Get Rid of Chapped Lips Without Lip Balm

If your lips are chapped, you may want to avoid the artificial ingredients in certain lip balms, and with good reason. The fragrances, artificial colors, and soothing agents they contain can irritate your lips and actually make them worse.[1] Or maybe you don’t have any lip balm around and want relief without running to the store. Never fear! You can soothe and heal your lips naturally by avoiding irritants, taking simple measures to keep them protected, and by applying natural moisturizers and soothing agents.

Steps

Avoiding Irritants

  1. Don’t lick your lips. Licking your lips does temporarily add moisture, but at a cost. Your saliva will irritate your lips while constant licking will also remove the natural oils that protect them and hold in moisture.[2]
  2. Breathe through your nose. The more you breathe through your mouth, the drier your lips will become.[2] This means that if you have a cold as well as chapped lips, a decongestant can do wonders for both.
  3. Don’t pick off flakes of dead skin. Instead, soften them with emollient oils such as coconut oil or almond oil and let them fall off naturally. Pulling them off too early will expose raw, painful skin.[3]
  4. Don’t eat acidic, salty, or spicy foods. All of the above can further irritate your already damaged lips. In particular, be sure to avoid:[4]
    • Citrus like grapefruit or orange juice
    • Popcorn or nuts
    • Hot wings or salsa
  5. Get rid of toothpaste with synthetic flavors like spearmint and peppermint and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Both can cause allergic reactions that aggravate already irritated skin. Check here for a list of SLS-free toothpastes.[5]
  6. Avoid excessive exposure to the sun. Sun and wind are the two main causes of chapped lips. If your lips are damaged, more sunshine will only make them worse, especially since sunscreen is not recommended for chapped lips, as it may irritate them.[6]
  7. Stay out of harsh weather. Windy, dry weather can quickly dry out and crack your lips. You’ll want to stay indoors as much as possible to give your lips a chance to heal.

Applying Natural Moisturizers and Healing Agents

  1. Rub petroleum jelly or beeswax on your lips. These are the two main treatments suggested by the National Institute of Health.[6] Beeswax contains propolis, which is an anti-inflammatory that aids in healing.[7] Petroleum jelly is an emollient that moisturizes and protects lips.
  2. Place or rub sliced cucumber on your lips for five minutes. Cucumber has been shown to be a very effective moisturizer due to the presence of vitamin B-5,[8] and it also soothes skin and reduces inflammation.[9]
    • Alternately, you can apply cucumber juice to your lips several times a day.[10]
  3. Use almond oil or coconut oil in place of lip balm. Both are emollients that keep skin moist and flexible. Both also have anti-inflammatory properties.[11] In addition, coconut promotes healing, reduces the risk of infection, and reduces pain, making it a great treatment for chapped lips.[12]
    • Other oils used to treat chapped lips are olive oil, jojoba oil, canola, and mustard oil. All have moisturizing and protective properties though their healing properties are not as pronounced as almond and coconut oil.
  4. Rub cocoa or shea butter on your lips. Both have emollient and anti-inflammatory properties. They will trap moisture and protect your lips. Cocoa and shea butter also contain antioxidants that will help prevent further damage to your lips from the sun.[13][14]
  5. Put drops of milk cream on your lips. The fat content of milk cream makes it effective at moisturizing your lips though it does not have the same anti-inflammatory and healing properties as some oils and kinds of butter. Still, if you don’t have the right oils or butter to hand, it can help. Let it sit on your lips for ten minutes, then wash it off with lukewarm water.
  6. Apply aloe vera to your lips. You can purchase aloe vera at a store, or purchase an aloe vera plant, break off a leaf, and squeeze some out. Aloe vera is an anti-inflammatory that also promotes skin healing.[15] However, some doctors feel that it can irritate lips that are very cracked, so use it with caution.
  7. Consume vitamins E and C. When taken together, vitamins E and C help promote healing of damaged skin, particularly if your lips are chapped due to sunburn.
    • Some beauty sites suggest applying vitamin E oil directly to your lips, but some doctors warn that vitamin E can irritate chapped lips.[1]

Taking Steps to Protect Your Lips

  1. Use a humidifier at night. Keeping your room moist will help to prevent your lips from drying out any further. This is especially important when your air conditioning and heat are running a lot, as both may dry out the air in the room where you sleep.[3]
  2. Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is one of the main causes of chapped lips. This is particularly true in the winter when many people drink less water. If your lips are chapped, try to drink at least ten 8-oz cups of fluid a day to stay hydrated.[16]
  3. Skip the lipstick, or if you do use it, make sure it is moisturizing. Alternately, you can rub a moisturizing and protective oil on your lips before applying lip stick.[3] Or try a lip balm that contains an SPF of at least 15.
  4. Wear a scarf over your mouth when outside. The wind can cause chapped lips, and it can aggravate already chapped lips by stripping them of moisture. Putting a scarf over you mouth when outside gives your lips a chance to heal.[3]

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.swedishcovenant.org/community/well-community-articles/2014/05/08/lip-balm-6-ingredients-to-look-for-6-ingredients-to-avoid
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-skin/expert-answers/chapped-lips/faq-20057819
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 http://dailymakeover.com/chapped-lips-cure/
  4. ↑ http://dailymakeover.com/chapped-lips-cure/
  5. ↑ http://stamforddentist.com/2016/07/04/whats-in-your-toothpaste/
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002036.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/390.html
  8. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992143/
  9. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23098877
  10. ↑ https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/general-health/17-surprising-health-benefits-of-cucumber.html
  11. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20129403
  12. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19134433
  13. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4145303/
  14. ↑ http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20140205.18.pdf
  15. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3611630/
  16. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256
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