By: Marty S.
As much as we dislike having dry, flaky skin, we can all agree just how much worse dry, chapped lips are. While it is possible to hide your dry, flaky skin and avoid touching it, the same cannot be said for dry, chapped lips. Dry, chapped lips are quite noticeable, especially if your lips also look dull and discolored. Lipstick and lip gloss may be able to give your lips an easy disguise, but you still have to deal with how uncomfortable dry, chapped lips feel. Even just touching your cracked lips with your tongue can make eating or drinking slightly less enjoyable.
We all want our lips to look plump and glistening, but when our lips start to experience some dryness or flakiness, it might feel like you have to use a lip balm to heal your lips. To be fair, a lip balm is very effective at minimizing dryness and flakiness, but it is not the only tool you have at your disposal. Today, you will learn 5 ways to hydrate your lips naturally. Since dry, chapped lips tend to look duller and more discolored, learning how to plump up your lips can also make them look more even and glowing.
1. Use a Natural Lip Balm
First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. As we mentioned in the intro, a lip balm is one of the best ways to hydrate your lips and minimize dryness. Lip balms typically contain oils and waxes that help nourish and revitalize your lips; with regular use, a lip balm can fade the appearance of dry, chapped lips. However, you don’t want to use just any run-of-the-mill lip balm on your lips. Many lip balms contain ingredients that may actually dry out your lips; for example, mint, peppermint, and cinnamon are popular lip balm flavors but they might cause dryness and irritation.
Instead, you should look for a lip balm that is comprised of all-natural ingredients and contains no harsh chemicals. Flavors are nice, but they are not necessary to healing and hydrating your lips. At Apsara Skin Care, we offer a Lip Nourishing Salve that can nourish your lips with plant-based waxes and beauty oils like Vitamin E and sandalwood.
Bonus tip: try not to use your lip balm excessively. Remember that your lip balm should be applied only when your lips are dry and chapped; a lip balm can heal your lips but they should not rely on one for nourishment. Ideally, you should use it once in the morning, after you eat, and once before bed.
Related: The Carrot Seed Lotion smells delicious and helps you feel great all day long.
2. Wash Off Your Lipstick & Lip Gloss at the End of the Night
If your lips are regularly dry and chapped, you may have a lipstick or lip gloss that has helped you hide it. However, that lipstick or lip gloss only serves as a temporary solution, and it could be causing even more dryness. This is more common with matte lipsticks because they tend to be formulated with more wax and less oil. While we aren’t suggesting that you have to give up your favorite shade of lipstick or lip gloss if you want soft and supple lips, there are two tips that can help you avoid chapped lips.
First, wash off your lipstick or lip gloss before you go to bed. If you’ve ever fallen asleep without washing the makeup on your face, you may have developed an acne breakout or dull skin the next morning. The same can be true for your lipstick or lip gloss. Sometimes, if you leave your lipstick or lip gloss on before wiping it off, your lips might become drier and more chapped, especially if your lipstick or lip gloss contains any harsh chemicals. Washing off your lipstick or lip gloss is an extra step in your nightly skin care routine, but it is definitely worth it.
Second, before you put on your lipstick or lip gloss, use your natural lip balm beforehand. This will help nourish and protect your lips so that they do not begin to dry out underneath your lipstick or lip gloss.
3. Drink More Water
A common cause of dry, chapped lips is dehydration. Dehydration can make your lips as well as your skin more prone to dryness and flakiness. The easiest solution to this problem is to drink more water every day. By drinking more water, it is more likely that both your lips and skin will start to look softer, more supple, and more youthful.
4. Use a Humidifier
Besides drinking water, you can increase the moisture levels of your lips and skin with a humidifier. If you live in a dry area, you might experience chapped lips more often because your skin is losing moisture to the environment. For this reason, dry skin and chapped lips are common during the winter when humidity levels drop severely. By regularly using a humidifier at home, you can gradually reduce dryness so that your lips and skin can become softer and more moisturized.
5. Exfoliate Your Lips Weekly
You can also diminish the appearance of dry, chapped lips with exfoliation. Exfoliation usually relates to your face and your body, but you can exfoliate the dead cells on the surface of your lips. Since dead cells may contribute to dryness and flakiness on your lips as well as your skin, exfoliation can help reveal the even, glowing skin underneath. Your lips will be a little sensitive after exfoliation so make sure to use your natural lip balm afterward to start nourishing and healing your dry, chapped lips.
If you would like to start exfoliating your dry, chapped lips, we encourage you to read this article where we have shared a few lip exfoliating home remedies. Try them out and let us know what your results are like!
Related: A Home Remedy for Discolored & Dry Lips
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Go natural. It is good karma!