Are your lips dry? Here’s why (and solutions)

In the dead of winter, it’s not uncommon to see Cracked lips, or even in some cases, crack. Cold, lack of hydration, dermatological problems? Many reasons are attributed to this very frequent phenomenon. But why, and above all how to fix it as quickly as possible to avoid too much inconvenience? This is what we will see together.

Chapped lips: the causes of the problem

Wet your mouth too often

Moistening the lips gives the impression of giving relief to this area, which is often caught in the cold. Unfortunately, the relief brought by this gesture it is often only short-lived since, very quickly, the mouth tends to become drier than before. But why ? In fact, saliva contains enzymes. These allow the body pre-digest ingested food. And if these enzymes are completely harmless in the mouth, they are less so in the mouth. Basically: they will tend to dry them thoroughly up, sometimes, to break them.

Use conditioners enriched with mineral oils

Mineral oils have had a very bad reputation in recent years. At the same time, there is something… Coming from petrochemical products, they have no beneficial properties for the skin. The problem is that it is often found in lip balms. The most used is oil. And if it can help maintain hydration in the tissues, it has no moisturizing power, it simply retains moisture in the fabrics which makes a big difference! That’s why we can enlarge the Labello lips, no improvement is noticed.

Have angular cheilitis

Having chapped lips is one thing, but when it’s the corners that crack, in this case it’s possible that a bacterial (staphylococcus aureus) or fungal (candida albicans) infection, both the cause. This phenomenon is called angular cheilitis. According to Dr. Elisabeth Berrissoul, interviewed by Current wifethis disease is defined by the following characteristics:

“This inflammation of the corners of the lips causes redness, cracking, even scabs that can bleed when you open your mouth too much and thus cause pins and needles. »

To overcome this, it will then be necessary make an appointment with a dermatologist or general practitioner They may prescribe you a local antibiotic if you have a bacterial infection or an antifungal if you have angular fungal cheilitis.

Chapped lips: the solutions

Exfoliate regularly

It doesn’t sound natural when you say it, but to give your lips optimal hydration, you will have to delete them. Obviously you will not use scrubs with very hard coarse grains that are used to smooth the roughest parts of your body such as the feet, but rather a very delicate formula, which can eliminate dead skin without making the phenomenon worse. A honey-based scrub (with moisturizing, healing, emollient and antioxidant properties) and sugar is excellent for this area. To be done once or twice a weekit will allow you to start on a neutral base and increase the penetration of the moisturizing formula that you will use later.

Hydrates… a lot!

We often tell you: hydration is the sinew of warfare. Especially when you have dry lips. But it’s not about jumping on the first lip balm that comes your way. Because, as mentioned above, many formulas still contain mineral oils disguised under incomprehensible scientific names. To make sure you get the right formulation and bring richness and comfort to the treated area, make sure you like the ingredients honey, shea butter, sweet almond oil, aloe vera, ceramides or hyaluronic acid be mentioned. To lock in moisture, this conditioner may also contain lanolin or beeswax.

Oh and last thing: avoid scented conditioners. Sure, their smell is divine, but the perfume they contain can dry out the epidermis and weaken it.

Avoid hot water

When lips are chapped, they are sensitized. So we may tend to want to run some warm water over it to soothe the area. A gesture that, like when you put saliva in your mouth, offers only a very short-lived respite, as dermatologist Claire Chang explains to Huffington Post :

“While hot water is soothing in the short term, it can dry out lips as it evaporates. »

Hot water also has the particularity of dissolving the natural oils present on the skin… But what to do when you have to wash your face? Well, the solution is simple: use lukewarm water and cleanse with delicate products before deeply hydrating.

All is said!

Feature image credits: @Malik Skydsgaard via Unsplash.