How To Prevent Dry, Flaky Lips

Dry and flaky lips are a common skin condition that often goes untreated. It can be frustrating because it can cause bleeding, burning, and affect the appearance of your lips. The skin on the lips is thin and more susceptible to damage such as dryness, cracks, redness, and peeling. Additionally, there are fewer oil glands in the lips, which can cause them to become drier than the surrounding skin. Joyce Carslaw, the founder of Smart Ass Beauty, explains this lack of oil glands in the lips (via Livescience).

No matter the exact cause, dry lips always stem from a lack of moisture. There can be many causes of this dehydration, from environmental stressors to using the wrong products. Reaching for the lip balm every five seconds is annoying. Many people with chapped lips believe there will never be any other true relief and choose to cope with the symptoms. In reality, no matter the cause, there are simple solutions to preventing dry, flaky lips.

Exfoliate them

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It is essential to remove dry, dead skin from the top of your lips before applying any lip moisturizer. Exfoliation is the key to lip prep, as, without exfoliating, the dead skin can block the moisturizer from being properly absorbed into the lips (via Medical News Today).

It is best to use a physical lip exfoliant to exfoliate the lips. You may already have the ingredients to make a physical lip exfoliant and not even realize it. A common exfoliant mix includes sugar, cinnamon, and petroleum jelly. Scrub this onto your lips to remove dry skin approximately twice per week.

Try lip masks

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Overnight lip masks are an excellent way to hydrate your lips for an extended period. They function much like lip balm but with more long-lasting results, according to BioRepublic. Many popular lip masks, such as Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, contain ingredients like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. Since the body is most effective at healing itself overnight, using a lip mask during this time is optimal. Additionally, waking up with plump, soft, and moisturized lips is unbeatable. Lip masks typically need to be used once or twice a week.

Apply non-irritating lip moisturizer

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While it can be tempting to pick up the yummy-smelling, bubblegum-flavored lip balm at the grocery store checkout, these are often filled with artificial fragrances and flavoring that can irritate the lips rather than heal them (via AAD).

If you have dry lips, some of the ingredients present in lip moisturizers can cause further irritation. However, certain ingredients are non-irritating and can be beneficial for dry lips. These ingredients include petroleum jelly, hemp seed oil, ceramides, and mineral oil. If your lips are particularly dry, you may want to consider using an ointment instead of a wax lip balm. Ointments are better at sealing moisture in and will keep your lips hydrated for longer.

Use lip moisturizer with SPF

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If you are chronically in the sun, most likely, that is the reason behind your dry lips. If your dry lips are caused by sun exposure, the condition has its name. Actinic Cheilitis damage the lips due to UV exposure (via WebMD). This condition essentially sunburns your lips and carries the risk of causing skin cancer. You can lower your risk and prevent the effects of chapped lips by using a lip moisturizer with SPF.

Stay hydrated

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Staying hydrated by drinking enough water is crucial for maintaining healthy skin and lips. While dryness of the lips can be caused by various factors, dehydration can definitely worsen the condition and slow down the healing process of cracked lips. In order to prevent dryness and flakiness of the lips, it is recommended to keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink at least eight glasses of water every day.