How to Treat Chapped Lips

Although everyone suffers from dry, chapped lips occasionally, winter tends to dry skin worse than any season. Licking your lips, going out in cold weather without lip protection, medications, dehydration & mouth breathing can all exasperate chapped lips. And we all know dry, peeling, cracked lips can make smiling, talking & eating painfully difficult. Read on for a great way to moisturize the sensitive skin on your lips - and prevent chapping, before it starts.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Soft Washcloth
• Warm Water
• Petroleum-based Lip Balm (ex: Vaseline)
• Lip Balm with Sun Screen

1. ** If you have cracks in your lips, skip this step and move on to STEP 2 until the cracks have healed **
   
   Rub-A-Dub-Dub: Wet a soft washcloth with warm water. Using a gentle touch, rub your lips with the washcloth in a circular motion. This is especially good for flaky lips...but don't go crazy! Every few days is enough.
2. Rinse lips with warm water. Gently pat dry.
3. Don't Get Lippy: Choose a petroleum-based product like Vaseline, or Aquaphor Healing Ointment. (A free sample of Aquaphor can be found at: http://www.eucerinus.com/aquaphor%5Fnewsletter0506/ )Slather a coat of Vaseline/Aquaphor Healing Ointment onto lips.
4. Lip Pajamas: Before going to bed at night, rub a generous amount of preferred ointment into lips. If you wake up during the night, add another coat.
5. Get Sloshed: Drink plenty of fluids - especially water.
6. Don't Be Cheap: Whether you have "chronic" chapped lips, or you're just suffering through a rare episode of them, keep your lips protected and cover your lips in lip balm/ointment throughout the day. You'll have a lot more fun on that date if your lips aren't like sandpaper!
7. Listen to Your Mother & Put Your Coat On!: You wouldn't go out in this weather without a coat, would you? Then don't go out without putting on lip balm! And make sure you reapply often.

Tips & Warnings

• Products with menthol will burn chapped lips - you may want to avoid these until your lips have healed.
• Stay away from spicy foods until your lips heal.
• Products containing beeswax and/or oil are also helpful.
• A deficit of vitamin B6 can be a cause of cracks in the corners of your mouth. If that's what you have - and they aren't healing with care & time - look at your diet to see if that's possibly a cause.
• If you're undergoing radiation, or are on acne medication (and some antihistamines), treat your Vaseline/Aquaphor/etc better than your AmEx card...and NEVER leave home without it. ;)
• Avoid using flavored lip balms & lipsticks. These will tempt you to lick your lips, drying them out even more.
• If you don't see an improvement after a couple of days, see your doctor.