How to Avoid Chapped Lips this Winter
Winter brings things we love: holiday time, hot cocoa, skiing, and cozy nights by the fire. But with it comes cold and lack of humidity that can make your skin and lips as dry as tree bark!
The skin on your lips is different from the rest of your body. Lips don’t have oil glands and are thin and delicate, which makes them more prone to drying out.
Most people don’t even notice how much they touch or play with their lips — we tend to lick, pick, and even bite on their lips without even thinking about it. These habits can really take a toll causing dry, flaking and painful chapped lips that seem to never heal.
Here are the tips I’ve promised for treating and preventing dry lips so they stay soft, beautiful and hydrated all winter long!
1) Don’t lick your lips - this is #1 for a reason
Lip licking is probably the worst habit you can have with dry lips. When your lips get dry, you lick them in hopes of adding moisture. But it does the opposite!
Saliva evaporates quickly, leaving your lips drier than before you licked them. This starts the vicious cycle of licking again and again for relief, leading to the downhill spiral of seriously painful, dry and cracking skin. Now you have some seriously chapped lips!
2) Stay clear from flavored lip balms that contain mint, menthol or cinnamon
Lip balms with that “extra tingle” is good for your lips, right? Wrong. It’s ironic, but a lot of lip products contain colors, irritants, and dyes that can cause irritation. At first, they are soothing and feel great, but overuse can make your lips even more dry and irritated.
Common drying/irritating ingredients in lip balms include:
Menthol
Fragrance
Salicylic Acid
Camphor
Phenol
3) Breathe through your nose
It sounds strange, but something as simple as breathing through your mouth can actually dry out your lips.
4) Lip plumpers can make dry lips worse
A lot of the lip plumpers that claim to enhance lip volume do this magical trick through temporarily causing lip swelling. These products typically contain irritants or chemicals, such as those derived from cinnamon or cayenne pepper. These ingredients can lead to continuously chapped lips or even dermatitis on your lips.
5) Stay hydrated inside-out by drinking water
The warmer months aren’t the only time your body craves hydration. Water affects the moisture levels throughout your body and skin all year long. Less water means less saliva production, which can make your lips feel really dry. Keep your body and skin hydrated from the inside-out!
6) Avoid Smoking
Tobacco smoke can irritate the sensitive skin around the lips, causing them to dry out and become more likely to crack. Not to mention that it is a carcinogen too!
7) Sleep with a humidifier
In the winter there’s little humidity in the air and lots of dry heat in your house. All this dry air removes moisture from your skin and causes dry lips.
Sleeping with a humidifier is the best for adding moisture to the air and helping your skin stay supple. Even if you have a whole house humidifier, a focused humidifier by your bed at night can be a life saver through the cold, dry winter months!
8) Cover your lips when out in the elements
Wind and cold temps can take a toll on your lips. Exposing them to harsh elements will cause them to get dry and irritated. Covering them with a scarf when you head out into brutal temperatures and wind can help keep them protected.
9) Avoid sun damage
Prolonged exposure to the sun's UV rays can cause big time damage to your lips, leading to dryness and cracking. Chronic sun damage can also result in something called actinic cheilitis, which causes crusting and thick scale to form on your lips. This condition can become serious over time and result in precancerous and cancerous lesions. If you think this might be you, head into your derm office for a check!
When looking for a lip balm with sun protection AVOID chemical sunscreens such as oxybenzone (also known as benzophenone-3), octinoxate, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, and octinoxate benzene. These can be irritating and are not good for your fragile lips or your body. Look for sun blockers like zinc and titanium instead. If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t be using it!
10) Know that certain medicines can contribute to chapped lips
Most times this cannot be avoided, but it’s good to know that certain medications, such as antihistamines, chemotherapy agents, and diuretics can cause dehydration and chapped lips as a side effect.
Even some topical acne medications may contain lip irritants, such as salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. To avoid contact with your lips when using these products, just apply a barrier ointment like Aquaphor or Vaseline to your lips prior to applying your acne medication.
11) No Picking!
Whatever you do, don’t peel or bite off the dry skin on your lips! When your lips are chapped, they can be rough and start to peel. When you pick, you can end up taking off skin that isn’t completely dead, which can lead to bleeding and pain.
12) What ingredients to look for in a lip balm
Look for lip products with both hydrating and occlusive ingredients. This combination will moisturize while preventing water loss. In many lip balms you will also find a wax as an ingredient, which helps the product stick to your lips.
Occlusive ingredients may include beeswax, lanolin or petroleum (also hydrating) and work to hold moisture in. Moisturizing agents might include ceramides, jojoba oil, dimethicone, coconut oil, shea butter or cocoa butter.
Of course, use a good lip balm throughout the day, but the most important time to slather on more is at night before you go to sleep.
My Top Picks
Aquaphor Healing Ointment
(My Fave!)
Aquaphor has additional healing ingredients like petrolatum and mineral oil - and just a touch of lanolin to help it stick to your lips.
Plain ol’ Vaseline
So simple, but just what your fragile lips need.
Coola Liplux SPF 30
Its mineral based SPF protection and organic too!
Pangea Lip Balm
This is organic and has all kinds of great ingredients to help your lips stay healthy. Including: sunflower seed oil, beeswax, jojoba oil, cardamom) oil and shea butter.
Here are some happy, hydrated lips with just Aquaphor ointment applied!