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.
B vitamins
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 ).
“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.
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.
Use a moisturizer to keep your lips from drying out further. Products containing beeswax or petroleum work to hold moisture in. Slather on more at night before you go to sleep. Ointments like coconut oil, cocoa butter, petroleum jelly, and even thick body lotions are good options.
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 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.
Vitamin B-3 Without enough vitamin B-3 or niacin, a person may experience dry, cracked lips or tongue and a red, swollen mouth. A deficiency of this vitamin can also lead to dermatitis. People can get niacin in their diet by eating beef, pork, halibut, tuna, poultry, whole grains, dairy, and green leafy vegetables.
Use vitamin E
Vitamin E boosts circulation and may help generate new skin cells, making your lips softer. Shop for vitamin E capsules.
When estrogen and progesterone decrease in women experiencing menopause or the time around menopause, they may experience perimenopausal or menopausal dry mouth. This is when the salivary glands may decrease in their production, and a woman's mouth could have a dry, cotton-filled sensation to it.
Is Aquaphor or Vaseline Better for Lips? On its own, Aquaphor is better because it has additional ingredients that add moisture to your lips. However, Vaseline also offers lip therapy variants with moisturizing ingredients such as shea butter.
Aquaphor can restore moisture to lips that are already dry. Vaseline is best used to prevent dry or chapped lips.
“I always recommend using thicker moisturizing ointments like Vaseline or Aquaphor in colder weather. Lighter lip moisturizers like balms or Chapstick are generally better-suited for warmer, more humid months, when lips are less prone to drying and cracking.”
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.
Keeping it on overnight will seal in the moisture and soften and smoothen your lips.
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.
Health Conditions That Can Cause Chapped Lips
Chapped lips can also be associated with a variety of underlying medical conditions, including thyroid disease, vitamin deficiencies, and inflammatory bowel disease, says Zeichner.
Chronic chapped lips that won't heal could be a sign of serious medical conditions or infections, which include actinic cheilitis, an early form of skin cancer that requires immediate treatment.
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.
One study examined combinations like B9 and B12 or B3, B5, B6, and B10. It showed certain combinations improved healing and sped the production of skin cells. Our lips are often the first casualty of vitamin B deficiencies. If you notice cracking at the corners of the mouth when you smile, it could be from lack of a B.