5 Tips for Healing Chapped or Dry Lips

In winter, cold wind and a chilly temperature is the recipe for chapped, dry lips. Not only is having chapped lips annoying and uncomfortable, but it can be painful too.

The skin on your lips is thinner than any other part of your body, and it’s also more exposed to the elements. Everyone has experienced cheilitis – or chapped lips – at some point in their lives.

To make even matters worse, your lips don’t have oil glands, so they can’t produce their own moisture. If your lips are dry, peeling, or cracked, here’s what you need to do to get some relief.

1. Look for Quality Ingredients

Let’s face it; balm and butter for lips aren’t created equal. Some balms and moisturizers may contain ingredients that dry your lips further, which only worsens the problem.

Avoid using lip balm and butter that contains phenol or camphor. Rather, look for nourishing, moisturizing ingredients like lanolin, beeswax, and vegetable oils.

Lip balms that contain high-quality botanical ingredients like aloe vera, coconut oil, and green tea are also less likely to contain harsh, drying chemicals and fragrances.

2. Exfoliate Chapped Lips

When your lips are chapped, a layer of dry, flaky skin acts as a barrier and prevents your lips from absorbing the moisture from your lip balm.

Gently exfoliate your lips with a natural lip scrub that contains sugar or baking soda to remove the dead layer of skin. Like lip balm, choose a lip scrub that contains ingredients that will moisturize and soothe your chapped lips.

3. Stay Hydrated

When it comes to chapped lips, dehydration can play a huge role. Most people don’t even know when they are slightly dehydrated – that’s why you should drink eight cups of water throughout the day.

When you are dehydrated, your body is losing more fluid than you’re taking in. When your body is even slightly dehydrated, it will pull moisture from other areas in the body to keep your cells hydrated.

Dehydration causes dry skin – which includes the skin on your lips. You may also experience other signs like a dry mouth, headaches, and dizziness.

4. Use a Humidifier

A common issue in winter is spending time in dry air, which also dries out your skin. While drinking enough water no matter the season is always a good idea, a better way to address the problem is by adding more moisture directly to the air.

Consider using a humidifier in winter if you feel the air is too dry – humidifiers are an effective way to keep your skin and nasal passages moisturized.

5. Don’t Pick, Lick, or Bite

While the urge to moisten your chapped lips by licking them may seem irresistible, it’s actually one of the worst things you can do. When the saliva on your lips starts to dry, it pulls more moisture from your skin.

You should also avoid picking, peeling, and biting the flaky skin on your lips. The skin on your lips is fragile, so damaging it further can cause irritation, bleeding, pain, and slow down the healing process.