Though we hope those chapped lips of yours are the result of way too many kisses on Valentine's Day, we at Believe know better...winter winds and temperature changes are more likely the cause. But there are other reasons your pucker may be feeling a bit peckish, so read on and learn a thing or two about keeping your lips luscious.
Chapped lips are, most basically, the result of our lips being too dry, but chronic chapped lips can result from nutritional deficiencies, dehydration, allergies, medication or over-exposure to sun, cold and windy conditions. Whatever the reason, skin has lost its ability to retain moisture. We can't hold moisture, our lips get more chapped, which means more moisture loss and on it goes--a vicious cycle.
Here are some things you can do about the chapping:
Here are some things you can do about the chapping:
- Avoid licking your lips. When saliva dries on your lips, it leaves them more vulnerable to sun and wind than before.
- Apply skin moisturizer, vitamin E oil, aloe vera gel, or petroleum jelly to moisturize your lips and then seal it in with lip balm (we carry Zum and Red Bee Lip Balms at Believe. Read all about them them below).
- Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.
- The cracks at the corners of your mouth can indicate riboflavin deficiencies; you can treat this with vitamin B-2 supplements.
- Don't lick envelopes. Use a moistened sponge instead.
- Use a humidifier while you sleep and a desktop one at work if possible.
- Don't hold metal objects in your mouth such as paper clips. Allergies to nickel causes chapping.
- Treat chaffed, chapped, and scaling lips overnight with a homemade ointment mixed from 1 tsp glycerine, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp castor oil. Spread on lips overnight, refrigerating the leftovers for future use.
- Don't suck on citrus fruit rinds such as orange peels--the fruit acid may cause chapping.
- Step up to cortisone. If a week of the above suggestions don't do the trick, add over-the-counter 1 percent hydrocortisone ointment to your regimen. Use the hydrocortisone under your emollient ointment. Try this for two weeks.
- Don't kiss someone on the lips who is wearing lipstick-you may be allergic to red dye found in lipstick (and to the cinnimates found in some candies, gum and mouthwash.)
- Are you a clarinet player? You might want to stop the music for a time. Chapping can develop at the contact area of the reed.
- Check your lipstick for for the ingredient propyl gallate which may cause contact allergies. The same goes for guaiazulene in your toothpaste. Also check your toothpaste for sodium lauryl sulfate, an ingredient that may cause chapping and allergic reaction. (Squigle Enamel Saver Toothpaste is one SLS-free brand.)
- Quit eating figs. They may react with the sun (phototoxicity) to cause irritation.
- If all else fails, it's time to take your chelitis (that's doctor-speak for chapped lips) to the dermatologist. You'll possible get a full exam of your mouth, lips, tongue, tonsils and even elbows, knees, scalp and nails searching for psorasis, and tests for allergies, Vitamin A deficiencies, and other conditions that can cause chelitis.
Now you have read that chemicals may be responsible for your chapped lips. That's why here at Believe Beauty Lounge we carry lip balms made from all natural ingredients, like Zum Kiss Shea Butter Lip Balm. Suck up to your lips with this pure pacifier made with almighty shea butter, sunflower and grapeseed oils, honey, beeswax and pure essential oils. If your lips are in the middle of a drought, get ready for a flood of moisture. Zum Kiss Shea Butter Lip Balm comes in fabulous flavors like Tea Tree-Lavender, Chocolate, Lemon-Ginger, Grapefruit, Peppermint, Tangerine and Vanilla.
Or try Red Bee Rossape Lip Balm which packs in hydrating ingredients with a subtle sheen. The lip balm's main ingredients are beeswax and olive oil. If you are a purist when it comes to the products you use on your body or are sensitive to artificial ingredients, you will love the Rossape Skin Care Collection. What you put on your body should be as good as what you put in your body. Feed our Body...Feed Your Skin is Red Bee's operating philosophy. Their recipes are based upon ancient remedies with respect to Apitherapy (honeybee products for restoring and maintaining health). They never use alcohol, paraffin wax, preservatives or animal products, making Red Bee's Rossape beauty line a great natural option for your skin. Essential oils provide the fragrance for the lip balm -- four delicious scents Strawberry, Lavender, Peppermint and Lemon. Red Bee's Rossape Balm's light texture helps it glide on easily, leaving a subtle sheen to your lips. Not too heavy or oily, it absorbs quickly and hydrates your chapped pucker.