Stop Licking Your Lips

Licking or biting your lips may be a sign of stress or health concerns. Dentists, doctors, and beauticians all agree that this is a bad habit that should be broken. Licking your lips can cause them to be dry and painful. Learning to break the habit of licking your lips may take some time, but the benefits will improve your health.

Steps

Identifying Why You Lick Your Lips

  1. Identify when you lick your lips. If you’ve identified that licking your lips is a problem, make note of when you do it. This will help you keep a conscious reminder that you are partaking in your bad habit.[1]This will also start to give you information on whether it is health or stress related.
    • Do you lick your lips at a specific time of day, such as in the morning when you wake up? This could be an indication you’re dehydrated.
    • Do you lick your lips while working? This can be a sign of stress or concentration.
    • Do you lick you lips after eating? This could be a sign of dehydration or a habit to remove food from your lips.
  2. Identify stress in your life. Stress can wreck havoc on our skin.[2] Identify the stressful triggers in your life and ask if yourself if this is the cause of your lip-licking habit. Try stress relieving techniques to remove or reduce the stress in your life. You can try:
    • Meditation.
    • Yoga.
    • Exercise.
    • Anxiety medications.
    • Getting more sleep.
    • Picking up a new hobby.
  3. Write down your habits. Writing down when you lick your lips will help you develop a conscious strategy of when you do it. You can then review your notes and consider why you lick your lips. This might help you break the habit as the thought of having to write something down may disincline the act.

Breaking the Habit

  1. Try a bad-tasting lip balm. To try and stop licking your lips, try and put something bad tasting on them. This can include a bad tasting lip balm, petroleum jelly, or even hot sauce. If you have a negative reaction to the taste of licking your own lips, it will incline you to stop. Do not put anything toxic on your lips!
  2. Distract yourself. If you find yourself licking your lips while doing a specific task, try and distract yourself by doing something else. This can include sucking on a piece of hard candy or chewing gum. These tasks are great distractors because they mimic you subconscious habit.
  3. Wear lipstick. Wearing cosmetics may help you break a habit of licking your lips as they not only taste bad, but also mess up your appearance. If you are licking you lips in public, not wanting to mess up your makeup may be a good incentive to quit.
  4. Use positive reinforcement. Reward yourself if you find yourself breaking the habit. Set yourself goals such as: “I will not lick my lips from now until lunch time.” Having achievable goals will help you break a habit.[3]

Reversing the Damage

  1. Stay hydrated. Licking your lips naturally dries out your skin. You may be subconsciously licking your lips for salt. This may be an indication that you are not getting enough water in your diet. Stay hydrated each day by drinking the required amount of water based your lifestyle. [4]
  2. Use almond oil. Almond oil is a healthy and great tasting oil that can help rehydrate and repair dry lips. [5]
  3. Avoid hot showers. Hot showers can cause dry skin. Avoid taking a long, hot shower to help repair skin damage. Instead, take shorter showers and/or use cooler water.[6]
  4. Dress appropriately. The elements can cause dry skin. If you are outside during colder months, the wind can be especially brutal. Wear a scarf around your neck and mouth to avoid them drying out further.
  5. Humidify your space. A humidifier will help to pump moist air into a room. This can help your skin naturally moisturize. Often, cold winter months can turn the air dry and harmful against your skin.
  6. Use sunscreen. You should always protect your lips. Use a brand of lip-balm that has sunscreen protection of at least SPF 15. This will help heal dry lips and prevent additional sun damage.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/symptoms/lip-biting
  2. ↑ http://www.livescience.com/1192-skin-disorders-linked-stress.html
  3. ↑ https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/spring12/articles/spring12pg18-19.html
  4. ↑ http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutwaterrequir.pdf
  5. ↑ http://dailymakeover.com/chapped-lips-cure/
  6. ↑ http://share.upmc.com/2015/01/hot-shower-bad-skin/
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