Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Avoid irritants
• Part 2 of 3: Applying natural moisturizers and healing agents
• Part 3 of 3: Taking steps to protect your lips

If your lips are chapped, you may want to avoid the artificial ingredients in some lip balms for good reason. The artificial fragrances, dyes, and emollients in lip balms can irritate your lips and make them even drier. You may also not have a lip balm at home and want relief without going to the store. Do not worry. You can naturally soften and heal your lips by avoiding irritants, taking simple steps to protect your lips, and applying natural moisturisers and emollients.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Avoid irritants

1. Don't lick your lips. Licking your lips will temporarily get them moist, but this is not good. The saliva will irritate your lips and constant licking will remove the natural oils that protect your lips and keep them hydrated.
2. Breathe through your nose. The more you breathe through your mouth, the drier your lips become. This means that a decongestant can be very helpful if you have a cold and chapped lips.
3. Do not pull dead patches of skin off your lips. Instead, soften your lips with soothing oil like coconut or almond oil and let the pieces of dead skin fall off your lips naturally. Pulling them off too quickly will reveal the raw, sore skin underneath.
4. Don't eat acidic, salty, and spicy foods. All of these foods can irritate your already damaged lips even more. In particular, make sure to avoid the following foods:
   • Citrus fruits such as grapefruit and orange juice
   • Popcorn and nuts
   • Seasoned chicken wings and salsa
5. Do not use toothpaste with artificial flavors such as spearmint and peppermint, as well as the substance sodium lauryl ether sulfate (often referred to on packaging under the English name sodium lauryl sulfate). These substances can cause allergic reactions that can further damage your already irritated skin. Look for natural toothpastes without these substances at a health food store.
6. Do not overexpose your lips to the sun. The sun and the wind are the two main causes of chapped lips. If your lips are damaged, more sunlight will only make them more irritated. This is also because it is not recommended to put sunscreen on your chapped lips, as the cream can irritate your lips.
7. Avoid harsh weather conditions. Windy and dry weather can quickly dry out and crack your lips. It's best to stay indoors as much as possible to give your lips a chance to heal.

Part 2 of 3: Applying natural moisturizers and healing agents

1. Spread petroleum jelly or beeswax on your lips. These are the two main remedies recommended by experts for healing your lips. Beeswax contains propolis, an anti-inflammatory agent that aids the healing process. Petroleum jelly is an emollient that moisturizes and protects the lips.
2. Rub a slice of cucumber over your lips for five minutes or just leave the slice on. Cucumber has been proven to have a strong moisturizing effect, because cucumber contains vitamin B5. It also softens the skin and reduces inflammation.
   • You can also smear cucumber juice on your lips several times a day.
3. Instead of lip balm, use almond oil or coconut oil. Both types of oil have a soothing effect and keep the skin moist and flexible. Both agents also have anti-inflammatory properties. Coconut also promotes the healing process, reduces the risk of infection and soothes pain, making coconut an excellent way to treat chapped lips.
   • Other oils used to treat chapped lips are olive oil, jojoba oil, canola oil and mustard oil. All these oils protect and moisturize your lips, although they have less of a healing effect than almond oil and coconut oil.
4. Spread cocoa or shea butter on your lips. Both agents have soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. They retain moisture and protect your lips. Cocoa and shea butter also contain antioxidants that help protect your lips from further sun damage.
5. Put drops of milk cream on your lips. The fat in milk cream works well for moisturizing your lips, but milk cream does not have the same anti-inflammatory and healing properties as some oils and butter. However, it can help if you don't have the right types of oil and butter at home. Leave it on for ten minutes and then rinse it off with lukewarm water.
6. Apply aloe vera gel on your lips. You can buy the gel from the store or buy an aloe vera plant, break off a leaf and squeeze out some gel. Aloe vera gel has an anti-inflammatory effect and also promotes healing of the skin. However, according to some doctors, the gel can irritate your lips if they are badly chapped, so be careful when using aloe vera gel.
7. Eat foods containing vitamins E and C. By eating foods with both vitamins E and C, these substances help to heal your damaged skin, especially if your lips are chapped from sunburn.
   • Some beauty websites recommend applying vitamin E oil on your lips yourself, but according to some doctors, vitamin E can irritate chapped lips.

Part 3 of 3: Taking steps to protect your lips

1. Use a humidifier at night. Keeping your room moist will prevent your lips from drying out further. This is especially important if you often have the air conditioning and heating on. Both can make the air in your bedroom dry while you sleep.
2. Drink lots of water. Dehydration is one of the main causes of chapped lips. This is especially true in the winter when many people drink less water. If your lips are chapped, try to drink at least 10 250ml glasses of liquid a day to stay hydrated.
3. Don't use lipstick. Moisturizing lipstick is fine to use. You can also apply moisturizing and protective oils to your lips before applying lipstick, or try using a lip balm with a sun protection factor of at least 15.
4. Wear a scarf over your mouth when you go out. The wind can cause your lips to crack and can irritate already cracked lips even more by extracting moisture from them. Wearing a scarf over your mouth when you go out gives your lips a chance to heal.