Colder weather is hard on the skin and lips, but it’s not just the cold that can damage the tender skin of your lips. Harsh weather of any kind, especially when the humidity is low, can cause dry and cracked lips, as well as some make up, chemicals, or simply just licking your lips too frequently – and this is not just an appearance issue; cracked lips can actually be quite painful!
There are many over the counter treatments, lip balms and creams that can help. Let’s look at a few of them:
Chapstick
The old standby, Chapstick was probably one of the first, if not the first product exclusively for preventing dry and chapped lips. The product comes in a small tube, similar to that of lipstick, and is mostly composed of a product similar to petroleum jelly, but in a different form, called petrolatum. Chapstick products also now contain sunscreen in them.
The original Chapstick products did little to heal dry and cracked lips after they were already damaged, but the product was great for prevention and helped keep the lips moist and covered while healing, providing some comfort. The newer Chapstick line now has medicated and healing Chapstick products that promote healing while keeping the lips moist and protected from further damage.
Other Lip Balms
The reason Chapstick was included in its own category is because it was the first, and probably the most well-known dry and cracked lip protection product, but there are many newer products on the market that are highly effective. Some of the more popular brands are: Vaseline Lip Therapy, Carmex, Blistex, and Amazon.com even sells a lip balm called Cat Crap. (I’m seriously not making that up!)
In addition to these brand name products, you can find a large variety of lip balms and dry and cracked lip treatment products at your local grocery store, and almost all of the cosmetic counters in department stores carry some brand of dry and cracked lip therapy.
These products for protecting and healing your dry and cracked lips are relatively inexpensive, ranging in price from less than a dollar to an average of $2-3 for the medicated versions. For a less expensive but not quite so user-friendly lip protection alternative, you can always use plain petroleum jelly to prevent dry and cracked lips.
Of course, all these products will provide you moderate protection from dry and cracked lips while also helping to aid in healing, but your best bet is prevention.
Five Dry and Cracked Lips Prevention Tips
First, it is important keep your lips dry but also to keep them moist to prevent cracking. This is a tough thing to do, since dry and moist are two different things. The point here is to keep the lips from becoming too dry or too wet.
1) Do not lick your lips. Nothing will dry and crack your lips faster than licking them and wetting them with saliva repeatedly and then exposing them to dry air, cold air, or very warm air.
2) Blot your lips gentle with a soft cloth or napkin after taking a drink to remove excess moisture without wiping your lips dry.
3) Drink plenty of water. When your body doesn’t have enough water, your skin and your lips will pay the price by being dry, chaffing, cracked and damaged. Drinking water will help keep you and your lips properly hydrated.
4) Don’t bite or chew on your lips! Nothing can damage your lips faster than biting or chewing on your lips. You can peel skin off your lips, exposing them to even further damage. This is a bad nervous habit to get into.
5) Don’t smoke. Smoking actually is very bad for the skin, and lips are no exception, but even more so because the lips pucker in order to inhale, as well as drawing air across the lips when inhaling.
In summary, keep your lips hydrated, protect them with lip balm or medicated lip moisturizers, take care of your lips and treat them kindly, and you can prevent dry and cracked lips or heal dry and cracked lips quickly if they do become damaged and you will have perfectly pouty and kissable lips all year long.