Get Rid of Painful Cracked Lips

Cracked, dry or sore lips are common in dry, cold weather. Chronically cracked lips might be a symptom of a more serious illness, but cracked lips can usually be treated using home remedies. See Step 1 and beyond to learn how to make your lips soft and supple again.

Steps

Treating Cracked Lips With Home Remedies

  1. Drink plenty of fluids. Having 8-10 glasses of water per day is ideal. When your body is dehydrated, it often shows first in your lips. The more water, the better!
  2. Don't lick or pick at your lips. When your lips are chapped, avoid the temptation to lick them constantly or pick at them. These two common habits just make the situation worse. Licking your lips may bring temporary relief, but as the saliva on your lips evaporates, it dries out your lips. Picking at the skin on your lips may lead to bleeding, an infection, or a cold sore.
    • If you feel the urge to lick or pick at your lips, immediately apply a lip balm instead.
    • Reapply lip balm or ointment after drinking or rinsing out your mouth.
  3. Exfoliate your lips. Before applying any sort of ointment, remove the dead skin using an exfoliation method. This will expose the fresh skin and help your lips start to heal. Don't rub your lips too harshly - that could make things worse. Gently massage them. You can exfoliate your lips using the same items you use to exfoliate other areas on your body. Try one of the following:
    • Use a salt or sugar scrub. Apply the scrub to your lips and massage them in a circular motion, rubbing away the dead skin (you can also try using sugar added to a little olive oil as an exfoliant). Your lips should feel soft and renewed.
    • Use an exfoliating brush. The easiest brush to use in this case might be your toothbrush! Just make sure it's clean. Any other small, soft-bristle brush will also do. Rub it over your lips in a circular motion to remove dead skin.
    • Don't use a soap-based exfoliant. Face wash with scrubbing beads and other soap-based exfoliants will dry out your lips further.
  4. Apply an ointment. Be careful which over-the-counter ointment or lip balm (e.g. Chapstick) you use to heal your cracked lips. Many contain ingredients (e.g. camphor or petroleum jelly) that make lips feel better temporarily, but which may actually dry out your lips even more, forcing you to reapply them again and again.
    • Look for a lip balm that contains beeswax, shea butter, coconut butter, almond oil, or other natural moisturizers - and not much else. Don't choose a lip balm with an extra-long list of ingredients you can't pronounce.
    • A vitamin E or glycerin-based ointment containing other natural ingredients could also be helpful.[1]
    • Avoid using lipstick to moisturize your lips. Lipstick can be drying - you need a protective ointment underneath.
  5. Apply oils. For an ultra-moisturizing lip treatment, rub a little oil on your lips. It will sooth and moisturize your lips while also protecting them from further damage. Use natural moisturizers made from nut oils and seed butters. Here are some examples:
    • Coconut oil
    • Almond oil
    • Jojoba oil
    • Olive oil
    • Cocoa or shea butter
    • Rosehip oil
  6. Soothe your lips if they're painful. If your lips are so cracked that it hurts to smile, try soothing them with a home remedy that will make them feel better. Here are a few suggestions:
    • Rubbing a cucumber slice on your lips daily for about 10 minutes is also known to be effective.
    • Rubbing some aloe vera gel on your lips can be soothing.
    • Rubbing a little honey on your lips will moisturize them and make them feel better.
  7. Avoid excessive use of commercial skin treatments. These include cosmetics and heavily flavored lip balms. They can dry out your skin.
  8. Try using fluoride-free toothpaste. Some people have an allergy to fluoride that not only affects their lips but can also cause other irritations in the mouth. Switch up your toothpaste and see if you notice a difference.
  9. Use a humidifier in your home or office. Heating indoor spaces in the winter causes the air to dry out. Try installing a humidifier. This moistens up air in a room and ultimately moistens up your lips.

