The key to healthy lips is using a moisturizing product every day. If your lips are very dry, you may also want to exfoliate your lips 1–2 times per week.
Constantly applying these to your lips could cause long-lasting damage to your skin or otherwise dry out your lips instead of making them more moisturized.
Peeling, Flaking and Cracks
Your skin relies on oil to hold in moisture and, without it, can appear rough, flaky and scaly. Because your lips do not contain sebaceous glands, they are ill-equipped to provide sufficient moisture. As a result, they are more prone to peeling and flaking.
Over-application prevents the skin on your lips from producing its own oils. "Too much greasy product can also lead to small spots appearing around the lip area," warns Dorrian. "If you're using a good quality, natural balm, a smaller than pea size amount is enough," she says.
Keeping lips moisturized is an essential part of a skincare routine. Proper hydration and lip products with moisturizing ingredients are key.
When your lips are dehydrated, it can be tempting to lick and moisten them. The effect is temporary and might make things worse. Licking your lips coats them in a layer of your saliva, which contains enzymes and chemicals used to digest food in your mouth. These enzymes can lead to additional dryness.
Vaseline is known as an occlusive, which means it can hold in moisture . If you use Vaseline on your lips before they're dry and chapped, you may be able to stave off dryness. However, petroleum jelly isn't all that effective at restoring moisture once it's been lost.
If you keep your lips hydrated, they will naturally look plumper, fuller, and healthier. The best way to keep your lips moisturized is to drink enough water throughout the day and regularly apply moisturizing products like lip oil or lip balm.
The key to healthy lips is using a moisturizing product every day. If your lips are very dry, you may also want to exfoliate your lips 1–2 times per week.
Saliva, spicy food, the sun and certain products can be irritating to your lips, while some medications and health conditions can cause your lips to be drier than usual. For instance, medications that cause dry mouth can also lead to drier lips.
Chapped lips can sometimes heal on their own, but if that isn't happening after a day or two, try using a lip balm, suggests Zeichner. Lip balms contain a combination of waxes and oils that form a protective seal over the skin, he explains.
"Many of us sleep with our mouths open, which dries out our lips. A humidifier can make the air a little healthier." On that note, if you're going to apply lip balm, don't just go for it in the daytime; apply it before bed, too. "Look for ingredients like shea butter, glycerin or natural oils," advised Fishman.
Lip balm doesn't contain any addictive substances. Using it excessively doesn't cause the lips and surrounding area to stop producing natural moisture. At the most, you may be hyperaware of your bare lips, much like you'd be aware of how naked you are if you stopped wearing clothes.
If you have chapped lips or dry skin around lips, use Aquaphor Healing Ointment® as your dry lips treatment to relieve dryness and soothe dry cracked lips. It also adds a little extra shine.
Applying lip balm regularly should ease discomfort until your lips have time to heal. Severely chapped lips may take longer to heal, but the average time is two to three weeks to recover completely.
As we age, our bodies produce less collagen and elastin, which are necessary for skin to look full and plump. The lips are no exception. Without collagen production, the lips can lose their fullness and become very thin. If you want lips that are fuller, more youthful, and more kissable, there is a solution.
“Also, when your lips are dehydrated, they look deflated and smaller.
According to Dr Marisa Coen in her essay for The Science of Relationships, fuller lips have long been desired by women because, as evolutionary psychology suggests, they signify strong mating potential. “Facial features serve as a cue of attractiveness,” explains Coen.
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.
Lip balm has no ingredients that can cause dependency. And ingredients in these products can't short-circuit your skin's ability to make natural moisture. Yet dermatologists still get questions about lip balm addiction and lips that stay dry despite regular balm use.
If you lick your lips before applying Vaseline and nothing else, you might make chapped lips worse because lips don't retain water very well. Theoretically, you could work around that by applying a moisturizer before Vaseline to really pack a hydrating punch.