‘Tis the season for chapped lips. An exposed mouth in cold weather combined with dry heat indoors results in thin, delicate lip skin becoming cracked and prone to peeling — aka “chapped.” Lips, in fact, dry out 10 times faster than other skin, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Chapped lips, if not attended to, can develop cheilitis, a more severe inflamed and irritated condition that leads to burning and bleeding.
It is difficult to actually cover or protect lips from the elements with clothing; however, there are plenty of defensive tips that do the trick. Cleveland Clinic offers these:
—Avoid licking lips. Even though it may seem like it makes sense to wet lips to moisten them, enzymes in saliva actually dry lips more.
—Choose the right balm. Ointment-based lip balms with ingredients such as petrolatum, essential oils or glycerin lock in moisture and provide healing, while products containing camphor, eucalyptus and menthol are drying. Put the right balm on morning, noon and night — the more often the better.
— Hands off. Do not rub, pick or peel lips.
Alternativedaily.com adds: Limit citrus fruits, as the acid in them exacerbates chapping; and, try to always breathe through the nose instead of the mouth, as the air passing through lips is drying as well.
Even though it may not seem necessary during winter months, sunscreen is another important ingredient in lip balms. Whether walking or skiing, exposed lips are just as vulnerable to sun damage in cold climates as in hot.
There are myriad affordable lip balms to try, including ones by Burt’s Bees, Murad and Carmex, and expensive treatments that can cost $60 a pop, such as By Terry Baume de Rose balm. But there are home remedies as well. Alternativedaily.com believes in:
— DIY lip scrub made of raw honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract and unrefined coconut sugar
— Fresh aloe vera
— Coconut oil