Chapped Lips Causes: Remedy & Treatment for Severe, Dry, Cracked Lips
You don’t appreciate how nice it is to have smooth, hydrated lips until you have dry, chapped lips. We’ve all been there, and we know that the only thing you can think of when your lips are irritated and burning is how you can relieve the pain.
Luckily, by figuring out the cause of your dry lips, it’s easy to repair and protect your pout. Learn more about chapped lips and the best skin care products to take care of them below.
What Are Chapped Lips?
The pain. The burning. The dryness. The uncontrollable urge to lick your lips. Unfortunately, we all know that familiar feeling. These are indications that you are experiencing chapped lips.
Chapped lips, also known as cheilitis, happen when the skin on your lips becomes dry and irritated.
The reason why you never hear about a chapped nose or chapped cheeks is that the skin on our lips is different from the skin on the rest of our face. This is due to a lack of oil glands in our lips. And, since our lips have fewer oil glands, they are not able to hold as much moisture as the rest of your body, making them more prone to dehydration and irritation.
How are chapped lips diagnosed? A board-certified dermatologist can easily diagnose chapped, cut lips with a quick visual examination of the mouth. You’ll know you have chapped lips if your lips feel dry and you experience other symptoms like:
- Burning and stinging
- Redness
- Flaky, peeling, or cracked skin
- Bleeding
What Are Causes for Chapped Lips?
Many people think that chapped, cracked lips only happen during the winter months, but this isn’t necessarily true. You can experience chapped lips at any time of year, especially if you’re not taking care of your lips. Aside from cold or dry weather, there are many factors that can cause chapped lips for weeks. Everything from certain vitamin deficiencies. Children who wear braces and adults who wear dentures are also more prone to developing dry mouth and lips.
Some of the most common risk factors or causes of chapped lips include:
- Dry weather or cold weather conditions
- Dry air indoors
- Dehydration
- Lip licking
- Yeast infection (angular cheilitis)
- Diet, salty foods, or vitamin deficiency
- Medication (drug-induced cheilitis) or allergic reaction
- Lipsticks, lip balms, and other cosmetics
- Sun exposure
- Thickening salivary glands (glandular cheilitis)
- Eczema (eczematous cheilitis) 1
More helpful reading: mask acne
How to Prevent & Cure Chapped Lips (Remedy)
Wondering what to do about chapped lips? Here are a few tips from board-certified dermatologists to prevent and treat chapped lips:
1. Apply Lip Balms Throughout the Day
Soothe, prevent, and heal chapped lips by frequently applying lip balm, petroleum jelly, or another type of lip ointment. Generally speaking, when your lips and mouth are properly moisturized with lip balm, chapped lips heal on their own.
According to the board-certified dermatologists of the American Academy of Dermatology, the best ingredients that you can find in lip balm for healing a chapped lip are:
- Ceramides
- Dimethicone
- Mineral oil
- Petrolatum
- Shea butter
- Titanium oxide and zinc oxide
- Castor seed oil 1
Another ingredient that has been proven to improve water retention within the dermis is collagen. One study of 20 women from Japan had improved water absorption by supplementing with 10 grams of hydrolyzed collagen. 2
A collagen supplement, like Taut Premium Liquid Collagen, contains 13 grams of hydrolyzed marine collagen that has been harvested from wild-caught red snapper from the Indian Ocean. This unique formula supercharges and replenishes your skin’s collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid, all of the essentials for a smooth, youthful, and healthy complexion.
Each bottle also contains hyaluronic acid, grape seed extract, vitamin C, ceramides, and vitamin B6 to stimulate collagen production, nourish the skin from within, fight free radicals, protect the outer layer of the skin, and maintain moisture levels.
More helpful reading:
https://www.renewskinco.com/blogs/i/plump-lips
2. Check Your Products for Non-Irritating Ingredients
While lip balm can usually do more harm than good, there are a few ingredients that are often added to balms and moisturizers that can worsen chapped lips.
Here are a few of the ingredients that you should stay away from to prevent chapped lips:
- Fragrance and Flavoring (Mint, cinnamon, peppermint, and citrus in particular)
- Lanolin
- Camphor
- Menthol
- Salicylic acid
- Octinoxate or oxybenzone
- Phenol
- Propyl gallate 1
Along with these irritating ingredients that can be commonly found in lip balm, certain medications can increase your chances of getting chapped lips. Medications such as lithium, retinoids, and chemotherapy drugs can all make your lips more prone to irritation.
