Chapped lips can be frustrating and embarrassing but there are simple ways to reduce the appearance of dry cracked or chapped lips.
Use olive oil/coconut oil/honey and granulated sugar mix as a light lip scrub. This can be a long term solution for dry and rough lips.The sugar is known for sloughing dead skin cells away and the olive oil for proper moisturisation , the coconut oil also helps in proper moisturisation and healing burns.
Mix half teaspoon of olive oil with one teaspoon of granulated/ground sugar (brown is recommended but white is great too) not icing sugar , mix it into a paste like consistency , use your fingers to masage the scrub into your lips leaving it for 2-5 minutes, clean off with wet cloth, make up wipe or simply rinse off follow with lip balm/vaseline or lip butter.You can do this as often as possible but not more that twice a week, fix it into your weekly routine and you will see your lips transform as this will make your lips smoother and a bit pinkish. To avoid it going rancid buy a small bottle of extra virgin olive oil (recommended) so it does not waste or store it in the refigerator. I recommend virgin olive oil, pure coconut oil and organic unprocessed honey so you can easily avoid irritation that might spring up from using chemical infused products. You can also use jojoba oil or vitamin E oil.
Use a seperate toothbrush to exfoliate on the go. Take a new soft toothbrush and make it a bit damp or apply a thin layer of vaseline on your lips and use the brush in soft circular motion to scrub off dead skin cells. It is importantto use a different toothbrush so you do not transfer germs fro your mouth to your lips. Some people actually do this imediately after brushing with the same toothbrush as it works better for them, they still have that tingling feeling from brushing on their lips so they just mildly scrub their lip with it (since the lip is damp already) and rinse everything. great way to multi task but probably not the best. You can use the tooth brush method before applying the homemade scrub above or any other scrub. Moisturise with your favourite lip balm afterwards.
Baking soda might not just be for baking alone. Mix a little baking soda with little water to form a gritty paste, apply with a soft toothrush ,rinse off and follow with lip balm.
Avoid licking your lips very often. This is a temporary but bad solution to chapped lips. Saliva contains acid that dries out the lips so the more you lick your lips the more they dry out as the enzymes from the saliva can break down the skin protective barrier. Use a lip balm on the go instead.
Drink lots of water to keep your lips and body hydrated. This is an inside out solution, the more refreshed you are the smoother your lips will be. Sometimes no remedy can save your dry lips save a bottle of water, it is important to note that sparkling water might not be the best option as they tend to dry out lips too. I for one have experienced it drying out my lips due to the fizz but if your water must be sparkling then go for it by all means, just be observant on the effect on your lips.
Unrefined shea buter can be great for hair and skin so why not the lips too?! My friend once gave me a tip on how she moisturises with shea butter before putting her lip stain on and I thought hold on..If it can moisturise the skin and hair why not the lips. Shea butter has so much benefit due to its high fat content (healthy fat by the way) and vitamins. The raw unrefined and unbleached ones are the best to go for. They can literally weather any storm lol and keep your lips hydrated and protected (due to little spf content) from dry cold irritating weather, sometimes my lips feels better with shea butter than some expensive lip balms. If you have nut allergy then I advice you stay clear of this as it contains shea nuts , it is a great lip product but not to be used often if you always lick your lips as it is recommended for external use only.
How to use? Just massage into lips before putting on lip product or leave it bare.
Stay away from processed sugar. Have you ever wondered why you get this dry thirsty feeling at the corners of your mouth after that chilled bottle of coke? Processed sugars. Anyone that suffers from dry skin and lips should avoid anything that contains high amount of processed sugars as the dry out the lips too.This is another inside out solution but one you should avoid, take lots of water instead.
Lip balm basically comes in different kinds , shapes , sizes , flavours , colours, makes and solutions. There are some healing lip balms for chapped lips in the market but besides that lip balms are temporary but relevant solutions to dry lips. If you suffer from extreme chapped lips then look out for lip balm with content high in vitamin E, jojoba oil, shea butter, aloe vera , butter etc.
Not everything matte. Yes everyone is on about the mattiest of matte lipstick and lipstain and you quickly rush to buy knowing that you suffer from cracked lips. Matte lippies and cracked lips will forever be at war with each other, if your lips are not properly moisturised and cracked chances are trace of lipstick will settle into cracks making it look cheap,uneven and hard to get out. While treating chapped lips go for nude coloured lipglosses and moisturizing lipsticks like milani(they are very creamy , pigmented and moisturising) and stay away from dark colours as they make cracks visible. No matter how smooth your lips are, always moisturise befor applying any lip product so the lips stay supple and keep the product on, treat chapped lips and moisturise very often or you can use the shea butter technique my friend uses, then you can go join hashtag matte lippie crew.
Is my best lip product destroying my lips? Store bought lip balms and treatments are the best, smell great and good to your pocket too, there is also this feeling of belonging when you have that strawberry balm everyone raves about. You have tried almost all the remedies but nothing is working, maybe it is time to check the contents of your lip balm, glosses and lipsticks as what is good for the gander might not be good for the goose. If you find out your lips are not getting the best moisturisation out of a product you feel should deliver then please try something else and also track the ingredients of what you put on your lips to see what you react to. Some chemicals used to make lip balms these days can do more harm than good, I guess that is why home made lip balms is a growing trend.I have bought lip balms people swear by in terms of moisturisation and smoother lips but it does absolutely nothing for me, instead my lips feels like I have dried oil on it. Don't we all fall for the hype *sigh*
Keep a chap stick, shea butter or lip balm by you and moisturise as often as needed especially after constant kissing as exchange of saliva can dry out the lips.
Avoid peeling or tampering with your lips. One thing I noticed is that people that suffer from cracked lips tend to peel off the dead skin cell *cringe* even I do it and it can be more painful than a paper cut! No matter how tempted or irritated you feel at the sight of loose dead skin cell do not peel your lips especially when dry as this will worsen the case, peeling it off beyond the dead skin cell that has come off can bruise you exposing you to bacteria, massage lip balm ,vaseline or shea butter to soften the dry dead skin cell and gently peel off if you must or else I recommend you use a lip scrub gently instead.
E.L.F has made it very easy by producing an affordable lip exfoliator that removes dry skin cells. I love e.l.f products so I am guessing this is a great buy, the reviews are outstanding and I read the ingredients includes shea butter,Vitamin E , avocado , grape and jojoba oil. What more do you want from a lip product? Oh did I mention you can get it for 3 bucks or 4quid 50? Talk about a bargain ey.
Mary Kay is no exception in term of making lip scrub easier than ever.If you suffer from chapped lips then try the Mary Kay satin lip set, this set is a miracle worker ! it comes as in two tubes one as a lip scrub and the other as a balm. The lip scrub is applied like a lotion on the lips and masaged with soft srub motion, you will literally see the dead skin cells coming off and all you have to do is clean off everything with a damp cloth and apply the lip balm after wards. This is part of my lip preparation regime although I am not to keen about the lip balm, its great but it just doesn't cut it for me , I prefer when my lip balm sinks in and leave a buttery smooth finish as opposed to a glossy finish, I love love the satin feeling the scrub gives me, the tube is so cute and nothing can be wasted as it comes out little.
Some people suffer from extreme chapped lip and I reccommend you see a specialist for that, they might recommend something that will definitely work,maybe a herbal ointment or something to treat the lips and stop it from bleeding and intensive chapping. The last thing you want to do is wing it introduce foreign chemicals into bruised lips.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for reading.
Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself; Coco Chanel
''Proverbs 3:15; She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her''
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