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How To Treat Chapped Lips In The Winter

One of the most annoying things about winter are flaky skin and chapped lips. Sometimes, your usual routine is not enough to keep your skin hydrated. Chapped lips are painful and unpleasant to look at. When your regular lip balm can’t get the job done, here are ways to prevent and treat chapped lips in the winter.

Causes Of Chapped Lips

Lips don’t have oil glands, making them more susceptible to drying. This means that lips need extra care to keep them from becoming chapped. Numerous factors affect the lips. The weather and environment, as well as your habits concerning your lips, are major factors that may cause chapped lips. 

woman applying lip balm

People with dry skin are more likely to experience chapped lips. However, licking your lips aggravates dryness and chapping. The enzymes in the saliva eat up the lip’s skin, which causes flaking and bleeding. While saliva does add moisture to the lips, it only does so for a brief period, and once it evaporates, it leaves the lips drier than before.

E xposure to the sun or smoke (such as in smoking) also causes dry lips, as does various medical conditions like colds or flu, autoimmune disorders, and hyperthyroidism.

For most people, they may experience chapped lips during the winter. The extreme cold and dry weather tend to dry out lips. Unfortunately, staying in an indoor environment with heating further aggravates the dryness. Exposure to dry environments during the winter is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you should suffer from chapped lips each winter.

How To Take Care Of Your Lips During The Winter

1- Swipe On A Natural Lip Balm

Lip balms are a portable and convenient way to keep your lips hydrated. This will also help you kick any lip-licking or lip-picking habits. However, if you have sensitive skin, you may want to use a natural lip balm because some lip balms contain irritating products that only aggravate the chapping. Natural lip balms from Utama Spice are made with all-natural ingredients that smell great and are highly hydrating. Using a natural lip balm, especially during winter, is one of the best ways to keep your lips hydrated throughout the day.

2 – How About A Lip Oil?

a group of balinese girls

If you’re not a fan of lip balms, for whatever reason, you can replace them with lip oils. Although, it must be said that lip oils are not too different from lip balms. However, lip oils could be made with a carrier oil like Tamanu oil, virgin coconut oil, or jojoba oil and your choice of essential oils. The three carrier oils mentioned are intensely hydrating on their own, but certain essential oils may help resolve other causes of chapped lips. Two excellent choices are Rose Geranium, which encourages healing, and Frankincense, which is highly hydrating.

3 – Exfoliate Your Lips

Lip scrubs remove the dead skin sitting on the surface of your lips. They work in the same way as face exfoliation and body scrubs. By removing the dead skin, lip scrubs reveal a fresh, softer layer that can retain moisture longer. When the weather is harsher during the winter, you should scrub your lips twice a week or more often. Lip scrubs are easy to make. You can use a tablespoon of carrier oil, such as Tamanu oilvirgin coconut oil, or olive oil, and mix it with ½ tablespoon of sugar. You can add other essential oils like mint essential oil, giving it a pleasant scent.

4 – Use A Lip Mask At Night

Sometimes not even a natural lip balm is enough to sustain hydration for your lips when winters get harsh. A lip mask can help boost your lip’s moisture while you sleep (or do something else). Leaving a lip mask on for about fifteen minutes lets the moisture seep in deep into your lips for softer, moisturized lips all day. While there are ready-made lip masks, using all-natural ingredients will ensure you don’t inadvertently get irritation from an ingredient. Get one teaspoon of Greek yogurt, ½ teaspoon of honey, and mix in 1 to 2 drops of Lavender or Frankincense essential oils, which are both hydrating.

5 – Protect Your Lips From The Sun

carrier oils collection

The sun is an often-forgotten culprit that causes chapped lips, especially during the winter. Most people go out during the winter, covered almost head-to-toe but rarely cover their faces. The result is exposure to the sun and wind. So, when you go out, try to cover your lips to protect them from the sun and harsh wind.

6 – Drink Plenty Of Water

What better way to keep your lips hydrated than from the inside? It’s easy to overlook dehydration during the winter. Because of the cold weather, you may not notice your body becoming dehydrated, possibly one of the causes of dehydration. So, keep track of your water consumption during the winter.

7 – Stop Licking, Biting, Or Picking At Your Lips

Licking, biting, or picking at your lips, as already mentioned, causes and worsens chapping. If you already have dry lips and you’re still doing any of these things, you will probably experience bleeding. Avoid these unhealthy (not to mention unhygienic) habits not just in the winter but throughout the year. Your lips will thank you!

8 – Use A Humidifier

model smiling

Indoor heating makes the air in your home dry, which makes your lips drier. To avoid this, you need to maintain some level of moisture in the air, which is what a humidifier does. Humidifiers release water vapor into the air to make the humidity level healthier. Humidifiers don’t only help you breathe easier, but they also help keep your lips and skin hydrated. If you have a humidifier that can be used with essential oils, adding in moisturizing essential oils would be a good idea, too.

Takeaway

Winter is a harsh time for our skin and lips, which is why they need extra care during this season. Try these all-natural remedies when winter comes (and why not through spring, summer, and fall, too?) to keep your lips healthy and nourished, instead of chapped and bleeding. Keep your skin and lips hydrated throughout winter with Utama Spice.

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62 Comments

  1. This is amazing!! My lips are always dry and crispy no matter how much chapstick I use. There is a ton of new info you have just given me to help my forever dry lips and I’m going to follow your tips from top to bottom. Thank you so much!!

  2. My lips are always dry. Using a natural lip balm helps to keep your lips hydrated throughout the day.

  3. My lips are always dry especially in the winter. I love lip oils with color and lip balm. Ty for in. Take care

  4. Chapped lips are very tricky. So many treatments actually make your lips even worse.

  5. Living in Alaska, chapped lips are a given. I love the make at home lip mask idea!

  6. Thanks for the suggestions of how to treat chapped lips. I knew most of them already but always good to have a reminder

  7. Excellent tips and suggestions on how to treat our lips in the winter. The following are a few: use lip balm, drink plenty of water, use a humidifier, use a night mask, don’t lick, bite or picking on lips and there’s more.

  8. Thanks for the suggestions of how to treat chapped lip. I always have lip balm with me.

  9. I’ve been struggling with chapped lips so much, especially in here in western Canada. Thank you for the tips!

  10. it is interesting how instinct has you wet your lips with your saliva but it makes it worse.

  11. I’ve been battling extreme chapped lips this winter and it hasn’t been fun. I moved into an apartment building that has extremely dry air and applying tons of chapstick helps but doesn’t totally take all the symptoms away so thanks for the tips in this post. I’ll definitely be trying some of them out starting today!

  12. Amazing advice going to pass it along to my daughter she always has chapped lips.

  13. I just added a lip mask to my routine and …why did I not know about this before?? It’s glorious.

  14. Fantastic tips. I know my lips get terrible in the winter time. Thank you. Ill be trying some lip oil.

  15. Oh my gosh. I feel like this article was written for me. I suffer from dry lips in the summer and winter. It’s been so hard finding something that works. Thank you.

  16. You mention covering lips to protect from the sun but would using oils in the sun on lips not make them more prone to burning?

  17. Thanks for the info–my lips split wide open in the winter and take months to heal.

  18. Thank you for all of these great tips. We burn wood as our heat source, so I now realize I need to add a humidifier for promoting healthier lip skin!!

  19. Living in Vermont, I feel like chapped lips are a constant issue! Ded have to try this .

  20. Thanks for writing this blog article and explaining some ways people can treat chapped lips during the winter months. I’ll definitely consider trying some of these things out if my lips ever get chapped.

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