Dry lips are the worst. I live in Utah where we don’t have much humidity. The dry air can do a number on my lips, especially during the winter months. I’m guessing you’ve experienced this, as well. Try these tips for dry lips to keep your smackers moist and plump no matter where you live.
I’m a lipstick connoisseur. I have a couple of shades for every season. I wouldn’t think of leaving the house without at least a little color on my lips. That’s why I’ve use home remedy hacks that keep my lips looking their best all year long.
Want to know the technical name for lips? The upper lip is called the labium superius oris, and the bottom lip, the labium inferius oris. I much prefer the word “lips.” And instead of saying “I have cheilitis,” we simply say, “My lips are chapped.” Lips are sensitive, delicate, and vulnerable to changes in weather, stress, and hydration.
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5 Tips For Dry Lips
Lips seem to fall by the wayside, often holding a backseat to skin and hair care. How sad, because well-pampered lips can really augment your appearance. The good news is lips are fairly low maintenance, and they don’t require a lot of extra effort to keep them in tip-top shape. Check out these tips:
1. Exfoliate Your Lips
Exfoliating your lips can do wonders for removing dry flakes. Give this easy recipe a try:
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon oil – I use olive, MCT, or avocado oil
Combine the ingredients together in a small bowl. Apply a dab of the mixture to your lips, and gently massage for two minutes. You’ll be amazed how smooth your lips feel, and your lipstick will go on effortlessly.
2. Apply A Natural Lip Balm
Here’s a simple recipe I’ve used for years to make a highly-moisturizing natural lip balm. It only takes a few minutes to whip up, and it works like a charm. If you like a little color, add a dab of your favorite lip stick to the mix:
Ingredients:
- Shea Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Beeswax
- Lip color
Combine all four ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture on low until melted. Pour into chapstick molds or small tins or any other containers you have lying around. Hint: save your old containers for this purpose. If your lips are constantly dry during the winter months, use products that contain beeswax. It’s incredible for holding in moisture.
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3. Use A DIY Lip Mask
I bet you’ve never heard of a lip mask, much less ever used one. Well, lip masks are a thing, and here’s how you do one from home. Follow this two-step process to deeply moisturize your lips:
Ingredients:
- Brown sugar
- Organic coconut oil
Combine equal amounts of brown sugar and coconut oil in a bowl, mixing thoroughly. Rub your lips with the mixture, for a minute or so, to remove dry patches. The sugar stimulates the production of collagen (huge deal) by boosting blood flow.
Lips lose their volume and plumpness with age so anything we can do to stimulate collagen is worth doing. This next step involves putting oil on your lips to improve the color and tone, and to deeply hydrate. Use your favorite oil, just make sure it’s organic. Feel free to add a couple drops of an essential oil that you love.
Ingredients:
- Organic oil, such as castor, calendula, rose oil, or squalane.
- Cheesecloth
[Read More: 10 Ways To Use Castor Oil For Beautiful Skin And Hair]
[Read More: Squalane [A Natural Remedy For Beautiful Skin]
Apply a teaspoon of oil to your lips, and cover with a small piece of cheesecloth. It will stick to your lips because of the oil. Now add more oil on top of the cheesecloth, and leave on for five to ten minutes. Remove the cheesecloth, but there’s no need to remove the oil.
For an ultra-moisturizing experience, leave the oil and cheesecloth on your lips all night. Your lips will be super moist and shiny in the morning. This is a great thing to do before a big event.
4. Use A Humidifier
Outside air isn’t the only air devoid of moisture. The air inside your house can also do a number on your lips, skin, and hair. If you live in a particularly dry climate, and you constantly have dry lips, consider investing in a humidifier. Using it every night will keep both the air and your lips moist.
Modern heating systems are notorious for sucking moisture out of the air, while doing the same thing to your lips and skin. As an added bonus, keeping your sinuses moist will decrease your chances of catching every cold and flu that’s going around.
The skin on your lips is thinner than the skin on the rest of your body. To compound matters, lips have no oil glands to keep them from drying out. It’s no wonder the cold winter weather creates sore, cracked lips. Using a humidifier is one of the best ways to hydrate your lips as you sleep, and your skin will thank you as well.
Check out this ultrasonic humidifier. You can customize the humidity levels to your liking, while enjoying the healing powers of aromatherapy by adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the aromatherapy box. The humidifier tank is extra large, and will hold enough water to last up to 40 hours of continuous use. It comes with a handy remote control.
