Get Rid of Chapped Lips

Keeping your lips moisturized can be a ongoing battle, especially in the winter. If you live in a harsh climate, you likely end up with chapped lips some time over the winter. You can address this problem head-on by using moisture to your advantage, protecting your lips from the elements, and avoiding certain products and foods. Together, these strategies will help to heal your lips.

Steps

Making Moisture

  1. Drink plenty of water. When you don't drink enough water, you become dehydrated. Dehydration dries out your skin, including your lips. Drink your eight glasses of water a day to help your lips.[1]
  2. Try a humidifier. Dry air can dry out your skin, while moist air can help you skin stay moisturized. Dry air is especially a problem in the winter, so set up one in your bedroom to keep your skin and lips moisturized.[1]
  3. Use cucumber. Some people have luck using a cucumber to help rehydrate their lips. Simply cut up a cucumber. Use the slices to hydrate your lips by holding them on for 5 to to 10 minutes. [2]
  4. Try aloe vera. When your lips are chapped, you end up with minor cracks, and aloe vera can help heal those. In addition, it can help soothe the pain of chapped lips. You can apply pure aloe vera gel a couple of times a day to your lips.[2]
  5. Try a treatment or lip balm with ceramides. Your lips usually have a natural protection to keep them moist, but sometimes weather and food break down that protection. A treatment with ceramides encourages that barrier to rebuild itself, refreshing your chapped lips.[3]
  6. Use a hydrocortisone cream. If your lips are in really bad shape and other solutions aren't working, you can try a hydrocortisone cream a few times a day. While you should not use this option for the long term, you can use it for up to a week to restore your lips, giving your lips a chance to get healthy again.[4]
    • A good time to apply this cream is at night, when you aren't eating or drinking anything.[3]
    • Overusing hydrocortisone or other corticosteroid creams can also cause perioral dermatitis, a rash that occurs on your face around your lips.[5]
  7. Try a moisturizer such as Aquaphor in the morning. When you first wake up in the morning, apply a moisturizer to help jump-start the moisturizing process for the day.[3]

Knowing What to Avoid

  1. Avoid moistening your lips. It's probably automatic for you to run your tongue over your lips when they feel dry. However, doing so only makes the situation worse because your saliva ends up drying out your lips.[1]
  2. Avoid artificial products. When picking out a lip balm, avoid ones that have artificial dyes and flavors. Natural oils, like shea butter and coconut oil, work best for moisturizing your lips.[6]
  3. Don't eat citrus. The acid in the fruit can contribute to your chapped lips, so try to avoid it when your lips are especially bad.[7]
  4. Stop eating spicy foods. Like citrus, the spice in spicy foods can also irritate your lips, especially if they also include acids, like hot wings do. Take a break from these foods if you're having trouble with your lips.[2]
  5. Don't use exfoliants with salicylic acid. These types of exfoliants actually dry out lips more, worsening the problem.[6]
  6. Check your medications. If you have chronic dry lips, one of your medications could be to blame. For instance, high blood pressure medications can cause dry lips. While you shouldn't stop taking a medication altogether because of chapped lips, your doctor may be able to switch you to a different medication that doesn't cause you problems.[7]
  7. Change toothpastes. Some toothpastes, especially those with artificial ingredients, can irritate your lips. That irritation can create chapped lips over time.[7]

Keeping Your Lips from Harm

  1. Use a scarf. Scarves don't just protect your neck and chest, they can also provide protection for your lips if you move it up over your mouth. Wind is a killer for chapped lips, so stopping the wind helps prevent the problem.[6]
  2. Use lip balm daily. Use a natural lip balm often, especially in the winter. Lip balms not only moisturize, they also protect your lips against the elements.[7]
    • Don't over-apply lip balm. This can cause a condition called perioral dermatitis, a facial rash that occurs around your lips.[5] Limit yourself to once or twice a day.
  3. Apply lip balm before washing your face. You likely use a cleanser to wash your face, designed to exfoliate or remove oils. Those actions can harm your lips instead of helping them, so protect your lips by applying lip balm first. The oil in the balm will help repel the effects of the cleanser.[2]
  4. Apply sunscreen. Use a sunscreen on your lips, or choose a lip balm with at least an SPF 15 sunscreen in it. It protects your lips from getting sunburned, which can contribute to chapped lips.[2]



Tips

  • If you put a wet green tea bag on your lips for 10 to 15 minutes to help hydrate them and apply Vaseline or coconut oils afterwards. Avoiding matte lip product or any if possible to your lips.
  • You can use petroleum jelly at night before going to bed to keep your lips moisturized for long hours after you wake up.
  • Always keep a lip balm in your purse or pocket and apply it every so often. Baby Lips may be a good choice as it moisturizes your lips for at a long time.
  • You can use coconut oil to take care of your lips.
  • Put on Vaseline or Aquaphor while you sleep to make your lips less dry.
  • Mix coconut oil and sugar for a nice sugar scrub that remains mostly solid at room temperature and helps both remove dead skin and lock in moisture.
  • To get rid of chapped lips in only a few minutes, start by using a toothbrush to exfoliate your lips. Then wash your lips with moisturising soap, and pat your lips dry with a towel. Finally, put on some Vaseline, and wait 45 minutes, but I find less time works too depending on how bad it is.
  • Apply coconut oil on your lips.
  • Check with your doctor if chapped lips are an ongoing problem for you. It may mean you have a yeast infection around your mouth[7] or that you're having an allergic reaction to a product.[2]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-skin/expert-answers/chapped-lips/faq-20057819
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 http://dailymakeover.com/chapped-lips-cure/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2014/01/chapped-lip-treatments.html
  4. ↑ http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400623/Cure-for-Chapped-Lips.html
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.aocd.org/?page=PerioralDermatitis
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/02/07/beauty-tips-chapped-lips_n_2638828.html
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/cure-chapped-lips-3-quick-and-easy-steps
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