More helpful reading: How to get rid of smokers lips
3. Stay Hydrated
To avoid dry lips and dry skin altogether, keeping your skin hydrated from within is imperative. While applying lip balm will ensure that your lips stay hydrated on the outside, drinking plenty of water can help make sure hydration levels are met throughout your body. In fact, certain supplements, such as Taut Hydrate, can help ensure that your body holds onto water.
This vegan supplement contains hyaluronic acid, a powerful “moisture magnet” that naturally exists within the body. Hyaluronic acid is unique since it is capable of holding onto more water than any polymer. It has been used for years in board-certified dermatologists’ offices to add volume and lift sagging skin. When taken as a supplement, the tiny molecules penetrate the skin’s dermis layer to improve skin health and nourish your skin from the inside. By taking 2 hyaluronic acid pills per day, you can help prevent dry skin and enjoy naturally radiant skin.
More helpful reading:
https://www.renewskinco.com/blogs/i/hyaluronic-acid-benefits
4. Use a Humidifier
Your skin has more in common with your houseplants than you may think. Our skin is often sensitive to the environment we’re living in. The air in our home or office can be dry, especially during the winter months. To avoid dehydrating and drying out our skin, turn on a humidifier to keep the air circulating throughout your living spaces moist. The American Academy of Dermatology also recommends turning on a humidifier at night, especially for those of us who breathe with our mouths open while we sleep. 1
More helpful reading: skin types
5. Avoid Licking Your Lips
When bad chapped lips are really bothering you and you don’t have any lip ointments, lip balm, or petroleum jelly on hand, it can be tempting to lick your lips. While you may experience immediate relief, frequently licking your lips can make matters even worse.
The problem with licking dry lips is that your saliva evaporates quickly. Once your saliva is dry, it sucks even more moisture from your skin which can lead to severely chapped lips.
To avoid licking your lips and worsening your sore chapped lips, carry lip balm with you everywhere you go. You can leave your favorite, fragrance-free lip balm in your car, purse, gym bag, and office so it’s always within reach.
6. Do Not Exfoliate Chapped Lips
Our first reaction to dry skin is often to exfoliate the flaky skin away. However, exfoliating chapped, cut lips can make matters worse and lead to redness and irritation. Instead, treat dry lips by regularly applying lip balm or a lip moisturizer. You can also turn on a humidifier to minimize dry indoor air, too.
More helpful reading by RenewSkin Inc.: What causes thin skin
7. Use Sun Protection on Your Chapped Lips (Summer & All Year)
It may feel odd to apply sunscreen to your lips, but it should be an important step in your morning skin care routine, especially if you suffer from dry, chapped lips. In fact, chapped lips caused by sun exposure is so common that it is known in the medical field as actinic cheilitis.
The American Academy of Dermatology explains that prolonged sun exposure can cause sun damage, which can result in dry, chapped lips. While frequent sun exposure is usually associated with the summer months, sun damage can cause chapped lips all year long. 1
More helpful reading by RenewSkin Inc.: Skin damage
8. Call Your Dermatologist
If you’re having trouble healing dry lips even after following these health tips and need a severe chapped lips treatment, call your dermatologist. Persistent dry lips and mouth can be an indication of a more serious skin condition. A board-certified dermatologist can help find a solution to treat dry skin and mouth. They may recommend lip products that are specifically formulated for your condition.
More helpful reading: Benefits of coconut oil for skin
Enjoy Supple, Hydrated, & Glowing Skin With Taut
As we’ve seen, dry, tired, and irritated skin is completely preventable with the right skincare routine. What better way to make sure your skin is looking and feeling its best than with a skincare program that has been designed to transform skin from dull, dry, and sagging to firmer, glowing, and younger-looking in as little as two to three weeks?
Our luxurious and effective Ultimate Transformation Program is just that. It combines our high-potency Hyaluronic Acid supplement with the superpowers of collagen.
In this program, you get a double dose of collagen peptides. Firstly, you get 3 boxes of Taut Premium Collagen Drink Advanced Formula to provide the skin with powerful nano-sized collagen peptides to deeply hydrate, nourish, and rejuvenate the skin from within while erasing fine lines and deep wrinkles.
Along with out liquid collagen drink, you’ll also get one box of our Taut Collagen Mask for those days when your skin needs extra hydration, moisture, and radiance. Our collagen mask contains a proprietary blend of hydrolyzed collagen, botanical squalene, hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants to tone, hydrate, and brighten your complexion. It’s even suitable for sensitive skin types!
Want to figure out which of our Transformation Programs is right for you? Take our skincare quiz here!
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