5. Use Sunscreen On Your Lips
Winter sports are exhilarating. Your lips, however, may pay a price for that amazing day on the slopes. Seal your lips with a high-SPF sunscreen to prevent them from getting burned. Alternatively, look for a moisturizing lip balm that already has sunscreen in it. I love matte lipstick, but it’s not the best choice if your lips are prone to drying out.
Instead, opt for lipsticks that moisturize and hydrate. Staying hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day will also prevent dry, chapped lips. Oh, and a bit of bad news; coffee is dehydrating so if your lips are annoyingly dry, consider cutting back on your coffee consumption, at least during the winter months.
Use Lip Care Products Carefully
I know this isn’t a pleasant thought, but has it occurred to you that your favorite lip balm may contain ingredients that are drying to your lips?
Besides saving money, this is one more reason for DIYing your lip care products at home. That way you can control the quality of the ingredients you’re using. When choosing a lip balm, keep in mind that ingredients – like menthol, phenol, and camphor – can actually dry your lips out even more than they already are.
This is a shame because these particular ingredients feel so warm and tingly, however oil-based balms are the most effective for hydrating your lips. Look for ingredients like aloe vera, shea butter, jojoba, almond, wheat-germ, and coconut oil. Here’s an all-natural lip balm formulated with moisturizing oils, including castor seed oil, coconut oil, Buriti oil, and beeswax, which is great for sealing in moisture.
Key Points
I’ve battled with chapped lips my entire life. I remember constantly licking my lips when I was in grade school. I’d eventually end up with a red ring around my lips that was terribly unsightly and it stung. One major takeaway is DON’T lick your lips. It will make them dryer. Saliva is not moisturizing.
I’ve been on the hunt for the holy grail of chapstick for years, and have found that many times the best ingredients are found in your own pantry. Give these simple recipes a try to banish dry lips for good!
Do your lips get chapped? What’s your secret weapon? Let me know in the comments:)
During the winter, our lips can become so chapped and dry no matter how much water we drink. It’s always good to have an effective lip care routine because the skin on our lips is very sensitive.
I know a lot of my female friends always spend money on lip balms but I have never understood why we can’t go into our kitchens, and use what’s in our pantry.
Thanks so much for sharing these tips, they are very interesting and useful.
I appreciate your comment. It’s true, sometimes we’re just going to have dry lips. Look to your pantry for the solution!
Hello,
Thank you for the detailed post. I want to start off with a question. I’m a man and this appears to be targeted for women. I assume that I can take these recipes and use them (short of adding any coloring) just fine or are there different regiments or recommendations for men?
You’re absolutely right, I’ve never heard of a lip mask. Interesting though. I have to admit, my lips get chapped at various times throughout the year. I haven’t really been able to pinpoint a cause or correlate it to anything like weather. I suppose there’s many factors that can contribute.
Being a man (aka, lazy when it comes to appearance), do you have a simple one step program I can follow?Thanks again for this post.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Everything I’ve discussed in this post applies to men, as well. Of course, you won’t want to add lipstick to the lip balm recipe. Do give these recipes a try!
The lips are very important when it comes to beauty and even fashion and must be given great care as I’ve learnt from your blog. I’ve battled with chapped lips my entire life.
“I remember constantly licking my lips when I was in grade school. I’d eventually end up with a red ring around my lips that was terribly unsightly, and it stung.” One major takeaway I learnt is DON’T lick your lips. It will make them dryer. Saliva is not moisturizing.
I agree that with you that many times the best ingredients are found in your own pantry. I’m excited to try these recipes.
Thank you. It’s true that some of the most nourishing ingredients can be found in your pantry!
We all suffer from dry lips at some point but in most cases, prevention is the key to getting our lips feeling better. Natural remedies are always a great choice for dry lips.
Lips cannot naturally moisturize themselves because there are no oil glands in our lips. If lips simply won’t heal then we should see a doctor because dry lips can get infected. There may be an underlying condition to blame and this condition is known as cheilitis and must be treated by a doctor. Great article, thanks for sharing.
Yes, everyone’s lips get dry at some point, and aren’t we lucky to have effective natural remedies! Thanks for reading and commenting.
I am here reading this post with my girlfriend, and she is not sure if this exfoliating lip scrub would work…
She might try it and we’ll get back to you 🙂
One question before we go…
Could we use almond oil instead of coconut oil for the natural lip balm? Would this work as well?
Waiting for your reply,
Xaric
Hi Xaric,
Give the exfoliating scrub a try. I like how it makes my lips feel. Yes, you use any high-quality oil, such as almond oil.