It’s quite common to get chapped lips, I have certainly had my share of chapped lips that much I can assure you. When your lips become chapped or dried it usually happens when you don’t drink alot of water, it certainly is not attractive as your lips become so dry that they begin to crack, and eventually, they begin to bleed.
So, How to get rid of chapped lips permanently? There are a number of reasons why you could have chapped lips they are the following:
- Dehydration
- Constantly licking your lips
- The air could be dry
- Lack of exfoliation on your lips
The simplest thing to do is hydrate your lips more often by drinking alot more water and having proper lip treatments such as using lip balms regularly and other lip care regimes.
In this article, I have covered having dried lips or chapped lips and how to prevent them from drying up and even help get rid of them permanently.
What Causes Dry Cracked Lips
When it comes to dried lips there are a couple of key factors that can cause dried lips.
- Dried lips can be a symptom when someone is dehydrated. So its very important to keep our bodies hydrated with water on a daily basis.
- Environmental factors such a little humidity in the air, this is common during the winter months where the air is very dry due to the cold winter brisk air. This can take all the moisture out your skin.
- No SPF (sun protector factor) in your lip products can make the sun dry out the lips. This is important to have on your lips prior to sun exposure so that your lips don’t burn and peel due to overexposure to the sun
- Depending on the sensitivity of your skin, certain products can have an allergic reaction to certain products. For example, the scent of a lip product can react with skin on your lips causing your lips to be more dry and flakey.
- Habitual licking of the lips can be another reason why lips can become dry. The saliva starts to strip all the moisture out of the lips causing further dryness which is also known as chapped lips
There are a few tips and tricks to keep your lips healthy looking and moisturized all day long
How Not To Have Dried Lips
- Always stay hydrated, drink the recommended glasses of water a day
- If during the winter months the air is really dry it’s a good idea to place a humidifier in the room in which you sleep this will help prevent the air from being so dry
- Make sure your diet plan is full of the correct vitamins and minerals. Sometimes dried lips could be the result of vitamin deficiency which could be easily be found in daily multivitamins
- Use an SPF lip balm. This prevents your lips from burning for overexposure of the sun
- During the night time use moisturizing products such as a moisturizing lip balm to keep your lips hydrated
- Exfoliate your lips. Exfoliating lips can a world of a difference because it removes the dead skin cell and exposes the fresh new skin cells. A simple gentle exfoliating lip scrub can get rid of really dried skin. Exfoliation should be once or twice a week.
Examples of lip scrubs are:
- Lush sugar scrub
- MAC sugar scrub
- The body shops Lip Scuff
- DIY exfoliator
- Avoid constant licking of the lips as the saliva can cause the moisture from your lips to dry out.
- Avoid biting your lips because it can irritate your lips where it can break the skin and make them more cracked and harder to heal.
- If your lips are really dried and irritated try to avoid lipsticks with harsh dyes and fragrances because it can cause a chemical reaction and make your lips even drier
DIY Lip Scrub.
There are two quick and easy ways to make your own lip scrubs at home that I find to be the most effective.
Lip scrub #1
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1tablespoon of honey
- 2 drops of peppermint
The sugar in this formula will act as an exfoliator due to its grainy texture which will polish off dead skin cells.
The honey has many beneficial factors for the lops it can reduce any scars, open pores and it even hydrates the lips. Due to its antibacterial properties, it can even prevent any bacteria growing on the lips and creating an infection The peppermint oil usually gives the skin a refreshing feeling and has antiseptic and antimicrobial properties which can help broken prevents any infections from occurring
When putting together this formula make sure the consistency is thick and sugary then and a 2 drop of peppermint oil. Then rub this formulation into the lips for a minute and then wipe off with a damp clean cloth. Your lips should feel smooth instantly. In order to keep the lips smooth, the best thing to do is add coconut oil or a thick lip balm to keep the lips moisturized and smooth. This should be used twice a week. There should be an improvement in your dried lips.
Best products for dried lips
MAC Scrubtious is a sugar-based exfoliator that buffs away flaking dried skin and moisturizes the lips at the same time. MAC Cosmetics come out with five flavors with this lip exfoliator sweet Vanilla, Candied Nectar, Fruit of Passion, Summer Berry and Sweet Brown Sugar. I came across this sugar scrub one day as I was shopping at the MAC counter and read that it was an exfoliator for the lips and since I loved the sweet vanilla smell of MAC make up lipsticks I said to myself why not try the Sweet Vanilla Scrubtious exfoliator!
MAC’s Scrubtious exfoliator is another excellent product to remove dried flaky skin and also helps hydrate and condition lips before application of lipsticks. If the base of our lipstick isn’t smooth and hydrated it makes it difficult for the lipstick to look flattering on the lips.
