Extreme heat and cold can also lead to dryness and peeling, especially on the lips where the skin is thin. Many of us get chapped lips as a result of the dry air and cold temperatures. According to Dr. Kiran Mian, a board-certified dermatologist at Hudson Dermatology and Laser Surgery in New York City, the cold air draws moisture away from the skin because there is significantly less humidity in the air during the winter.
Keeping your body and surroundings hydrated whenever possible is the greatest method to prevent and treat chapped lips, according to doctors. (That involves using an ahumidifier and drinking a lot of water.) However, not every lip hydrator is made equally: Making sure you are using the right kind of lip care is one of the most crucial things, according to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Carmen Castilla of the New York Dermatology Group in Manhattan.
We’ve compiled all the information you need to treat chapped lips and maintain their smoothness throughout the year below.
GO Ahead and SkipWhich products are best for treating and preventing dry, chapped lips? What causes chapped lips?How to avoid and manage chapped, dry lipsWhy should we trust NBC Select?
What causes chapped lips?
Depending on your location and some genetic variables, chapped lips can result from a variety of causes. Dermatologists list the following as some typical causes of dry, chapped lips:
-
Environmental factors
, including cold air, low humidity and indoor heat, are the biggest culprits causing dry skin in the winter. (If you have dry air in your home, invest in a humidifier to prevent chapped, flaky lips, dermatologists say.) -
The biology of the lips
, however, also plays a role. Lips don t have oil glands like the rest of the skin, making them particularly vulnerable to dryness, saysDr. Hadley King
, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. On top of that, the skin on the lips is thin, meaning moisture is more prone to escaping.
-
Certain medications
, including acne treatments likeAccutane
or isotretinoin, can also cause chronic chapped lips, says Castilla.
-
Individual habits
might make you more prone to dryness, like if you tend to breathe out of your mouth (especially when you re sleeping). The constant airflow over the lips is drying, says Castilla.
The best products to prevent and treat dry, chapped lips
Dermatologists and NBC Select employees suggest the lip balms, masks, and chapsticks listed below to help you avoid and manage dry lips during the winter.
The best products to prevent and treat dry, chapped lips
Vaseline Healing Jelly Original
$3.85
$5.55
Amazon
$4.49
The target
$5.99
Wal-Mart
Aquaphor Lip Repair
$4.76
Amazon
$4.79
The target
$6.79
The CVS Photo
Lanolips Golden Dry Skin Miracle Salve
$17.95
Amazon
$17.95
The Ulta
$17.95
Lanolips
Ghlee Lip Balm
$12.00
Ghlee
Vaseline Lip Therapy Cocoa Butter Stick
$1.25
Wal-Mart
EltaMD UV Lip Balm Broad-Spectrum SPF 36
$19.00
Elta M.D.
Cerave Healing Ointment
$19.99
The target
$15.99
$19.99
Wal-Mart
$19.88
Walmart
U Beauty The Plasma Lip Compound
$68.00
U Beauty
Blistex Repair and Protect
$4.17
Amazon
Smith s Rosebud Salve
$7.00
The Ulta
Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Color Balm SPF 50
$42.00
ColoreScience
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Lip Hydration Restore Lip Balm
$9.99
La Roche Posay
Av ne Cicalfate+ Lips Restorative Lip Balm
$20
Avene
How to prevent and treat dry chapped lips
Chapped lips can affect everyone, even those with oily skin. Experts emphasize how crucial it is to select a lip product that suits you in order to prevent and treat chapped lips this winter. We’ve compiled dermatologists’ shopping advice below.
Look for the right type of moisturizer
Experts advise searching for formulas containing the following kinds of moisturizers to repair injured lips:
-
Occlusives:
Moisturizing ingredients and waxes that form a physical barrier on the skin are the most important ingredients in preventing water loss from the skin in winter. The most common occlusives found in lip treatments are petrolatum (petroleum jelly), coconut oil and beeswax. -
Emollients:
Ingredients such asceramides
or
squalane
help strengthen the
skin barrier
, repairing damage. Think of ceramides like the building block of your skin barrier, says Mian. Using a product with ceramides in it is going to help your skin to heal and going to help it to become nice and strong so that it s less prone to moisture loss, she says.
-
Humectants:
Ingredients such ashyaluronic acid
or aloe vera help to draw moisture into the skin by binding with water molecules.
King advises looking for products that contain occlusives and/or emollients to cure chapped lips. According to her, for humectant substances to work, they must be mixed with occlusives and emollients. Any water that humectants draw into the skin may evaporate without these essential elements, making lips increasingly drier.
Avoid irritating ingredients
Generally speaking, simplicity is preferable. Ironically, a lot of well-known chapsticks and lip balms contain chemicals that aggravate lips and make them even more dry. According to Castilla, there are many products available on the market, and some of them might be really annoying.
