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Dry Lips In Winter: Lip Care 101 for the Cold Season

Jan 3, 2022

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With the arrival of winter comes a blast of dry air. That’s why winter is so harsh on the skin, especially to the parts of your body that remain exposed to the cold. Yes, that includes your lips!

So, let’s take a quick lip care lesson for the coldest season of the year, shall we?

Tips to prevent dry lips in winter

Though dry lips can be a problem anytime of the year, the frosty weather and dry winds of winter are more likely to make your lips dry and chapped. So, when you switch up your beauty routine, you should include lip products in your shopping list for winter haircare and skincare products. But before we talk about preventing or treating dry lips in winter, let’s talk about the causes behind this common problem.

What causes dry lips?

First of all, lips don’t have oil glands unlike other parts of the skin. This makes lips susceptible to drying out. Moisturizing your lips is key to keeping them soft and healthy.

Carmex Classic Lip Balm

WLDKAT Cupuacu + Mango Butter Lip Balm

Vaseline Vaseline Lip Therapy Lip Balm, Rosy Lips 0.6 oz (Pack of 12)

Burts Bees Lip Balm with Vitamin E & Peppermint

The following are the common causes of dry, cracked lips:

Weather - The lack of humidity in the air is a common cause of chapped or dry lips in winter. But frequent exposure to the sun during summer can be equally responsible for drying out your lips.
Bad habits - Habitual licking can cause dryness because saliva strips the lips of its natural moisture.
Allergies - Contact with allergens can also cause chapped lips. On other occasions, severely dry lips demand special medical treatment.
Medication - Cholesterol-lowering medications can also cause dryness of the lips.
Spicy foods - Spicy food can, likewise, cause lips to become dry
Lacking self-care - Not applying lip balms and not drinking enough water are two of the most common self-care lapses that could lead to dry lips.

Now that we know what causes dry lips, let’s discuss the steps you can take to avoid having dry and cracked lips in the winter.

Tip 1: Use good quality lip balm (and lipstick)

It’s not enough to apply lip balm several times a day and before you go to sleep. The quality of the lip balm you use matters more. While your lips are chapped, it is best to avoid products that contain the following ingredients:

Camphor
Eucalyptus
Menthol
Fragrance
Flavoring (e.g., cinnamon citrus, mint)

As you can see, minty flavors and ingredients are bad for dry lips because they can have an irritating effect. As long as you feel a burning or stinging sensation when you apply a product on your lips, take it as a sign that this product is not good for you. It means that your lips are irritated and you should stop using the product.

On the other hand, there are ingredients that can help your chapped lips heal. Look for these ingredients when you buy a lip moisturizer, lipstick, or even a tinted lip balm.

Ceramides
Mineral oil
Shea butter
Castor seed oil
White petroleum jelly

It’s also important that you use fragrance-free, paraben-free, and hypoallergenic lip products.

Tip 2: Exfoliate your lips

Gently exfoliating your lips may help remove dead skin cells. Exfoliation is a way to bring back the natural softness of your lips. You can make your own exfoliating scrub at home using honey and brown sugar. Scrub the mixture gently over your lips for 5 to 10 minutes and then rinse it off with lukewarm water. If you don’t have time for home remedies for dry lips in winter, you can buy a premade scrub.

Everyday Agave Lip Collection, Lip Scrub

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MAC

Lip Scrubtious Sweet Brown Sugar

Brittany_Michelle

Wffo

Lip Scrub Lipstick Balm

Tip 3: Avoid licking, biting, or peeling your lips

I used to be one of the many people who thought that licking the lips was a way to moisturize them. Unfortunately, saliva removes natural oils from the lips and can cause dryness when the saliva dries up. Biting and peeling your lips are two other things you need to resist doing. Picking the peeling skin off causes cracks and sores that will just make your dry lips worse.

Tip 4: Drink lots of water

Hydration always goes two ways. You can’t just keep your lips hydrated on the outside but leave your body dehydrated. You need to keep your skin cells hydrated, too! Set a reminder on your phone for drinking water so that you don’t forget it. If you can keep a pitcher of water and a drinking glass at your working station, that’s a more powerful reminder.

Tip 5: Apply SPF on your lips before you head out

A lip balm that contains SPF should always be in your lip care list. Even if it’s freezing outside, the sun still shines in the winter and its UV rays can easily bounce off the snow or ice. So, giving your lips sun protection can also prevent your lips from getting dry.

Conclusion

To prevent having dry lips in winter, make sure to use high quality lip balm and lip products, exfoliate your lips, drink lots of water, and apply SPF. Plus, avoid licking, biting, and picking on your lips.

*Learn more about beautifying your lips here: How to Enhance Your Lips *