Cold winter air and harsh winds can significantly damage our lips. They stop being smooth and luscious. Instead, they become rough, chapped, and unappealing. It’s needless to mention how difficult it is to put lipstick on before heading out on Saturday night because it just seems “weird” on chapped lips. To cure this problem, we usually go for lip balm. Every girl or woman on this planet has her own favorite chapstick that we apply onto our lips all the time, even when we’re not outside. However, could the primary culprit for constantly chapped lips during winter be your lip balm? Experts say yes.
Lip balm: friend or foe?
Lip Balm is it good for you?
When you apply your lip balm, you feel that soothing sensation. And let’s face it; they smell divine. But did you ever notice how regardless of regular usage of lip balms, you lips are always chapped and dry. Why aren’t they getting better?
Dermatologist Leslie Baumann, MD states that answer lies in the ingredients. Lip balms that contain humectants like hyaluronic acid and glycerin make your lips worse. Why? The answer is quite simple; Baumann explains that these ingredients pull all the moisture out the delicate skin of your lips. This particularly happens in dry environment. In turn, the water, simply, evaporates leaving your lips dry and chapped.
In body care products, humectants are used to retain the moisture. However, in order to do their “job” properly, humectants need to be offset by occlusive ingredients such as shea butter, beeswax, various oils etc. These occlusive ingredients create a physical barrier to prevent water loss from your lips. It’s an ideal partnership; humectants hold on to water, while occlusives prevent it from evaporating.
Dr. Mauro C. Romita, a specialist in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery says that lip balms which contain menthol, camphor and peppermint can irritate your lips and prevent them from healing properly. Also, dermatologist Gary Slaughter states that these ingredients are known for irritating the skin. Slaughter explains that these ingredients quickly dry out your lips; which requires constant reapplication, which is another reason why your lips are constantly chapped.
Furthermore, Slaughter mentioned that some lip balms contain OL (which stands for alcohol) and salicylic acid, both of which cause irritations.
Should I ditch lip balms entirely?
After reading how lip balms might be the main culprits for chapped skin, you’re probably wondering whether you should avoid purchasing or applying these products. Nowadays, you can find different lib balms in stores and they contain different ingredients. Ideally, you should go for products that contain humectants and occlusive ingredients, and products that don’t contain ingredients which cause irritations.
Chapped lips causes
In order to avoid prolonged healing and constantly chapped lips the best thing to do is to know the factors that cause this uncomfortable problem. Knowing the causes will help you avoid the problem. Therefore, causes of chapped lips are:
• Licking lips – you might feel like licking lips adds moisture to them, but you’re wrong. In fact, your tongue transfers saliva from your mouth onto your lips which eats away and destroys thin layers of skin covering the lips.
• Sun damage – your lips need protection from the sun just like the rest of your body.
• Using matte lipsticks on daily basis
• Using “lip plumping” products
• Vitamin B2 and Vitamin B6 deficiency
• Excessive intake of Vitamin A
• Some medications can, also, dry out your lips.
Tips for restoring smoothness in the lips
• Don’t lick your lips
• Use marigold cream onto your lips (the cream is versatile and can be used for just about anything, even burns)
• Don’t pick or peel the flaking skin on your lips
• Exfoliate your lips with mixture of water and brown sugar (once or twice a week)
• Drink plenty of water
• Always read the list of ingredients prior purchasing lip balm
• Use lip balms with UV protection.
Conclusion
Sometimes, we refer to lip balm as our savior when we have chapped lips. However, lip balm with poor list of ingredients can be our biggest enemy. Therefore, before you purchase your next lip balm, read the list of ingredients carefully. If it contains substances that irritate the gentle skin on your lips, you should move on to the next product.
Video: Skin Care Routine to Try This Winter
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Video: Skin Care Routine to Try This Winter
References
Author Bio
Margaux Diaz is a social development worker who spends her free time pondering and writing about Health and Fitness. She loves gathering information from various sources regarding Health and Lifestyle Fitness. She is an inspirational writer who strongly believes in the power of self-motivation. Connect with her on Facebook and Twitter