Always moisten your lips before applying your lip balm. Never apply to a dry lip. The balm will then seal in the moisture." The trick works because Vaseline and other lip balm products help to create a seal around the lips and prevent moisture loss, but often don't add that much moisture to already dry lips.
Protect Your Lips
In the winter and summer, make sure you seal in moisture with a layer of petroleum jelly on your lips. Both central heating and air conditioners, as well as the weather conditions of each season, can dry out the skin. Also, wear a scarf over your mouth in very cold weather.
Add moisture before you add the barrier.
A lot of people make the mistake of slathering lip balm straight onto dry, cracked lips. The good news: you are preventing whatever moisture is already there from escaping. The bad news: you barely have any moisture to retain in the first place.
The secret to dealing with dry, sore, chapped lips is to find a way to lock in moisture and protect the lips from the cold, dry air. Vaseline® Healing Jelly is an excellent choice as it forms a protective layer on the lips and penetrates deep down to rehydrate the skin and speed up the its natural renewal process.
When you apply Vaseline to your lips, the petroleum jelly acts as a protective barrier and prevents moisture from escaping. It's not going to add moisture. 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.
Use it as a lip balm
Keep your lips winter-safe by applying a coat of Vaseline on them overnight. Keeping it on overnight will seal in the moisture and soften and smoothen your lips.
Hydrate. Unlike the rest of your skin, lips tend to dry out and become chapped easily since they do not contain oil glands. Drink lots of water to keep lips from drying out, and avoid licking your lips (it took me years to break the habit!) which also saps moisture.
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.
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.
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.
As a non-glandular mucous membrane, your lips do not have the ability to generate their own moisture. They do not contain the same concentration of oil-producing sebaceous glands as the rest of the body and are therefore less lubricated and more susceptible to dryness and peeling.
It absorbs into the skin within 15 seconds of applying and gives immediate hydration. It does not leave his skin feeling greasy or oily!
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.
When you lick your lips, you're coating them in saliva. Not only does it evaporate very quickly to leave lips drier than before, your saliva is also full of enzymes that are too harsh for the delicate lip skin. These enzymes can remain on the lips and cause them to feel dry and uncomfortable.
May 28, · When the saliva left over from a lot of kissing evaporates from your lips it takes with it the natural moisture and oils that help protect the delicate skin there. This can lead to dry, cracked, and chapped lips (via Consumer Health Digest).
It's best to wash off any remaining Vaseline in the morning then use your normal moisture, as the thickness of Vaseline can cause greasy skin throughout the day. It's best to start small when applying a product that can be so heavy and greasy.
You may apply Vaseline on your lips daily to lock in the natural moisture and prevent dryness. However, avoid doing so if you are allergic to the product.
Aquaphor tends to be a better moisturizer because it contains humectant ingredients and is occlusive, while Vaseline is only occlusive. When used for wound healing after surgery, Vaseline has shown to cause less redness at the wound site than Aquaphor. If you have a lanolin allergy, opt for Vaseline over Aquaphor.
Truthfully, though, they're equally as good for their intended purposes. If you're looking for a medicated lip balm, look no further than Carmex. Likewise, if you're looking for a regular lip balm, Vaseline is the way to go.
But lucky for you, dermatologists have a simple solution. The latest viral skincare trend is called "slugging," which involves coating your face in petrolatum, or Vaseline, to moisturize your skin overnight. Though the fad has become a talker recently (with over 80 million views on TikTok), it's not particularly new.
Not for after-sun care
Vaseline is not safe to use as an immediate measure to treat sunburn or sun damage on your face. Vaseline is oil-based, which means it can seal in heat and aggravate your symptoms further.