Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Apply balms and nourishing masks to your lips
• Method 2 of 3: Take care of your lips
• Method 3 of 3: Avoid Irritants
• Tips
• Warnings

Chapped lips are often accompanied by dryness and chapping, which is painful and uncomfortable. Such dry lips can be caused by many factors, including the influence of dry windy weather, the habit of constantly licking lips, as well as the specific effect of certain drugs. In the cold season, this problem becomes especially urgent. Fortunately, this problem can be prevented by following a few simple guidelines.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Apply balms and nourishing masks to your lips

1. 1 Use lip balm. To speed up the healing of wounds and cracks and prevent dry lips, apply a special moisturizing balm to your lips. Lip balm helps moisturize the lips and protect them from irritating factors.
   • To relieve dry lips and keep your lips hydrated and healthy, apply the balm every couple of hours.
   • In hot weather, use a lip balm with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 16 to help protect your lips from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays.
   • Apply lip balm after applying your moisturizing gel or cream.
   • Find a balm that contains beeswax, vegetable oils, or dimethicone.
2. 2 Try petroleum jelly. Petroleum jelly not only moisturizes but also protects the lips by acting like a balm. In addition, petroleum jelly also protects the skin from sun damage, which often causes lips to dry out and crack.
   • You can apply a layer of special lip sunscreen underneath the petroleum jelly.
3. 3 Apply moisturizer. This keeps your lips moisturized and easier to absorb. Moisturizing gels and hygienic lipsticks are essential products to keep your lips healthy and hydrated. When choosing such a gel, cream or hygienic lipstick for yourself, pay attention to the presence of the following components:
   • Shea Butter;
   • emu oil;
   • oil with vitamin E;
   • Coconut oil.

Method 2 of 3: Take care of your lips

1. 1 Buy a humidifier to increase indoor humidity. If you live in dry climates, you can avoid permanent dryness of your lips by using a humidifier. These humidifiers can be purchased at pharmacies and major hardware stores, or ordered online.
   • At home, try to keep the humidity around 30-50%.
   • Remember to keep the humidifier clean, wash and clean it according to the instructions in the operating instructions. Otherwise, the humidifier can become a breeding ground for fungi and bacteria, which can make you sick.
   • Use less lipstick and lip gloss. Lipstick is very dry to the skin of the lips, so it is better to use gloss or just enjoy the natural color of your lips. If you have an important event and cannot do without lipstick, you should not choose matte shades. They dry the skin incredibly!
2. 2 Do not forget to protect your lips when leaving the house in bad weather. Heat, bright sun, strong wind and cold cause dryness of the lips. Therefore, before going outside in "non-flying" weather, apply a protective balm on your lips (or cover your lips with a scarf).
   • You can opt for a moisturizing sun protection factor (SPF) lip balm to not only nourish your lips, but also prevent sunburn (yes, your lips can burn in the sun too!).
   • Apply this UV Factor Balm 30 minutes before going outside.
   • If you go swimming, apply this balm as often as possible.
3. 3 Evaluate if you are consuming enough vitamins and other essential nutrients. With vitamin deficiency, the dryness of the lips increases, which contributes to the formation of cracks. It is important to make sure that you are consuming the following vitamins and minerals in the optimal doses (if you are unsure, discuss this with your doctor):
   • vitamin B;
   • iron compounds;
   • essential fatty acids;
   • multivitamins;
   • mineral supplements.
4. 4 Drink as much water as possible. Due to insufficient water intake, the skin of the lips can become dry and chapped. To keep your lip skin healthy and hydrated, it is important to maintain a healthy drinking regime and drink enough water.
   • In winter, the air is especially dry and frosty, so this season it is especially important to monitor your drinking regime.
   • Drink at least the recommended 8 glasses of water a day.

