Contents
- Reasons for chapped lips
- What causes jamming in the corners of the lips?
- Cracked lips: what to do?
- Prevention of cracked lips
- Overview of the best lip products
- Lip balm Cicaplast, La Roche-Posay
- Nourishing lip balm Absolue Precious Cells, Lancôme
- Sugar scrub for face and lips “Nourishing”, L’Oréal Paris
- Lip balm, intensive care Baby Lips, Maybelline NY
- Nourishing balm for intensive restoration of the skin of the lips Nutritic Lèvres, La Roche-Posay
- Night mask for lips Buttermask For Lips, Kiehl’s
They should be soft and beautiful, so it’s time to finally figure out why some dry, flaky and eventually crack lips, while others do not.
Reasons for chapped lips
Very often, in the wind or in the cold, troubles begin with the lips: at first they turn red, then they begin to burn, forcing us to lick them more often. And then they crack. Why is this happening and what to do?
The skin of the lips is the thinnest on the face (and in general on the human body). It is practically devoid of sebaceous glands, except for a small number of them in the corners of the mouth, and therefore initially prone to dryness.
Insufficient hydration and external damage to thin skin disrupt the adhesion of the cells of the surface layer. As a result, microcracks are formed, and due to the small thickness of the epidermis and the heavy load (we smile, eat, drink, kiss, bite our lips), they do not have time to heal, turn into visible peeling, painful and even bleeding wounds.
Usually we ourselves do not notice our own cruelty to the skin of the lips.
Let’s try to figure out in detail why the lips crack. There are quite a few reasons.
Seasonal
Winter. Dry air at sub-zero temperatures outside and in a heated room, temperature contrasts – all this leads to dehydration. Lips and hands are the first to suffer. Thin skin can literally crack to the point of bleeding.
Spring. The weather is good, but the seasonal lack of vitamins (spring beriberi) makes it difficult for thin skin to recover after winter tests.
Summer It is heat and aggressive ultraviolet rays. Most sunscreens are not designed for lips, look for a lipstick or balm with SPF.
Autumn – a sharp cold snap, the season of colds, when, due to a runny nose, we often breathe through the mouth, which has a withering effect on the lips.
Bad habits
We remind you what not to do in winter. © Healthy-Food
Frequent licking. Momentarily comforts dry lips, then draws moisture out of them. It’s like not wiping your face after washing. If at the same time tightness is felt on the face, then the skin of the lips will simply crack.
Biting. Frank injury to the lips. A crust forms at the sites of micro-wounds, you want to get rid of it – and a vicious circle starts.
Smoking. Constant contact with cigarettes injures the skin of the lips. Plus, inhaling smoke through your mouth is a direct path to dehydrated skin. We will not talk about the dangers of tobacco – dry lips are perhaps the most harmless and easily eliminated of the consequences.
Touched with dirty hands – an easy and quick way to infect and destroy the balance of microflora in such a sensitive area, this will certainly result in dry lips and the appearance of cracks.
Biting caps from pens, tubes from the drunk cocktail and any other foreign objects. The effect is comparable to biting nails and touching dirty hands. Remember that the office desk, on which the pen rests, competes with the dirtiest places in the house in terms of the number of germs.
Eating sour, spicy, salty foods. Salt perfectly absorbs small reserves of moisture concentrated in the skin of the lips, and spicy and acidic foods make it more sensitive, and therefore more vulnerable.
Alas, even healthy food can irritate the skin of the lips, lead to inflammation and cracking.
Medical
Banal runny nose makes you breathe through your mouth, dries out the skin of the lips, which can provoke the appearance of cracks.
Fever, when the whole body “burns”, leads to dehydration, which in the first place can be felt precisely by the skin of the lips – they literally dry out.
cheilite. Redness, dryness, swelling in the lips. Bursting skin can cause terrible pain. What to do? It is necessary to consult a doctor.
Herpes. A viral infection, of course, disrupts the delicate hydrobalance in this area, and after treatment, the skin of the lips needs to be restored. By itself, dryness and cracks on the lips are not signs of herpes.
Consequences of antibiotic treatment. They disrupt the microflora in general, not only in the intestines, but also in the oral cavity and on the skin, including the lips, which is expressed in its increased dryness.
Atopic dermatitis. It appears on the skin of the lips too, hence the strong, impossible dryness, up to cracks.
Of course, when you are sick, it’s not up to it, but once again it’s useful to lubricate the skin of your lips with balm or oil.
By the way, all these problems can concern not only adults, but also children. The habit of biting or licking lips sometimes, among other things, indicates stress, anxiety, and is even one of the signs of neurosis.
Physiological
There are many more things related to the unsightly condition of the skin of the lips and the discomfort associated with it.
General dehydration of the skin (and body).
Deficiency of B vitamins – all, but especially pyridoxine (B6) – is manifested by local peeling on and around the lips, as well as in the eyebrow area.
Deficiency of healthy fats from vegetable oils and fish.
