7 Ways to Heal and Prevent Chapped Lips
When your lips are chapped, you may feel inclined to reach for a tube of chap stick or lip balm, but after reading this, you may think twice.
It’s no secret that many conventional chap sticks can become addicting. I’m an ex-addict myself, so I know the feeling. When your lips are so chapped and uncomfortable that it hurts to even smile, you’d do just about anything to relieve them–even apply chemicals to one of the most vulnerable areas of your body. But, in what’s become a viscous cycle that many of us know all too well, these chemicals actually cause your lips to become even drier. Here’s why:
Your lips absorb A LOT, and with little natural protection.
Your lips only have three to five layers of skin protection—very few compared to your face, which has up to 16 layers. With only three layers of defense, there’s less protection from the dangerous chemicals that could be in your lip-moisturizing product. Additionally, fewer layers of skin means it’s difficult for your lips to retain much moisture in the first place, making you more susceptible to chapped lips when exposed to even the slightest environmental or physiological change. So what should you do?
Avoid the chemicals!
At all costs. Many popular lip-moisturizing products contain ingredients that only exacerbate the problem, including an array of parabens in addition to synthetic coloring, artificial flavors and ingredients such as oxybenzene, camphor, phenol and menthol, a cooling agent known to irritate sensitive skin.
Other potential lip-irritating culprits include your lipstick or even your toothpaste. For example, if your lipstick contains propyl gallate or phenyl salicylate (salol), or if your toothpaste contains guaiazulene, your lips may actually be having an allergic reaction to these ingredients, causing them to become irritated, dry and chapped.
Additionally, many of these chemicals stand in the way of your skin’s natural healing processes. The bottom layer of skin in the lips produces new skin cells more rapidly than most other regions, but this production becomes even more rapid when top layers send out signals of drying dangers. Applying unnatural forms of moisture interferes with the 9-11-call for new skin cells, causing your lips to stay dry and cracked indefinitely.
What most people don’t realize is that chapped lips aren’t just a seasonal annoyance, they’re a cry for help! Applying a chemical-laden lip balm does nothing more than temporarily mask the problem. But treating your chapped lips in a way that’s all natural can relieve irritation and protect them from becoming chapped ever again.
Here’s seven all natural ways you can prevent and heal chapped lips.
1. Brown sugar + honey + olive oil: This magic trio is the best all-natural do-it-yourself lip scrub around.
Mix brown sugar, honey and olive oil in a small bowl. Then, gently scrub lips with mixture and rinse. You can find a great tutorial on this here.
This all natural, straight-from-your-kitchen scrub has been known to work lip-smoothing magic. For an added boost of protection, rub a little extra virgin olive oil on your lips after rinsing the scrub.
2. Buy a fresh aloe plant!: This past Christmas, I burned my hand pretty badly pulling a cookie sheet out of the oven. With no burn cream, ointment or anti-inflammatory medication in sight, I thought I was destined to suffer for the rest of the day. But, ever the prepared one, my mother ran to her bedroom and cut a fresh aloe leaf for me from her aloe plant. I was stunned that a) she even had a fresh aloe plant to begin with and b) rubbing the sap on my burn nearly eliminated the pain. This experience made me think:
Why doesn’t everyone own an aloe plant?
Aloe plants can be ordered right online and they’re incredibly easy to care for. The sap of aloe contains over 200 biologically active compounds that have been known to treat hundreds of health problems. Keeping a fresh aloe plant in your home will not only come handy when you suffer the occasional culinary burn, it will prove useful when you’re suffering the painful burn of dry, cracked chapped lips.
To help heal chapped lips, simply apply some fresh aloe sap to your lips first thing in the morning. If your lips are dry and flaky upon waking up, re-apply the lip scrub mentioned above before applying fresh aloe.
3. Stay hydrated: As I stated earlier, chapped lips are your body’s cry for help. When you feel chapped lips coming on, your first action should be to ante up on your water intake. I find it helps tremendously to have a few easy-to-carry water bottles in your arsenal. Try to keep a couple of empty bottles at work, a couple at home and even a couple in your car (for those times you forget one). Do your best to have water around 24/7–when water is at your disposal, you’d be shocked at how much more you consume in a day.
As we’ve mentioned numerous times, we really enjoy the Takeya water bottles line, but no matter which brand you opt for, make sure you’re avoiding plastic.
4. Source lip moisturizers from weird places: There are millions of lubricating solutions out there that are far better for your chapped lips than traditional chap sticks. But a few of them may come as a surprise! Next time your lips are in need of moisture, reach for coconut oil, olive oil or even your own body oil, suggests dermatologist Joseph Bark, M.D., of Lexington, Ky. With a clean finger, simply rub the side of your nose, and then rub your lips with your finger. The natural oils on the side of your nose will lubricate the lips and protect them from further damage, says Dr. Bark.
5. Organic lip balm before bed: Invest in a high-quality organic lip balm and keep it on your nightstand. Most people sleep with their mouths slightly open, causing dry air to be passed between the lips for six to eight straight hours every night. Applying a high-quality organic balm right before bed can help protect your lips from drying out while you slumber. I personally love the EOS line. All EOS lip balms are paraben-free, petrolatum-free, phthalate-free and made with impressively moisturizing ingredients such as vitamin E and shea butter–and it doesn’t hurt that they offer up some unique fun packaging.
6. Don’t lick your lips!: Saliva is 99.5% water, but the other .5% are anything but hydrating. Your saliva is designed to assist in the initial breakdown of foods and protect your teeth from bacterial decay, so you can imagine the enzymes in your saliva are extremely active. And in the case of chapped lips, that enzyme activity is not in your favor. Saliva also evaporates quickly, leaving your lips feeling even more irritated and chapped.
7. Get a humidifier: Sleeping with a humidifier has been known to treat and prevent chapped lips. Be sure to have one on-hand during the winter months.
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