Milk's moisturising properties help make your lips soft. Apply milk and turmeric as a paste on the lips and leave it for about five minutes before washing it off with water. Honey has antiseptic and antibacterial properties that hydrate damaged cells. Use honey and sugar scrub to soothe chapped lips.
Apply a non-irritating lip balm (or lip moisturizer) several times a day and before bed. If your lips are very dry and cracked, try a thick ointment, such as white petroleum jelly. Ointment seals in water longer than waxes or oils. Slather on a non-irritating lip balm with SPF 30 or higher before going outdoors.
Drink More Water. Staying hydrated and drinking enough water throughout the day will help prevent your lips from drying out. You can even drink coconut water as it gives the body the minerals it needs to stay hydrated.
You can learn how to get rid of chapped lips in 5 minutes by exfoliating your lips and adding a moisturizer. Use a toothbrush to remove dead skin off your lips. Brush gently to give your lips a smoother texture.
See a dermatologist if your problem persists. Chapping that doesn't heal, despite regular use of lip balm, can be a sign of infection or a more serious problem, like cancer or a precancerous condition called actinic cheilitis.
Severely chapped lips may take longer to heal, but the average time is two to three weeks to recover completely. If you treat chapped lips as soon as you notice a problem, your lips will heal much faster and you can avoid potential complications like infection.
Licking your lips when they're chapped will not make them better. In fact, according to the Dermatology Clinic at UAMS, licking your lips can actually make things worse. Chapped lips are caused by a number of factors. For most people, the weather is the main cause of chapped lips.
Drinking plenty of water can help keep your skin and lips hydrated. While dehydration isn't the only cause of dry lips, it can be a factor. Keep a water bottle with you throughout the day to remember to hydrate.
Chapped lips are typically caused by environmental exposures that lead to irritation, including saliva and licking your lips, spicy foods, and cold, dry weather, says Dr. Zeichner. The common cold and sun damage can also cause chapped lips, he adds, as well as medication like cholesterol-lowering agents.
“Dehydration, weather changes, certain lip balm ingredients (like menthol, camphor, phenol, and salicylic acid), vitamin deficiencies (specifically iron, zinc, and Vitamin B12), sun damage, and lip-licking can all cause dry lips,” explains Jennifer Weiss, a PA at Marmur Medical.
Any of the following conditions can contribute to chapped lips. Dehydration – When you're dehydrated, your lips are more prone to dryness. Drink about eight glasses of water per day to stay properly hydrated. Malnutrition – Improper diet and nutrient deficiencies can make skin and lips drier than usual.
Dry/chapped lips: Dryness in the body due to climate, dehydration, tension, anxiety, fear. Cracked or peeling lips: Heartache, worry, dryness in the body, feeling cold. Discoloration or faded colour in the lips: Lack of proper circulation throughout the body.
Little humidity in the air during the winter months is known to cause chapped lips. Frequent sun exposure in the summer can also worsen your condition. Another common cause of chapped lips is habitual licking. Saliva from the tongue can further strip the lips of moisture, causing more dryness.
Cold and Flu Symptoms: Cold Sores and Chapped Lips
One of the most frustrating side effects of colds and flu is dry, cracked, irritated lips -- not to mention cold sores. All can occur if you've got even a low-grade fever, or in the case of chapped, cracked lips, from mouth breathing when you have a stuffy nose.
And finally, over-use! No matter how good your lip balm is, if you're applying it too often it will end up doing more harm than good. This is because the lips become reliant on the product and lose the ability to moisturise themselves.
Saliva contains digestive enzymes, like amylase and maltase, which wear down the skin on the lips. Over time, this will leave the lips more vulnerable to dry air. The skin can even break open and bleed.
Chapped lips are a common symptom of deficiencies, especially in folate (vitamin B9), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and vitamins B6 and B12 ( 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ).
Being under stress for a long period of time, with accompanying symptoms such as low mood and tiredness, can result in cracked lips. As well as this, a poor diet which is low in iron and B vitamins may lead to lips becoming dry and sore.
Cheilitis is a type of lip inflammation with symptoms of red, dry, scaling, and itchy lips. Many factors can cause cheilitis, such as an infection, chronic lip licking, or exposure to an allergen or irritant.
So, should you use chapstick or Vaseline? Both! Chapstick moisturizes dry lips, and Vaseline helps in sealing the moisture in and keeping the skin barrier intact. While you can get away with using just chapstick, there is no point in using Vaseline without applying chapstick first.
What does it look like? Solar cheilitis predominantly affects the lower lip because it tends to be more prominent. The homogenous pink color of the healthy lip (Figure A) is replaced with non-homogenous white/gray, pink, red, or brown areas and the normally sharp vermillion/skin border becomes less distinct (Figure B).