Have you ever wondered why it is that your lips tend to be so much more prone to becoming dry than other parts of the body? The answer is no real mystery – it’s all to do with the fact that the skin on your lips is the thinnest anywhere on the body. While the rest of the body has a relatively thick protective layer to look after it, this is something that your lips simply do not have. Which is precisely why it is so easy to damage your lips, or perhaps spend an entire winter season dealing with chapped lips.
So while not strictly an oral health topic from one angle, it is nonetheless important to be aware of a few helpful tips and tricks for looking after your lips throughout the winter. After all, it is much easier to look after your mouth in general if you aren’t having to battle with dry, chapped and sore lips month after month. And if you’re using the market’s best electric toothbrush to keep the inside of your mouth in the best possible condition, why not spare a little TLC for the outside, too?
So with this in mind, here’s a quick rundown of 10 simple yet effective tips and tricks from the experts:
- Use Lip Balms
First of all, it is extremely important to use plenty of lip balm throughout the winter, in order to help retain as much moisture as possible and protect your lips from the cold weather. That being said, it is also extremely important to ensure that the products you use for your lips are 100% natural and do not contain any ingredients that may irritate your lips further. Ingredients like sunflower oil and shea butter have the potential to work wonders for your lips, along with most other natural oils and organic agents. - Clean Your Teeth Carefully
It’s important to remember when cleaning your teeth that the kinds of products you use to keep your mouth clean could in fact be harmful to the health of your lips. The best mouthwash for sensitive teeth might be great for your oral health, but there’s every chance it could irritate your lips if it is allowed to come into contact with them, or left behind after use. The same also applies to toothpaste, so be sure to remove any traces of these kinds of products from your lips after brushing. - Exfoliate Weekly
If it isn’t something you are already doing, it may be a good idea to get into the habit of exfoliating your lips on a weekly basis. You don’t need to get carried away with anything particularly abrasive, as one of the best combinations you can make at home simply calls for Vaseline, baking soda and water. Use this mixture on your lips once a week as a gentle exfoliate and you will notice a real difference. It’s all about ridding your lips of the excessive dry and dead skin that can become problematic over time. - No Touching
While it can be difficult to resist, it is important to ensure that you keep your fingers away from your mouth at all times – unless they are hygienically clean at the time. The reason being that the more you touch your lips, the more dirt, grime and bacteria you spread on them. Needless to say, this isn’t the kind of thing that bodes well for the overall health and wellbeing of your lips, which during the winter months in particular is something you should be focusing plenty of attention on. - Licking and Picking
If you find yourself dealing with dry or chapped lips at any time, rest assured that the very worst thing you can do is start picking them and licking them. While it may be hard to resist and could possibly give the impression that it is making things better at the time, it is absolutely guaranteed that doing so will simply make things worse than they already are. As already mentioned, it is a far better idea to stick with using a natural exfoliate once every week and to generally keep your fingers away from your mouth. - Hydrate Yourself
It’s important to remember that it is fundamentally impossible for your lips to remain moist and in a good state of health if you do not put sufficient moisture into your body as a whole. The importance of hydration throughout the year in general cannot be overstated, though is something that needs to be focused on even more intensively throughout the winter months. Ensure that you are drinking plenty of water on a regular basis and do not allow yourself to get dehydrated at any time. - Home Heating and Humidity
One of the most common causes of dry lips and indeed dry skin across the board is excessive dry heat around the home. First of all, if the air in your home is too dry, you may want to think about investing in an affordable humidifier. This will add a small amount of additional moisture to the air itself, which can make a real difference when it comes to dry skin and lips. In addition, dry air can be made all the more problematic by turning a property’s central heating system up to a higher level. So if you currently have your home heating system turned up relatively high, consider turning it down a notch or two. - Eat Well and Rest Well
As is the case with oral health in general, you cannot expect your lips to remain in good condition throughout the winter months if your body as a whole is not in good shape. This means getting into the habit of eating a balanced diet and getting plenty of sleep, in order to give your body the best possible shot at staying in peak condition. - Choose Cosmetics Wisely
A quick point but an important point nonetheless, if you are likely to be wearing any kind of lipstick over the winter months, it’s important that you invest in the kinds of cosmetics that double up as moisturisers. Be sure to stay away from any that contain the kinds of ingredients that will only make the problem worse than it already is. - Speak to a Doctor
Last but not least, if you are really struggling with problematic dry lips and these kinds of tips don’t seem to be helping, consider making an appointment with a doctor. There’s every chance they will be able to prescribe you something to help deal with the problem, or it could perhaps be that you have an underlying allergy that could do with being addressed.