Chapped lips in winter are a common condition as they are more sensitive to changing weather conditions than the rest of the skin on the face. Despite that, people often pay more attention to skincare and ignore proper lip care.
Results? Dry and chapped lips.
The condition could worsen if you have the habit of excessively picking or biting your lips. In fact, many people instinctively lick their lips to keep them moisturized. However, this further makes them dry and flaky. Therefore, you need to tame this habit. And, also create a lip care routine to get soft and crack-free lips.
You might be wondering what to include in your lip care routine. Scroll down to find out!
Lip care routine:
Unlike your face and body, taking care of your lips is relatively easy. All you need to do is follow a 2-step care regime:
- Hydrate
- Exfoliate
Yes, with these 2 simple steps, you achieve soft and pumped lips. However, you do need to try the right approach to get effective results.
Hydration:
Using a lip balm whenever your lips feel dry is a good idea. Here’s how to do it:
- Apply a generous amount of hydrating balm, especially the corners, with an applicator or your fingertips.
- If your lip balm doesn’t contain sunscreen and you’ll be spending time outside, you should get SPF 30+ balm. Or you can try DIY sunscreen lip balm at home. Melt your balm and add a little bit of sunscreen to it. Mix it well, and put the mixture in a small container. After that, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. And you are all set to use the balm.
- Reapply throughout the day at regular intervals. Furthermore, it’s also a good idea to use a nourishing lip product 2-4 times a day. If you have severely dry lips or eczema, you may need to use more.
Note: Excessively chapped lips can also be caused by eczema. It is a condition leading to itchy, dry, inflamed, and rough skin. Therefore, if you have any of these symptoms, it is better to consult your doctor before using any product.
Another thing that you can do to keep your lips moist is to use a lip mask. You can include this in your nightly routine. Note that for using the mask, you don’t have to apply a balm as a base. In simple terms, you can apply a lip mask directly and sleep with it.
The active ingredients present in the mask will work their magic, giving you irresistibly soft lips. In the morning, you can simply wash it off and apply balm.
Exfoliation:
Exfoliating your lips can help remove flaky, dry skin, and restore the softness and smoothness that you desire. Experts recommend exfoliating 1–2 times each week as part of your nighttime routine:
- Using your fingertips, apply a tiny quantity of exfoliating scrub.
- For no more than 30 seconds, gently massage the lips in small circular strokes.
- Allow the moisturizer or oils in the scrub to sink in by leaving the mixture on for 10 minutes.
- Rinse well with lukewarm water.
- Using a clean cloth, pat the skin dry. (Keep in mind, you shouldn’t rub your skin, especially if it’s dry and flaky.)
- To seal in moisture and soothe lips, use a protective balm.
Note: Do not use the same scrub that you use for your face. As mentioned earlier, the skin on your lips is more sensitive; therefore, the face scrub might make your lips drier. So, you need to get a scrub made for the lips specifically. Or, you can make them yourself.
How to make lip scrub at home
Combine 2 teaspoons of a naturally abrasive component, namely salt or sugar, with 1 tablespoon of a nourishing ingredient to create basic lip scrub at home.
The following are common nourishing ingredients:
- Coconut Oil
- Jojoba Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Beeswax
- Pure Petrolatum
- Almond Oil
- Shea Butter
To make the scrub more moisturizing, you can add more oil. You can also use brown sugar and honey for better results. Isn’t it easy?
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What to avoid in the scrub?
Needless to say, not every ingredient is suitable for your lips. Therefore, you need to avoid the following ingredients as they might cause irritation:
- Camphor
- Cinnamon
- Eucalyptus Oil
- Menthol
- Peppermint Oil
- Synthetic Fragrance
- Lanolin
- Octinoxate
- Oxybenzone
- Phenol (Or Phenyl)
- Propyl Gallate
- Salicylic Acid
These can create additional dryness in the lips, as well as an irritating or allergic reaction, making your lips itch, burn, or sting.
Another thing that you must note here is that harsh exfoliation makes it more challenging for the lips to retain their barrier function and keep moisture in. So, you must not over-exfoliate.
Precautions To Take:
Now that you have learned the ways to take care of your chapped lips, you must also learn about some measures to avoid chapped lips. After all, prevention is always better than cure.
- Make sure the product doesn’t include camphor as it makes the lips dry and flaky.
- Always check the expiration date of the product before using them.
- Once in a while, use vitamin E to massage the lips. It will help improve blood circulation and generate new skin cells.
- Keep the lips protected from the sun.
- Stay away from toxins. In other words, quit smoking and alcohol.
- Always remove your makeup before sleeping.
- Do not use difficult-to-remove lipsticks, as their removal often results in over-exfoliation. Otherwise, prep your lips using a highly moisturizing balm.
- Make lip balm your best friend. Reapply the balm whenever you feel the lips becoming dry, especially in the sun and during the cold season.
Consult your doctor
If your lips are not getting repaired even after keeping them hydrated, you should visit the doctor. Hard to believe, but constantly chapped lips might be a sign of an underlying medical condition or infection such as actinic cheilitis. It can further lead to skin cancer. Therefore, you must visit the dermatologist immediately.
To sum it all up!
Taking care of your lips is as vital as the face and body. Moreover, it is not difficult at all. You just need 4-5 minutes of your day to take care of your lips. So, if you want to get soft and smooth lips, you must start following the routine now.
