenly become chapped.
How Can I Stop My Lips from Becoming Dry and Chapped?
One of the first steps to combatting dry, chapped lips is to routinely moisturize. Humans are already fighting an uphill battle because the skin on our lips doesn’t naturally produce any bodily oils to help keep the skin smooth and soft. By applying the best chapsticks or moisturizing balms on a regular basis, you can keep your lips soft.
Another good time to apply a lip balm is right before you fall asleep. Unfortunately, quite a few of snore or breathe through our mouths when we’re sleeping. Although people can’t help when this happens during sleep, the constant movement of air through our mouths causes lips to dry out even faster than usual. By applying a balm right before falling asleep, your lips will retain a coat of moisture all night long, leaving lips extra soft in the morning.
People tend to lick their lips in an attempt to moisturize them. This might provide some momentary relief, but in the end, licking causes more problems than it solves. Saliva evaporates very quickly, often leaving the skin on the lips drier than it was before licking them. In the end, licking isn’t the answer—it is better to become more self-aware of this habit and apply a layer of balm instead.
Despite being made to protect and moisturize lips, some brands of lip balms contain ingredients that cause lips to become drier. Before you buy a new lip balm, read the ingredients label carefully. You should avoid any lip balm formulas that contain alcohol. Alcohol is a dehydrator, and when it is applied to lips, it can cause them to become dry and cracked. While they may provide some temporary relief, it won’t last as the product eventually evaporates and leave skin worse than it was before the application.
Prepare your skin to be in all kinds of weather. Lots of people slather on sunscreen when they’re heading out for a day in the sun, but they don’t apply any SPF to their lips. Special SPF lip balms are available for this exact purpose. On the contrary, people often neglect their lips in extremely cold temperatures as well. If you are going out on a cold, blustery day, applying a thick balm and guarding your lips with a scarf are excellent ways to shield your delicate lip skin from harsh, cold temperatures.
Certain types of foods can cause chapped lips. Spicy foods and citrus foods can cause the delicate skin on the lips to become excessively irritated. Likewise, if you have food allergies and consume anything that causes a reaction, your lips may also respond to the irritant by becoming dry.
One of the biggest causes of regularly chapped lips is a lack of hydration. Remembering to drink plenty of water during the day is a great way to help care for your lips’ health as well as the health of the rest of your skin.
Resources — HealthLine, StyleCaster
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