5 Natural Tips To Treat Chapped Lips

Chapped lips are a year-round problem. Be it summer or fall, those uncomfortable, unsightly flakes seem impossible to get rid of. Fortunately, dry, cracked lips can be helped. Learn how to heal chapped lips, what causes them, and what you can do to get that silky smooth pout.

* Exfoliate

If you’re wondering how to treat dry lips, exfoliation could be the answer. A good, occasional buffing is necessary for shedding that dead, peeling skin. Moreover, by eliminating the dead skin just sitting on your lips, your go-to lip gloss or lipstick will glide on smoothly and look better. It’s a quick and easy process, taking up no more than a minute of your time, and should be done at about three times a week. There are a few different ways how to treat a chapped lip via exfoliation, including brushes, products, and natural home remedies.

* Stop Biting Your Lips

Learning how to get rid of dry lips might mean taking a look at your own bad habits. Are you constantly gnawing or nibbling on your lower lip? Whether it’s done out of boredom or a nervous habit, it’s time to stop. Correcting this bad habit is critical step when treating dry lips. The skin on our lips is thinner and more delicate than the other areas of our body; even applying gentle pressure can cause cracking. What’s worse, you could create long-term damage with lasting lesions. If you’re compulsively biting your lips out of dryness, keep a moisturizer on hand to keep your urge at bay.

* Protect Your Lips from the Sun

People often apply sunscreen to the face and body, but neglect to protect their lips. Fun fact: the skin in your lips contains almost zero melanin, a natural pigment that helps screen out the sun’s harmful rays. This means lips rarely tan, but they often burn from sun exposure, causing them to turn hard and brittle—prime conditions for cracking and breaking. Long-lasting damage can stem from the sun’s rays, including wrinkling and premature aging. Next time you head outdoors, be sure to apply a lip care product containing sun protection at least a half hour before.

* Don't Pick Act Dead Skin

It’s borderline irresistible to pick off those stubborn, clingy flakes that tremble when you speak. Peeling off a flake may seem harmless—it’ll stand out under your coat of lipstick, and it’s dead anyway, right? In truth, picking at these flakes is comparable to peeling off a scab that isn’t yet ready to go; it can exacerbate the problem by prolonging the healing process, make the dryness worse, and potentially create long-term harm.

* Moisturize Your Lips

Weather can wreak havoc on your hair, skin, and lips. This is true in blustering winds, on hot, arid days, and especially in colder environments, explaining why so many people suffer from chapped lips in the winter. Depending on your environmental condition, moisture can quickly evaporate from the thin sheath of skin protecting the outer layers of your lips. Even the stuffy office air can be contributing to cracking. Consider investing in a humidifier so that the weather around you isn’t too dry. Before you go outside, be sure to slather on a layer of thick, saturated moisturizing balm to prevent weather dehydration. The best practice is to use a moisturizer on your lips regularly, both indoors and outdoors, to keep them supple and elastic.