Chapped lips are horrible. They look bad, feel bad, and always make me feel rubbish, so I’ve been hunting out exactly why they occur, and what I can do to put them at bay for good. After all, who doesn’t want soft, sexy lips? The top four reasons for chapped lips surprised me… here they are!
Which lip balm do you use? While wax based ones look and feel like they are much more moisturizing; petroleum based ones are actually much better. They only need to be applied once or twice a day, and they last much longer, moisturizing your skin and protecting it. Need a new one? I’d recommend Aquaphor Healing Ointment, which you can get from any chemist… it works like a dream!
When you wash your face, do you apply your scrubs and masks to your lips? If you look on the packaging, most face scrubs etc advise to avoid the eyes and mouth. I always thought this was to prevent users from digesting the product, but actually, it’s because these formulas dry out lips, which causes them to crack.
Do you use flavoured lipglosses? I didn’t think I did, but after searching through my make up bag and doing some online research, I discovered that quite a few of my glosses contain cinnamites. They are usually in fragranced or plumping glosses, but they can irritate lips and cause them to dry out, which creates painful cracking.
Do you lick your lips alot? When stressed, people tend to bite and lick their lips much more frequently, which removes moisture and dries them out. Apply lipgloss to minimise damage if you can’t help yourself, but really try not to lick your lips. I’m working on this!With these newly discovered lip-problems, I was eager to find out how to keep my lips in the best condition possible. Have you ever tried wearing lipstick on chapped lips? Eugh.
Make sure you are drinking enough water! If you start to dehydrate, your lips will be one of the first things that show the damage. Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses a day, and more if you are still thirsty afterwards. Your skin and lips will look great!
Photo Credit: hukes
Lost your lip gloss? Instead of licking your lips, rub your fingers on the side of your nose or face and use some of your natural oils to rehydrate and nurture your lips. It’ll stop them being dried out and they’ll look great, too.
Wax lip balms cannot restore moisture to chapped lips, so are generally not as good as petroleum lip balms. That said, if you are going to somewhere such as skiing, where the conditions will be harsh, you can use wax balms to keep them hydrated. Just remember that if they get damaged, wax will cause further damage, so take a petroleum based balm too!
Don’t use face products such as scrubs on your lips, and instead, use a dry toothbrush to gently rub your lips before you go to sleep. This will remove dead skin, and applying lipbalm will keep them hydrated throughout the night too.
I’ve been testing these tips, and my lips look much better! Instead of being chapped, they look great, and drinking more water has made my skin radiant too. Have you found a way to prevent chapped lips, or to make them heal faster? Please let me know!
Top Photo Credit: Sooper Tramp