Treating Underlying Causes of Cracked Lips

  1. Consider your diet. Increase the amount of needed vitamins in your diet by eating better or taking supplements like vitamin pills.
    • Refrain from eating salty foods, which increase the urge to lick your lips.
  2. Try not to sleep or breathe with your mouth open. If you wake up in the morning with dry, cracked lips, it might be because your mouth was open while you slept. The air circulating in and out of your mouth all night can dry out your lips. See if changing your sleeping position helps.
    • Dry, chapped lips can also be caused by breathing through your mouth when you have a stuffy nose. Try to clear your nasal passages so you can breathe through your nose as much as possible.
    • Wearing a mouth guard, retainer or another device that causes your mouth to stay open could also be the culprit.
    • If you can't avoid sleeping with your mouth open, apply a good ointment before bed.
  3. Protect your lips from drying environments. Leaving your lips unprotected in a strong wind can cause damage. Spending time in a very dry place can cause your lips to dry out and crack. If your environment is the culprit, you'll need to take extra care to protect your lips when you go out.
  4. Treat sun damage. Just as the rest of your skin can be damaged by the sun, so can your lips. Yes, you can have sunburned lips, and they hurt! Treat sun damaged lips by applying aloe to help the burned skin heal more quickly. Use a lip balm with an SPF of at least 15.
  5. See if smoking or chewing is the problem. Anything you regularly put in contact with your lips can affect their condition. The chemicals in cigarettes, gum and processed snacks can cause your lips to become dry and cracked.
  6. Determine whether a vitamin deficiency could be at play. Certain vitamins are critical to maintaining healthy skin and lips. These include Vitamins A, B, C, B2 (Riboflavin deficiency) and E. Make sure you're getting plenty of these vitamins to avoid cracked lips.
  7. Find out whether you are sensitive or allergic to a product ingredient. Many cracked and dry lips are the result of negative reactions to ingredients in cosmetics and skin care products. Overusing some products can aggravate the very condition they are meant to alleviate.
    • Switch to a toothpaste that doesn't contain sodium lauryl sulphate. Sodium lauryl sulfate is the foaming agent found in most toothpastes; it can also aggravate mouth sores or ulcers and chapped lips.
  8. See if it's a side effects of your medications. Certain medications cause dry or cracked lips as a side effect. If your condition coincides with beginning a new medication regimen, consult your doctor about this possibility.
  9. Consider more serious conditions. If none of the above seems to be the cause of your painful lips, they could also be a symptom of far more serious problems. Consult a doctor if you suspect that your lip pain originates with a seemingly unrelated ailment. Some possible illnesses could be:
    • Diabetes. If you have diabetes or a history of the condition in your family, this may be a cause of your lip pain.
    • Kawasaki Disease. A serious, but rare, blood disorder that is a cause of chronic dry lips.
    • Sjogren's Syndrome. A kind of autoimmune disease which can damage the tear ducts and similar glands is also a common cause of seriously cracked lips.
    • Macrocytosis. A blood condition where the average red blood cell size is increased to dangerous levels.
    • Sexually transmitted diseases. STD's, including HIV and other diseases, can be an underlying cause of chronic cracked lips.


Tips

  • Don't lick your lips. It might feel good at first, but your saliva actually dries them out more.
  • Drink lots of water and try to bring chap stick with you everywhere. Putting on chap stick at least three times a day helps your lips stay soft.
  • Avoid touching your lips or they will become raw.
  • Try coconut oil on your lips to help.
  • Apply soothing on lip balm or Chapstick every hour or so and follow these helpful tips.
  • Don't spread the Chapstick or lip balm by rubbing your lips together. Instead, gently use your finger and apply more lip balm if they feel dry.
  • Use lip balm made out of 100% all natural beeswax.
  • Make a lip scrub by mixing olive oil and sugar.
  • Use a medical lip balm that works for you.
  • Rub a cucumber on your lip for 5 to 20 minutes.
  • Try using almond oil. The effect will help soothe your lips.
  • Apply a thick layer of natural unflavored lip balm to your lips and place a piece of plastic wrap over them. Leave it for 5 minutes, then wash the lip balm off and apply a thin layer of fresh lip balm.
  • Try going outside less if the weather is bad and try not to sleep with a window open beside you.
  • Apply a thick layer of your remedy of choice before you go to sleep so it won't interfere with drinking, eating, kissing, etc.
  • Don't bite the dead skin on your lips, that will make it worse. Instead use an ointment to get rid of the dead skin so you can apply your lip balm.
  • Use vaseline (petroleum jelly) on your lips.
  • You can also try Petroleum Jelly. It soothes your lips and makes them smooth.
  • Apply malai or glycerin overnight to help.
  • Use Egyptian Magic. It is a lip balm that contains only natural ingredients. Find it at Costco or online.
  • If you play an instrument that hurts your lips (flute, trumpet, etc...) that might be a problem. Apply some petroleum jelly before you play one.
  • Try not to use lip tints; they normally cause lip cracks.
  • You can get small face masks designed to remove pores on your skin. These actually fit perfectly on your lips to close your mouth and put it on for the recommended time on the package and when you lift it off it should remove all dead skin and soften your lips as well.

Warnings

  • Never rub sore lips with harsh abrasives, such as a nail file or a stiff brush.
  • Always consult a doctor when diagnosing any medical condition, especially if it does not clear up in a reasonable time under home treatment. In the case of lips, a dermatologist is probably the most qualified to make any assessments.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/beauty/lips-smile/why-your-lips-are-chapped
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