Method 3 of 3: Avoid Irritants

1. 1 Eliminate allergic reactions. The whole point may be that you are allergic to certain substances that come into contact with the skin of your lips. Most often, this is due to the smells and dyes of cosmetics. If you notice that your lips are often chapped, use only cosmetic products and care products that are odorless and do not contain dyes.
   • Another fairly common allergen is toothpaste. If your lip skin is itchy, if it is dry and painful, if it becomes inflamed after brushing your teeth (which sometimes comes to the appearance of bubbles or blisters), most likely you have a severe allergic reaction to some component of the toothpaste. If this is the case, try changing your toothpaste to one that is more natural and low in preservatives, fragrances, flavors and flavors.
   • Lipstick is the most likely cause of recurrent contact cheilitis (that is, an allergic reaction from skin contact with lipstick or lip gloss). However, in men, the most common cause of an allergic reaction of the skin of the lips is toothpaste.
2. 2 Don't lick your lips. Licking your lips causes even more dryness and chapping. Even if you think this is keeping your lips moisturized, it actually makes them even more dry. Lip irritation is most often observed in people who are used to constantly licking their lips. In addition, this habit can cause irritation in the form of an itchy rash on the skin around the mouth.Therefore, it is recommended to simply use a moisturizing gel, cream or balm.
   • Avoid using a lip balm with strong fragrances, because it makes many people involuntarily lick their lips.
   • Don't put too much balm on your lips at one time - this can also make you want to lick your lips.
3. 3 Don't bite your lips. The habit of biting your lips has a detrimental effect on them: you "bite" the protective layer, due to the absence of which the dryness of the lips only aggravates. Don't bite or touch your lips with your hands - give them a chance to recover.
   • Pay attention to the habit of biting your lips or touching them with your hands - it is quite possible that you do not even notice it.
   • Ask a friend to tug at you if he sees you start biting your lips or peeling off dry crusts with your hands.
4. 4 Skip some foods. Foods that are too spicy and acidic can irritate the lips. Observe the condition of the skin of the lips after eating one of these dishes, and also look for any signs of irritation. Try to eliminate these foods and foods from your diet for at least a week to see if the irritation goes away.
   • Avoid dishes with hot sauce and peppers.
   • Don't get carried away with acidic foods like tomatoes.
   • Some foods, such as mango (especially mango peel), contain substances that irritate many people with skin sensitivities. If this is your case, discard them.
5. 5 Breathe through your nose. The constant flow of air through the mouth when breathing causes dryness of the mucous membranes of the mouth and lips, which can cause the lips to crack. Therefore, it is recommended to breathe through the nose.
   • If you find it difficult to breathe through your nose, see your doctor. You may have an allergy or a medical condition that makes nasal breathing difficult.
6. 6 Pay attention to the medications you are taking. Severe dryness of the lips can be a side effect of some medications. Talk to your doctor and consider together which of these drugs could be the culprit for dry and chapped lips. These side effects can be caused by both over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs for treating and treating specific conditions:
   • depression;
   • anxiety;
   • pain;
   • severe acne (Roaccutane);
   • stagnation of blood or bile, allergic reactions, respiratory diseases.
     • Do not stop taking medications without first talking to your doctor.
     • Ask your doctor to prescribe alternative medications or advice on how to deal with this side effect.
7. 7 See your doctor in time. In some cases, dry lips may indicate a more serious condition, in which case a doctor's consultation is necessary. If you notice any of the following symptoms, be sure to make an appointment with your doctor:
   • persistent dryness and chapping of the lips that home remedies cannot cope with;
   • painful cracks;
   • swelling of the lips and moist discharge;
   • cracks in the corners of the lips;
   • painful sores on or near the skin of the lips;
   • sores that do not heal for a long time.

Tips

• Always drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
• To prevent dry lips in the morning, use chapstick or moisturizing lip balm at night.
• In the morning, be sure to apply a balm or moisturizer to your lips. Remember that in the morning after waking up, the skin of the lips is the driest!
• The main reasons for dry lips and subsequent cracks are: ultraviolet rays, strong winds, dry and frosty air.
• Use chapstick or lip balm before meals, and remember to wash your lips after meals.
• Remember to wash your hands before touching your face to apply lip balm or moisturizer.
• Apply some honey to your lips every night before going to bed.
• Try using natural oils or make your own lip cream to make it as natural as possible. In addition, this way you will know exactly what components are included in the composition of this cream, because a cream or balm bought at a pharmacy can cause an allergic reaction.
• Combine petroleum jelly and sugar and apply the mixture to your lips overnight. In the morning, the skin of the lips will be soft and pink.
• Good manufacturers of hygienic lipsticks and lip balms are: Carmex, Blistex, Burt's Bees and EOS.
• To keep your lips healthy and hydrated, use lip balm in the evening before going to bed and in the morning after waking up.

Warnings

• Never swallow chapstick, lip balm or sunscreen - these cosmetic products can be harmful to the body if ingested!