How to Relieve Chapped Lips

Chapped lips is a very common and uncomfortable issue. Some people have chapped lips only during winters and some experience it all year around. You can relieve chapped lips using several home remedies without drying them out further.

The skin on our lips is much more delicate, sensitive and thinner than the other parts of our body. Like other body parts, lips are also exposed to sun, cold air, dry air, dirt, pollution, which makes them prone to cracking, dryness, peeling, and flaking.

The lips, like other skin on the body, do not have any oil glands to produce their own moisture but we can use some natural moisturizers which do the same work.

In this article, we will tell you how to get rid of chapped lips using nourishing ingredients that give quick reliefs from any discomfort.

6 Ways to Relieve Chapped Lips

1. Use a good lip balm

It is crucial to check the ingredients of lip balms before purchasing them. Many popular brands contain ingredients that can dry the lips out. Strictly avoid using lip balms that contain mint. Although mint provides cooling sensation, it dries the lips and causes them to look more chapped than before.

Along with mint, also avoid lip balms that contain other drying ingredients like methanol, phenol, and camphor. Some scented and flavoured lip balms and products can cause dryness too.

2. Exfoliate your lips

Chapped lips are covered by a layer of dry skin that prevents the healing ingredients present in the lip balm to reach the right area. In that case, you can use scrubs that contain baking soda or sugar to exfoliate away the dry skin.

Choose the lip scrubs that contain ingredients that will help soothe and moisturize your lips.

3. Try home remedies

There are several natural remedies for chapped lips present in your kitchen. To moisturize and soothe chapped lips, apply the following ingredients directly on your lips.

Honey: honey has rich moisturizing properties which makes it a good treatment method for dry lips. Besides that, it also contains antibacterial and antioxidant properties which will help in preventing infections from developing in extremely dry or cracked lips.

Green tea: green tea is well known for its rich minerals and antioxidants. To apply green tea, first soak a bag of green tea in lukewarm water and gently rub it on the lips. This helps in softening the lips and removing excess dry skin.

Aloe vera: aloe vera contains many minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that re-hydrate and soothe your damaged lips. It is best to take the natural aloe vera directly from the plant and apply it over your lips instead of using any product that contains aloe vera.

Coconut oil: coconut oil is obtained from the coconuts. Coconut oil combats inflammation. It helps in soothing and softening the skin.

Cucumber: cucumber helps in gently moisturizing the lips as it contains many minerals and vitamins that can improve the appearance of the lips.

4. Avoid smoking

Not only smoking tobacco is bad for your lungs, but also for your lips. Tobacco can cause irritation to the sensitive skin around the lips causing them to dry out and crack. Smoking tobacco can also cause other problems in the mouth such as, gum pain and mouth ulcers.

The healing is noticeable once you stop smoking.

5. Use a humidifier

Spending a lot of time outside in dry air can damage your skin by removing the moisture which is a common problem in the winter season. To avoid this, drink plenty of water and keep yourself hydrated all year long.

Some people may consider using a humidifier as well as using a humidifier during the winter season helps add the much needed moisture back into the air.

6. Drink water

Dehydration is one of the major culprits for your dry and chapped lips. Some people fail to notice that they are slightly dehydrated so it is better to develop a habit of drinking water as many times and as much as you can throughout the day.

When the body loses more fluids than it takes it in is when dehydration occurs. To ensure that the cells stay hydrated when the body is dehydrated, it takes water from certain areas causing dryness in the skin, including the skin on the lips.

The symptoms of dehydration include dizziness, dry mouth, headache, and feeling thirsty.

How to prevent chapped lips?

• Avoid licking, chewing or even pulling the skin on your lips.
• Do not peel the dry or flaky skin on the skin. It can even cause bleeding.
• Avoid using flavoured or scented lip products that contain harmful ingredients.
• Use products that contain sunscreen.
• Avoid using lip products that contain allergens.
• Stay hydrated
• Moisturize everyday
• Exfoliate regularly
• Quit smoking