A Chapped Lips Conundrum

Chapped lips can be irritating. They are very common in the wintertime but also can occur during the spring or summer. So the question is, how can you refrain from experiencing the inconvenience of chapped or cracked lips?

• Drink plenty of water. Being dehydrated can cause your lips to become chapped. 
• Refrain from licking your lips. Saliva evaporates quickly and once it dries, it can leave your lips drier than before. While licking your lips may seem like a natural reaction, avoid the urge to keep from worsening the problem.
• Use a soft toothbrush and softly buff your lips.
• Take vitamin B pills. Vitamin B deficiency can cause chapped lips.
• Prepare yourself!  Make sure to use lip balm before going outside. This is particularly true in dry, cold weather.
• Avoid scented lip balms or those that taste good, as those added ingredients can actually burn or further irritate dry, cracked lips.
• It is good to put on lip balm before you are about to go into cold weather. Make sure to re-apply when you’re spending time outside in those conditions.

There’s no denying that a good lip balm is the way to go to prevent and treat chapped lips, but it is also important to know what you’re putting on your skin. Some ingredients included in lip balm products may actually cause lips to chap or require frequent re-application. These ingredients include camphor, phenol and menthol. Additionally, alcohol (labeled as “OL” on lip balm) will dry quickly and leave you reapplying often. Make sure you’re reading the labels, and if all else fails, try good old-fashioned petroleum jelly (also known as Vaseline!).

Have any questions not addressed in this post? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them there. 

Recommended Routine: Four Daily Steps to Healthy Skin

Like many of our patients, you probably hit the ground running first thing in the morning. Work, kids, errands and meetings can keep you going until right before your head hits the pillow each night. With time being such a valuable commodity, it’s common to wonder how you’re supposed to fit a whole host of products and processes into your schedule to keep the stress from affecting your skin. Let’s go over what you absolutely must do on a daily basis to keep your skin in good shape.

Cleansing/exfoliating
Your skin sheds cells on a regular basis, releases waste through sweat and picks up pollutants in the environment – all of which need to be cleaned off your skin every day. To save time, find a facial cleanser that exfoliates or use nylon gloves to gently wash your face. Remember to make sure the cleanser is tailored to your skin type and that the exfoliant is suitable for your skin type, as well. If you’re not sure which cleanser is right for you, read our blog post on the subject.

Moisturizer/sunscreen
Moisturizers are key in helping skin stay plump, healing existing damage and preventing further damage caused by dry skin. Likewise, sunscreen is essential to slowing skin damage and premature aging caused by sun exposure. If you plan to be outside at all between sun up and sun down, you need sunscreen on all exposed skin. Again, you can knock out two steps in one by using a moisturizer that has at least an SPF 30, but remember to use separate products for your face and body. 

Lip balm
Love your lip balm, cherish your lip balm and carry it with you always! Lip balm will help keep those unsightly lip lines at bay and keep your lips smooth and supple. Plus, there’s the added benefit of almost any flavor you’d like available in some pout-protecting product. Tasty, glittery, shiny or even environmentally friendly, find your favorite lip balm and use it often.

Water
You had to know this one was coming. Almost any health-related blog you’ll read mentions drinking water. It’s essential to your health and your existence. The human body is made up of roughly 85 percent water, and that supply has to be replenished somehow. Drinking plenty of water helps flush out your body, prevents water retention and improves your complexion. Avoid those pesky mouth lines I mentioned above by drinking from a glass, a squirt bottle or a wide mouthed bottle to avoid pursing your lips unnecessarily around a straw. Reserve that for something fun – like smooching. ;-)

Do you have any other questions about what you absolutely must do on a daily basis to keep your skin looking good? Leave them in the comments below! Want to have more of a one-on-one chat about your skin? Schedule an appointment today!