Dry, chapped lips are awful! What’s more, they can strike in any season. And when our lips are chapped and cracked it seems like no amount of lipstick is enough to get them looking even remotely ok.
How to get rid of chapped lips? Unfortunately, there’s no wonder product that will instantly cure your chapped lips. Your best option is to prevent chapped lips from happening. The three most important things to do are: stop licking your lips as salty saliva dries them out, stay hydrated, and use sun-protective lip balm daily.
The good news is that it is possible to relegate your dry chapped lips to the realm of distant memories. Here is everything that you need to know so that you can ensure that chapped lips are no longer a part of your beauty look.
Can You Easily Clear Chapped Lips?
Are you sitting with chapped lips and wondering what you can do now to clear them quickly?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you can’t snap your fingers and get rid of chapped lips. I know, I have wished for that too on the morning before a hot date and imagined how nice that would be to wave a magic wand and have gorgeous lips again.
Don’t be too upset. There is plenty you can do to help prevent chapped lips in the first place, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In fact, if you maintain a lip care routine meant for dry lips, you will keep your lips hydrated, smooth, and chap-free.
If your lips are already chapped and you need ways to minimize the damage, we have got that covered too.
Here are my eight beauty tips for you if you want to avoid chapping altogether or are looking to minimize the effect dry air has had on your pout.
1. Stop Licking Your Lips
Irrespective of whether it is nothing more than a habit or you really believe that licking your lips will keep them moist, stop.
Sure, licking your lips may provide some temporary relief for feelings of dryness. But all you are doing is coating your lips with a fine layer of salt from your saliva.
We all know that salt works really well at absorbing moisture, so that will just leave your lips drier than they were in the first place.
2. Stay Hydrated
I know girls, you have heard it a thousand times before that you need to stay hydrated. The same applies to your lips. A lack of hydration inside your body will affect your lips. Dehydration within your body, in turn, dehydrates your skin and consequently your lips. Remember, drink plenty of water throughout the day so that your lips, and the rest of your body, look their best.
3. Get A Quality Lip Balm
Whenever you are not dolled up with lipstick or lip gloss you should be wearing a hydrating lip balm.
During the daytime, use a balm that is not only formulated with nourishing oils but also a broad-spectrum sunscreen.
Even though you may not realize it, the sun can dry out and even burn your lips. This is a sure-fire way to guarantee chapping.
I remember years ago there was a guy on a hiking trail with me. He refused to use any of my Elizabeth Arden SPF20 lip-balm because it was too girly for him. By the end of the week, his lips had cracked to the point of bleeding and gotten infected. A trip to the emergency room showed him the folly of his ways.
If your lips are feeling a bit dry then ditch your trusty lipstick for a night out. Instead, exchange your daytime SPF lip-balm for a pretty tinted one. The L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipstick Glossy Balm will give your lips a little colorful luster, while still soothing your dry lips.
4. Breathe Through Your Nose
Before you laugh too loudly on this one, hear me out. When you have put nail polish on your fingernails and you want to dry them quickly, what do you do? That’s right, you blow on them because the moving air across the wet nail polish makes it dry quicker.
The same thing happens when you breathe through your mouth. The moving air not only dries out the inside of your mouth but in turn dries out your lips too. As the Mayo Clinic recommends, breathing through your nose goes a long way to help prevent chapped lips.
If you only breathe through your mouth when you sleep, apply a conditioning lip mask before bed.
5. Exfoliate Your Lips
A build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of your lips will prevent your lip conditioner from being effective.
Therefore exfoliating your lips will leave with lips that feel fresh and look smoother.
Never exfoliate already chapped lips. This will cause irritation and potentially lead to a painful infection. And yes, use the ones that are labeled face scrubs, because they also double as lip scrubs. Face scrubs have been formulated without irritants so they will be kind to your lips.
Now, very important, your lips have delicate skin. Do not over-exfoliate your lips to the point where you chafe them raw. That will leave you with a wound that will look like a cold sore and take a week or more to heal.
6. Consider Conditioning Lipstick
I know that matte lips super trendy at the moment. If that is the look you want to go for then look for a matte lipstick option that’s also hydrating.
A good option here will be the L’Oréal Paris Rouge Signature, Lasting Matte Liquid Lipstick, which gives you your trendy matte finish drying effects that so many matte lipsticks have.
The moisturizing matte option that I use is the L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Matte Lipstick. It coats my lips in a rich matte color while also giving them intense hydration.
On the days when I don’t go for a matte look altogether, I use lipstick that has a creamy texture like the L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipstick Lipcolor.
7. Avoid Allergens
According to the Mayo clinic girls with sensitive lips should avoid products with fragrances or dyes until they can be 100% sure that the product is allergen-free. If you coat your lips with something that contains an irritant or an allergen you can be sure of some sort of reaction that not only can become painfully infected, but will also dry out your lips.
8. A Humidifier
If you live in a climate that has super dry air, consider investing in a humidifier. This will replenish moisture in the air during the extra dry months. Not only will it keep your lips from drying out, but your skin will feel better too.
I needed one during my first dry, cold Spanish winter before I got used to keeping myself hydrated enough to cope. At first, I found it a struggle to get used to drinking enough water when the weather was cold.