This product works well used before applying lipstick it helps prep and improves the lips texture. The Scrubtious exfoliator worked well best when I applied a generous amount of the product on my figure and exfoliated the lips in a circular motion on the lips and removed it with tissue paper. The sugar is an actual exfoliator and the creamy texture helps condition the lips making the application of lipstick smooth.
Another product very similar to this is The Body Shops Lip Scuff which also comes in a lipstick type of bullet and a refreshing scent of peppermint.
MAC’s Scrubtious exfoliator removes dried and flaky skin with sugar. Once the sugar finely removes dead skin from my lips the moisturizing properties did condition my lips leaving them soft all day long. The formulation of this product works well together in both exfoliating and hydrating the lips creating the perfect canvass for lipstick application.
How To Apply The Exfoliator
- Take a generous amount of MAC’s Scrubtious exfoliator with your fingers
- Rub in a circular motion on the lips
- Clean with a tissue paper and prepare for lipstick application
Lips scuff
Lip scuff by the body shop is an exfoliator with lip conditioning properties. It is usually used before using lipsticks. This helps your lips remove dried skin and conditioning and helps the application of lipstick go on more smoothly.
Lip scuff by The Body Shop is a two in one product. It has seeds that help exfoliate and remove the dead skin cells on your lips and conditioning properties such as shea butter and peppermint oil that really help moisturize the lips. This can also help prevent flaked and dried lips. This makes the application for lipstick so much smoother.
The product itself comes in a lipstick bullet form. It’s green in color and is very creamy in consistency. You would have to apply it on like a normal lipstick allowing the seeds to exfoliate your lips and layer it about two to three times until the product builds on your lips. The seeds act as an exfoliator while the creamy consistency hydrates and moisturizes the skin. Using your fingers you would rub the product around your lips for about a minute or you could simply rub your lips together. Then wipe off the product until your lips are clean again. By this time your lips are nice a supple. For additional moisturization The Body Shops Moisturizing Lip Balm keeps lips even more hydrated I found this step to be optional depending on how dried my lips are.
There are many other products out there that exfoliate lips. I personally came across Lushes sugar scrubs which smell great and seem edible. Also, M.A.C lip scrubtious lip is another great product that has moisturizing and exfoliating factors that help dried lips. They do a great job with exfoliating the lips however, I personally wanted something that was nourishing and hydrating for the lips and found that The Body Shops Lip Scuff was able to deliver in both being an exfoliator and a moisturizer making it a good two in one product.
This product stood out to me because it’s a two in one product. Where it really lives up to what it is meant to do which is exfoliate the lips and keep them refined and smooth. The product leaving a smooth finish really makes the application of lipsticks easier to glide on especially with matte lipsticks which are well known to dry out lips. Therefore the marula oil and coconut oil have deep conditioning ingredients really soften the lips throughout the day and prior application of any other lipsticks.
How To Apply The Lip Scuff
3 easy steps
- Use a generous amount of Body Shops Lip Scuff and rub the product into your lips
- Wipe the product off with tissue paper
- Apply The Body Shops Moisturizing Lip Balm (optional this works well for extra moisturization)
- Apply your favorite lipstick (this is ideal preparation for liquid lipsticks)
Lush sugar lip scrub
Lushes sugar scrub. Lushes sugar scrub comes in various flavors which are made of real organic oils. The flavors they currently come in are bubble gum, chocolate, and mint. This lip scrub not only exfoliates lips it also an edible product where you can lick the product of the lips. This product I found worked best for me after putting on liquid lipsticks. If you’re an avid liquid lipstick user, you will then know that the if your lips aren’t exfoliated properly then the lipstick will cling onto the dried skin. This is a great item to have on hand for a quick and easy exfoliator for dried lips.
Lushes sugar scrub isn’t sticking nor is it oily. This sugar scrub works best before applying any type of lipstick on because it removes any dried skin of the lips. The sugar acts as an exfoliator and the essential oils help to soothe and moisturize the skin. The sugar buffs away any dead skin cells. It works best with a pea-sized amount on the skin which is then rubbed into the lips in a circular motion
As mentioned the formulation of this product is non-sticky non-greasy. It’s quick and easy to use. This is good to have on hand if your running late and have a few mins to do your make up and want to have smooth lips. The product itself is edible and tastes great therefore there are no real messes to deal with afterward.
How To Apply The Sugar Scrub
Step one- take a pea-sized amount of Lushes sugar scrub onto your finger
Step two- rub the product in a circular motion until the scrub buffs away any dried skin
Step three- lick away the product
Step four- apply lip balm or any desired lip product