How to Avoid Winter Chapped Lips

Submitted by Mimi on Tuesday, 30 December 200810 Comments

This post is dedicated to Anita who had a question about chapped lips and how to prevent them. I wanted to share this response with everyone as it’s the time of the year when lips get chappy. Here is her question and my response below.

Hi Mimi!

I have quite an embarrassing issue that I need help with. Every winter, I have the same problem. My lips get unbearably chapped. I seem to moisturize them with lipstick and lip balms all the time, but it doesn’t really work for me. Even my boyfriend started complaining about the issue…Please help!

Anita

Here is my response:

Dear Anita!

glass-of-water I wouldn’t really say that this condition is in any way embarrassing. There are plenty of women as well as men who suffer from chapped lips and not only in the winter. There are many reasons as to why people experience chapped lips and I’m going to explain some of them and describe ways of preventing it from happening to you in the future:

Make sure you drink enough water. Eight glasses a day to be exact. One of the main causes for chapped lips is dehydration. So no matter how much you moisturize your lips from the outside if you are internally dehydrated they are going to keep getting chapped.

Avoid licking your lips at all. Especially if you are outside in the cold and it’s windy. It will make things even worse. Instead, cover you lips with a scarf to block the cold wind that dries the lips out.

As a natural moisturizer apply honey to your lips and leave it on for half an hour or so. I guarantee you will be tempted to lick it off, so make sure you don’t give in. honey

Applying lemon juice on dry, cracked lips works tremendously. My mom taught me this easy trick when I was a kid. It’s going to sting of course, but the results are worth it!

Vaseline applied before bedtime or prior to going outside will insure your lips are fully moisturized and protected. Use this option instead of lip balm since you’ve mentioned that they don’t work for you.

If you follow these tips, your lips will be smooth and silky in no time. Good luck!

And now a couple of questions to my lovely readers:

Do you also experience dry lips in the winter?

If yes, then what is your cure for it?

10 Comments »

Leyla said:

Very timely post Mimi! As I can hear freezing wind blowing outside my window right now! I usually get chapped lips if I’m outside for too long and am not wearing any lip protection. Personally I find chapstick to be a little dry, so I prefer to use my regular lip gloss, and if I remember to put it on, it works like magic! =)

- 30 December 2008 at 3:44 am

real style real people said:

ouch the lemon juice on cracked lips has me saying yikes! But I agree that there are natural remedies that work and may not cost you money. there is also a product called Aquafor (vaseliney type thick lotion) that works wonders for cracked hands,feet and lips taht we use here!

- 30 December 2008 at 12:30 pm

Marian said:

darling great great response,you covered all the bases.i hate chapped lips at winter and with this british weather there is no escaping it! i use shea butter which really helps me.
darling loving the sound of your new years eve plans,my darling have a beautiful new year.wish you all the things you wish for in the quiet moments.
big kiss and much love.
Marian

- 30 December 2008 at 9:27 pm

Vicky said:

My lips are ok for now, but I am sure this post will come in handy sometime this winter

- 31 December 2008 at 4:14 am

issa said:

great tips.. my lips chap all the time.. i am constantly putting on chapstick!

- 31 December 2008 at 10:56 am

songy said:

I use a toothbrush to gently get rid of rush bits and put some Vaseline at night.. does the trick every time.

- 2 January 2009 at 12:50 am

sharon rose said:

Hi there-my best winter investment was the Vasline lip balm too! Happy new year my dear!

- 2 January 2009 at 2:31 am

Cate said:

Thank you for those valuable tips! I’m going to try those out right now, because lip balms don’t really work for me either! And I don’t want my boyfriend to complain.. Well to be exact he can’t complain because I don’t have one.. haha.
And I completely agree with what you said about the ups&downs in life! If our mood had been always on the same level in 2008, it would have been boring and we would have forgotten the year soon, but this way, it stays in our memories for ever!
Kisses,
Cate

- 2 January 2009 at 10:44 am

Katee (e-polishblog) said:

Hi Mimi!

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year’s Eve. We spent a lot of time in Windsor but did not make it to Toronto.

Happy New Year!

xoxo,
Katee

- 2 January 2009 at 11:13 am

Fashion CHALET said:

Great article. Considering every winter, I have to deal with it.

Mimi, Thanks.
I’m 5’6″. My grandmother used to push me to become a model when I was a little girl. Sometimes I’m sorry I never tried…. but I would do catalog, no runway though, not tall enough (and I’m too shy!!) Even though I did do a Nike/Teen Vogue show a few years ago here in Miami.

Happy ‘O9! x

- 2 January 2009 at 1:37 pm