Malocclusion, in which the mouth is constantly open, which dries out the skin.
If your lips are constantly flaky, cracked, and sore, see a dermatologist to find out why.
To find out if your skin is getting enough moisture, take a dehydration test.
What causes jamming in the corners of the lips?
During the off-season, especially in cold and dank weather, jams can appear in the corners of the lips – painful microcracks that cause a lot of inconvenience when talking and eating.
There are cracks in the corners of the mouth for a reason, there are several reasons for this:
abuse of salty and spicy foods;
lack of vitamins B and PP;
hypothermia;
incorrectly installed braces;
tendency to bite and lick lips frequently.
Cracked lips: what to do?
When there is an understanding of the causes, any problems can be dealt with.
Cosmetical tools
What to do if lips are cracked? First of all, pay attention to special lip skin care products. It needs care no less than the skin of the face and body. Today, we have at our disposal everything that you can think of, from hygienic lipsticks and balms to creams and lip masks.
Lipstick with moisturizing and nourishing properties. It is good if it contains aloe, valuable oils, such as shea butter, hyaluronic acid and other caring ingredients.
Lip primer should be applied before lipstick. By the way, in addition to the lip primer itself, colorless balms rich in oils and wax can be used as this.
The lip balm is essential for both men and women and is intended to be used several times a day if there is a problem of dryness and flaking.
Lip scrub.
Lip mask.
Lip oil.
In general, it is useful to make lip care a separate stage of the daily beauty routine, not limited to make-up and make-up removal.
Diet and drinking regimen
To avoid dehydration of the skin, it is important to drink enough pure water every day (30 ml per kilogram of body weight, excluding tea, coffee and soups).
For dry skin, pay attention to omega fatty acids. Fill salads with various vegetable oils and eat oily fish at least 2-3 times a week.
If the skin of the lips is dry, do not abuse salty foods, as well as fruits that are caustic for delicate skin.
Enrich your diet with foods with B vitamins (liver, eggs, beans, nuts, cereals). Or just drink a complex of vitamins for the skin.
Diet diet, but you need to understand that with dry lips, you can not do without external means.
Say goodbye to bad habits
It is very important to get rid of the habit of biting your lips, licking them on the street and peeling off the dry crust from cracks. By the way, the habit of biting lips can indicate not only their excessive dryness, but also a state of stress, when biting becomes something of an obsessive action, from which the lips also crack.
Prevention of cracked lips
Measures to prevent cracked lips include the following.
A reasonable diet, as above.
Mandatory use of lip products with SPF, especially in summer.
Sun protection in winter on vacation – the snow perfectly reflects ultraviolet.
Additional lip protection in winter.
Getting rid of bad habits, which we wrote about in the article.
Pay special attention to moisturizing the lips after a visit to the dentist or other procedures that require an open mouth for a long time.
When choosing a lip care product, pay attention to its texture and comfort in use, as well as the saturation of the composition. Recent studies by Japanese scientists have clearly shown that occlusive agents that envelop our lips, as it were, demonstrate higher efficiency in terms of moisturizing, smoothing wrinkles, and getting rid of dryness.
Overview of the best lip products
These lip care products are considered by the Healthy-Food editors to be the best. But we are not talking about the extreme degree of damage to the lips when a doctor’s consultation is necessary. In any case, without waiting for the problem, with the onset of cold weather, it makes sense to take care of special care for the most delicate part of the face.
Lip balm Cicaplast, La Roche-Posay
The tool is called a regenerating barrier balm, it is suitable for both children and adults. Eliminates dryness, reduces discomfort, improves the condition and appearance of chapped lips, instantly soothes the skin. Can also be used around the lips.
Nourishing lip balm Absolue Precious Cells, Lancôme
Gently and carefully cares for the delicate skin of the lips, maintaining and preserving their beauty. It has a pleasant melting texture and provides revitalizing care.
Sugar scrub for face and lips “Nourishing”, L’Oréal Paris
A gentle sugar-based scrub suitable for the skin of the lips, exfoliates and nourishes it with cocoa and coconut oils. With dryness and even slight peeling of the skin of the lips, it makes sense to use this soft and nourishing scrub.
Lip balm, intensive care Baby Lips, Maybelline NY
Prevents chapped lips and cracking, contains Centella Asiatica extract, aloe, shea butter and vitamin E.
Nourishing balm for intensive restoration of the skin of the lips Nutritic Lèvres, La Roche-Posay
Biolipids from oils of apricot kernels, echium, coriander, blackcurrant, as well as shea butter, limnantes, castor, soybean plus vitamin E and beeswax reliably protect lips from dryness and cracking.
Night mask for lips Buttermask For Lips, Kiehl’s
A product with mango, coconut, soybean oils and waxes is applied to the skin of the lips in a thick layer at night and thus helps to get rid of cracks and dryness. We also suggest using a mask before make-up: apply a thin layer, leave for 15 minutes, gently blot the excess with a dry cloth, and then apply lipstick or gloss.