Adding substances can make it more likely that you will come into contact with something that could irritate your already damaged lips. According to Castilla, one should be aware of cooling components like as camphor and menthol, which is a form of alcohol. Although they provide a pleasant cooling effect, she warns that they may actually make skin more dry and sensitive. If you havesensitive skinand/or skin conditions like eczema, Castilla recommends avoiding fragrances and certain irritating flavorings like cinnamon and peppermint, which are all more likely to cause allergic reactions.
It could take some trial and error to find a nonirritating balm. Some people might be totally fine usingBurt s Bees, which has menthol in it, but for other people, that product might cause more irritation, says Mian. If you ve been using a balm for several days and see no improvement (or worsening dryness), consider switching to something gentler.
Choose something you ll actually want to use
For any product to be effective, you have to actually want to use it regularly. There s room for personal preference in choosing the best lip treatment. Mian, for example, tends to like waxy, stick-based formulas that are easy to reapply throughout the day and don t require the use of your finger, which may or may not be dirty, she says. Castilla, on the other hand, avoids chapsticks since they typically have beeswax, which can be irritating to some people. Appearance may also be important to you choosing a balm with a matte finish over a glossy formula may make you more likely to reapply.
Frequently asked questions
Lip masks, lip balms and chapsticks can all treat and prevent dry chapped lips. While you can use them interchangeably, there are differences worth noting. Lip masks are typically the heaviest formulas and are generally designed for overnight use, says Mian. Lip masks tend to have more occlusive ingredients that are going to act like a shield, she says. Lip balms, which are designed to be reapplied throughout the day, are lighter formulas. Chapsticks tend to have a waxier texture.
It s important to apply SPF every day, including on your lips. In fact, lips are particularly vulnerable to sun damage. In addition to lip skin being thin, lips have little melanin, which gives skin its pigment and protects it from sun damage, says King. That makes them more prone to UV damage, which can cause signs of aging, skin cancer and actinic cheilitis (a precancerous condition also known as sailor s lip that creates rough, scaly patches on the skin).
Skin cancers of the lip have a higher risk of becoming invasive compared to most other areas, says King. She recommends wearing a lip balm with at least SPF 30.
Castilla recommends taking it a step further for optimal protection. It’s really hard to protect your lips from the sun by just using alip balm that has sunscreenbecause we’re constantly talking and licking our lips, she says. It’s better to protect your lips using a wide-brim hat, she says.
Below, experts list their tips for avoiding dry, chapped lips:
-
Don t lick your lips.
While it may be a natural impulse when lips feel dry, lip licking will only dry lips out more. The saliva evaporates quickly and leaves your lips drier than they were before, says King. -
Avoid over-exfoliating.
Exfoliating dry skin might also seem like a natural move when you have chapped lips, but dermatologists advise against it. When you have dry skin, it’s an indicator of damaged skin barrier, says Castilla. It’s more important to repair that skin barrier than cause further irritation by exfoliating. -
Resist the urge to pick.
The more you pick, you’re going to cause fissures and more trauma making it even harder to fix the underlying issue, says Castilla. -
Get a humidifier
, which can help increase moisture in the air and prevent further dryness, says Mian. -
Reapply every two hours
or after eating and drinking.
One hack Mian frequently tells her patients about is lip slugging, which is the process of applying a thick layer of an occlusive moisturizer as a final step in your evening skin care routine to help seal in moisture overnight. Use lip balm with ceramides first and then apply a highly occlusive layer such asVaseline. What you’re doing is you’re using something with ceramides to help heal the lip barrier and then you’re applying a protective layer over it to help lock everything in, says Mian.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we collaborate with professionals that possess specific expertise and power derived from pertinent education and/or job experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
-
Dr. Navin Arora
is a board-certified dermatologist and clinical assistant professor at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He is the founder of Borealis Dermatology in New York.
-
Dr. Carmen Castilla
is a board-certified dermatologist at the New York Dermatology Group in Manhattan specializing in both medical and cosmetic dermatology.
-
Dr. Hadley King
is a board-certified dermatologist at her own private practice in New York City. Her areas of expertise include medical and cosmetic dermatology.
-
Dr. Kiran Mian
is a board-certified dermatologist at Hudson Dermatology and Laser Surgery in New York City. She specializes in holistic treatments to target issues relating to hair, skin and nails.
Why trust NBC Select?
Macaela MacKenzie is a journalist and former Glamour editor who has covered beauty and wellness treatments for over a decade.Mili Godiois an updates editor at NBC Select who has written about beauty and skin care for four years. For this article, MacKenzie and Godiospoke to dermatologists about the causes of chapped lips, behavior changes that can help prevent them and the best products for remedying dryness.
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