Dry lips can be a sign that you are not drinking enough water or that you’ve spent too much time outdoors without proper protection. Whatever the cause, dry, cracking, peeling, inflamed or chapped lips and can be annoying and even painful. Lip balm can sooth already irritated lips and wearing an SPF is definitely a good preventative measure but if you’re serious about maintaining a soft, luscious pout, you’re going to have to do more than that.
5 Tips to Treat/Prevent Chapped Lips
Drink lots of water – Hydrating your body from the inside out is an absolute must if you want chap-free, soft lips. This is especially important in the Winter when the cold and wind do the most damage.
Protect lips from the sun – Use a sunscreen on your lips every time you go outside to prevent them from overexposure and burning.
Apply lip balm often – Lip balms can sooth chapped lips, promote healing and put much needed moisture back into the lips. Ingredients like menthol and camphor can dry out the lips even more so look for balms that have coconut oil, aloe vera or Shea butter in them and apply the balm every few hours.
Stop licking your lips – Licking your lips doesn’t provide them with any extra moisture… doing so is actually quite drying since our saliva removes any natural oils that we have on our lips.
Exfoliate – Resist the urge to pull or pick away at dry flakes. Gently buff your lips once a week to remove any dead skin cells. You can use a soft toothbrush, a moist washcloth or invest in a battery-powered device like the Bliss Pout-o-matic (see below). Lip Scrubs are easy to make with common ingredients found in your own home. (recipe below)
Photo credit: Google Images (original source unknown) |
To exfoliate my lips, I’ve been using the “spa-powered lip-perfecting system” by Bliss 1-2 times per week. The handheld gadget revitalizes and smooths lips by using a gentle rotation and has a custom designed head that softly massages the lips to stimulate and exfoliate them. I like it much better than rubbing a scrub onto my lips using my fingers, since it rotates over 450 times a minute, and does a much better job! The kit includes a battery-powered device that has a rubber polishing head and the Fabulips Lip Scrub ($18 USD/$22 CAD). The scrub contains finely granulated sugar, conditioning oils and almond & walnut shells that gently exfoliate the lips. Because of my nut allergy, I make my own lip scrubs at home and pair them with the Pout-o-Matic.
Fabulips Sugar Lip Scrub & ‘Pout’-o-Matic Spa-Powered Lip-Perfecting System |
Product Details:
> Kit includes: lip polishing tool, replacement polishing head, AAA battery & the Fabulips Sugar Lip Scrub
> The rubber head has little knobs on it and spins to gently scrub your lips and buff away any flakiness & dryness
> Available at The Bay, Sephora or online.
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