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How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips – Tips for Healthy Lips

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Severely Chapped Lips

Your lips are among the most attractive parts of your body. Moist and healthy lips give you a refreshing look. Thin, drawn lips give you a rigorous aura. Biting your lips expresses playfulness. Without a doubt, your lips represent your character. However, your lips are also very delicate. They only have three layers of skin to serve as protection. You may have noticed that the lips easily bleed once damaged. One of the most common problems experienced by many is chapped lips. Dry, cracked lips are unattractive and painful. To help you get healthy lips, here are tips on how to get rid of chapped lips.


How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips

1. Avoid licking.

Licking your lips seems to be the easiest remedy for chapped lips. However, this innocuous activity is actually harmful to the lips and aggravates its dryness. This moisturizes the lips for a short time. But once the saliva evaporates, it takes with it the natural moisture the lips need. The saliva also contains two digestive enzymes: amylase and maltase. These enzymes are designed to aid in breaking down food. This also works on your lips, making them more likely to get dry and cracked.

2. Keep yourself hydrated.

One of the causes of chapped lips is dehydration. When your body is dehydrated, your cells dry out. Drinking plenty of water rehydrates your cells and helps keep your lips moist and healthy.

3. Use lip balm.

Applying a good lip balm on your lips helps keep moisture. Use lip balm throughout the day. A little warning though: many lip balms come in different flavors. While this doesn’t seem to raise any concern, the delicious flavors of lip balms can actually tempt the user to lick her lips more. As mentioned above, licking your lips is not a good habit to get rid of chapped lips.

What you would want to find in a lip balm are certain ingredients that help promote healthy lips. Petroleum and beeswax are common ingredients of lip balms which prevents moisture loss. It is also recommended to use lip balms with at least SPF 15 to help protect your lips from the harmful UV rays. Experts also suggest using petroleum jelly to heal chapped lips.

4. Watch your cosmetics.

Your lipstick and lip gloss may be doing more harm to you than you’re aware of. Alcohol, which is a common ingredient found in these cosmetics, takes away the natural moisture from your lips. The good news is, many manufacturers have developed lipsticks which contain natural oils, such as lanolin and aloe. These cosmetics also offer sun protection.

5. Protect your lips from medication.

There are many skin problems that require you to use topical medications. If you are trying to get rid of acne, you might be using anti-acne creams. If you want to prevent premature wrinkles, an anti-aging cream is probably part of your daily skin regimen. However, these medications can be harmful to your lips. It is recommended that you apply petroleum jelly before using any medication to shield your lips from harmful chemicals. Practicing extra caution such as this is the simplest way to get rid of chapped lips.


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Comments

sammysmyth1 4 months ago

really great tips on the lip gloss, i think that could be causing me problems, really helpful hub.

Jean Bakula 4 months ago

I have always needed lip balm. Lately I like Herbal Answer by Blistex. It's got a subtle lime scent, so works for both women and men. Chapstick always seems like wax to me. And you can't go wrong with Neutrogena. Olay is good for older women, but so far I don't think they have a lip gloss, or if so I'm not aware of it yet. Nice job.

Cliff Mendrez 4 months ago

Hi sammy! Lip gloss and similar cosmetics can really cause problems. I'm glad you found this hub helpful. Thank you again for reading and commenting.

Hi jean! Thank you for sharing your reviews on some lip balms out there. That would be of help to other readers.

aigoo 4 months ago

Awesome Tips. I almost always have dry lips and I tried to lick them more often to make them have more moisture and it never worked but now I know why.

Cliff Mendrez 4 months ago

Hey aigoo. I had the same experience. I got tired of having dry lips so I did a research about getting rid of chapped lips. When I was a kid, my mom always reminded me to lick my lips. I wish my mom knew that was a bad habit. Oh well.. lol.

Keri Summers 3 months ago

Good tips. I knew lip-licking was bad, but you've explained clearly why. Up, useful, interesting.

Cliff Mendrez 3 months ago

Lip-licking had been a habit of mine for as long as I can remember. I never knew how bad it was until I did my own research about getting rid of chapped lips. Thanks for reading, Keri!

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