It’s that time of year for snowstorms, icy roadways, heating bills — and chapped lips.
Fortunately, those rough, dry lips are a Jack Frost hallmark that can be prevented or treated at little to no cost.
Following are simple but effective tips for restoring chapped lips easily and cheaply. They require little more than some diligence and a few bucks.
1. Exfoliate
Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, a dermatologist based in Washington, D.C., tells Prevention magazine that exfoliation is “a good first step against chapped lips.”
Tanzi’s no-cost suggestion for sloughing away dead skin is to brush your lips with your toothbrush after brushing your teeth.
Other inexpensive methods include gently buffing your lips with a wet washcloth while in the shower, and making your own scrub with table sugar and petroleum jelly.
2. Keep lips covered
After exfoliation, apply a moisturizing lip balm. Regular application is key. That means six to eight times per day, according to WebMD. I keep a stick in my purse, desk, bathroom and nightstand to help me remain diligent.
3. Use SPF
Sun damage — which can happen even when it’s cloudy — is a major cause of dry lips, according to Paula Begoun, a skin care expert and author also known as “the Cosmetics Cop.”
So, for the daytime, look for a lip balm with what’s known as broad-spectrum sun protection. We explain this in “3 Mistakes That Can Make Your Sun Protection Worthless.”
4. Watch out for irritants
Some common lip balm ingredients are actually skin irritants. These include:
- Camphor
- Citrus
- Fragrance
- Menthol
- Peppermint
Not only do such ingredients have no benefit for lips, Begoun says, they even could make dry or chapped lips worse. She continues:
“The classic example that’s sold almost everywhere is Carmex Lip Balm. This contains potent irritants that will have you reaching for more Carmex as your lips become drier, perhaps never realizing that it’s the lip balm itself that’s contributing to the problem.”
5. Drink enough water
Drinking enough water helps to ward off the dehydration that leads to chapped lips, according to WebMD.
How much water do you need? The general recommendations of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are:
- 2.7 liters (about 0.7 gallons) per day for women
- 3.7 liters (about 1 gallon) per day for men
These amounts include water from all beverages and food. The National Academies say about 80 percent of folks’ total water intake comes from water and other beverages, including caffeinated drinks. The other 20 percent comes from food.
6. Avoid licking your lips
Licking your lips repeatedly can cause their thin skin to dry out.
Dr. Barbara Reed, a dermatologist based in Denver, tells U.S. News & World Report:
“If you’ve ever seen a desert after rain comes, you know the surface gets very flaky. The same thing happens to our lips.”
What’s your best tip for preventing or treating chapped or dry lips? Share it by commenting below or on our Facebook page.
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