Winter has its own good and bad things, just like any other season. Good things: holiday spirit, fireplaces, hot chocolate, cozy blankets.
Bad things: CHAPPED LIPS!
Dry and chapped lips are seriously one of the most irritating, annoying, and painful winter problems! Many people have already given up on trying to solve this and just walk around with chapped lips throughout all winter months.
Well, we’re here to tell you that you don’t have to suffer from dry lips any longer. We will give you a list of 7 ways you can avoid a chapped/dry lip this winter, so feel free to read on and leave chapped lips in the past!
Why Do We Suffer From Chapped Lips?
Your lip skin is much more sensitive and thin than the skin on other parts of your body. It doesn’t have any oil-producing glands or any hairs for protection. As such, it’s no wonder that the lips are first to suffer when we go out in the brutal winter weather. Some people have this more often than others, and all of this depends on the skin type, the skincare, the habits a person has, and the products we use.
7 Ways You Can Avoid a Chapped/Dry Lip This Winter
Don’t Lick or Bite Your Lips
The lips are very close to the tongue. This means that sometimes we lick them without even realizing. And we don’t think much about it because, well, it’s normal, not a big deal.
However, this is a huge reason for chapped and cracked lips in winter. Imagine licking your dry hands, will that make them moisturized?
NO!
It will even make it worse after your saliva evaporates. So, try to control yourself and notice if you also have a habit of licking your lips. If so, then stop immediately. Yet another bad habit that we can’t help but do is biting our lips, especially when they’re all chapped and peeling.
Biting your lips in this condition will make things a hundred times worse. We know how tempting it is to peel off that disgusting dead skin on your lips, but the better option would be to keep reapplying a moisturizer until your lips get better on their own.
Use a Quality Lip Balm/Moisturizer
Just as choosing the right face moisturizer is important for your skin in winter, so is choosing the right lip balm. Keeping your lips moisturized is definitely the best way to prevent drying and peeling. Since we eat, drink, and talk with our lips, it’s important to reapply the lip balm immediately once you feel that it’s gone. Like this, you’ll never allow your lips to get dry and become chapped.
Another important thing regarding lip balms is to choose a quality product. The first thing you need to watch out for is that your lip balm contains at least SPF15. Finally, make sure that it has nourishing ingredients in it that will effectively moisturize your lips. Some good options include beeswax, Shea butter, Jojoba Oil, Vitamin E, Coconut Oil, Almond Oil, Aloe Vera or petroleum jelly.
Try to use a lip balm which is as natural as possible, since harsh chemicals and artificial ingredients can irritate your lips even more in the winter. The only exceptions when it comes to natural ingredients in lip balms are cooling products such as menthol or eucalyptus.
Even though these balms feel incredibly fresh and tingly on our lips, they can be very drying. So, choose something heavier and creamier in winter and leave your refreshing menthol balm for the summer.
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Matte Long-Lasting Lipsticks Are Your Enemy
We all love those beautiful matte colors that stay on your lips and don’t smear or smudge the whole day long! However, in winter, try to use more creamy and hydrating lipsticks. After all, it’s the holiday season and everything shines bright, so why not your lips?
Matte lipsticks can be incredibly damaging for your lips, especially in winter. This type of lipsticks don’t offer any moisturizing at all, since their purpose is to stay dry and fixed. Well, in winter, this is the opposite of what we need.
A better option would be to either use a tinted lip balm or a normal lipstick which is creamier and more moisturizing. Even though you might have to reapply this lipstick multiple times throughout the day, at least you won’t suffer from chapped lips!
Say NO to Spicy, Hot, Salty, and Sour
The food we eat also plays a huge role in our lips health and beauty. Since chapped lips are the product of dry skin, it’s logical that we avoid foods that cause dry lips. The winter air and winds are incredibly drying as it is, so adding more things that can further strip off moisture is not very smart.
Foods that you need to avoid if you want your chapped lips to be smooth again are spicy, hot, salty, and sour foods. Yes, we’ve basically just eliminated some of the best foods and snacks ever. However, this is a necessary sacrifice if you wish to regain the smooth appearance of your lips.
If by any chance, you decide to eat some spicy or salty food, make sure that you use a fork and a knife, so that the food doesn’t actually touch your lips. And of course, don’t lick your lips afterwards! If you already have a bad case of chapped lips, then eating sour or salty foods will be painful and can worsen your condition.
Some incredible food options that will hydrate not only your lips but your skin in general are avocados, nuts, seeds, salmon, fatty fish, etc. These foods are high in healthy fatty acids and they have a soothing and calming skin effect. Plus, they help with skin regeneration.
Increase Your Water Intake
Water and other healthy fluids will hydrate your skin and body from the inside out. Drinking plenty of water is important if you wish to get rid of all toxins that clog your body and skin. Doing this will revive your whole body and improve not just your lips, but your health in general.
If you’ve tried every trick in the book for getting rid of chapped lips but nothing works for you, maybe the problem is that you’re not drinking enough water. If you can, drink 8 to 10 glasses of water per day. If not, then supplement the rest with water-rich fruits and vegetables such as watermelons, cucumbers, pineapples, oranges, etc.
Nourish and Exfoliate
Exfoliating your lips in winter is just as important as exfoliating your face. And yes, exfoliation is done as a preventative measure – do not exfoliate and scrub already chapped lips! Lip exfoliation should be done with a gentle scrub that doesn’t damage the sensitive skin there.
You can try homemade exfoliators made with sugar or ground coffee beans. As a base, add some nourishing ingredients that will act as food for your lips. Such products can be raw honey, almond oil, coconut oil, Shea butter, etc. These are all incredible exfoliator bases that can deeply moisturize your lip skin and prevent chapped and dry lips.
Stay Indoors and Use a Humidifier
If none of the above-mentioned tips seems to help, then maybe it’s best if you stay indoors as much as possible. Since winter is a time when we all use some type of heating, the indoor air will also be very dry. A great solution for this would be to use a humidifier so that you can control the humidity in your home.
Trust me, your skin will be very helpful and you can forget chapped lips this winter! When you do need to go outside, try to cover your lips as much as possible. For example, apply a thick layer of a deep moisturizing lip balm and take a large scarf before you leave your house. The lip balm and the scarf will act as a barrier between your lips and the outside cold weather.
Conclusion
Usually, the above list of 7 ways you can avoid a chapped/dry lip this winter will be more than enough to help you. However, if you’ve followed all of our tips and tricks and still didn’t manage to prevent chapped lips, it’s a good idea to get an allergy test and see if something else is maybe the culprit.
If you don’t suffer from any allergies, then just follow our tips and never leave the house without a lip balm. Apply often and generously since lip balm gets absorbed or wiped off very quickly. And finally, make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water and eating nourishing food filled with healthy fats.
As an extra tip, if nothing else works, try using natural oils and serums overnight which will provide deep hydration properties. And when we’re on the topic of sleeping, try to breathe through your nose, not your mouth! Breathing through your mouth in winter or while sleeping is another thing that can contribute to dry lips. We hope that now you’re properly equipped and able to fight chapped and dry lips this winter.
Last update on 2023-04-18 at 02:11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API