A Cure for Chapped Lips
Jan 15, 2013
The weather is taken its toll on my hair, my skin and my cuticles…so why should my lips be any different? They’ve been intermittently chapped for weeks, so this Sunday, I was forced to take drastic measures.
Step One: Scrub. You can’t moisturize until you remove all of the dead skin. On the top end of the scale is a beauty blogger favorite, the Sara Happ lip scrub. If you’re not comfortable spending such sums for lip scrub, you have two options, buy a cheaper one (Sweet Lips from Lush is $9) or make your own. The phenomenally stylish duo behind the blog Honestly…WTF have a solid recipe.
Step Two: Hydrate. For the money, there is no better product for rehydrating dry lips, elbows, heels and cuticles than Eucerin Aquaphor. This miracle balm repairs and hydrates like no other. If you’d like something petroleum free, Josie Maran Argan Body Oil also has amazing moisturizing powers.
Step Three: Protect. Once you have your lips back on the path to health, you need to keep them there. I love Fresh’s Advanced Lip Treatment, it hydrates and medicates without being too greasy or sticky. Need something from a drugstore? Try Blistex Medex.
If it’s not your lips you’re worried about, I use the Aquaphor to hydrate my feet and hands, but I use the Bliss softening gloves and socks to give it extra oomph. And if the man in your life needs a little help in this area, I would try Skincando’s Combat Ready Balm and Lip Balm. They care for dry and damaged skin but are macho man friendly.
So as the winter blahs take hold of your skin, how do you fight back?
I use a simple scrub made out of sugar and water. Just add a few drops of water at a time to a small amount of sugar until you get the consistency you want. I use it to scrub everything from my face and lips to my feet. I'm also addicted to Fresh's lip balms.
Water! In the winter months I drink as much water as possible .. it's the only way to keep my skin (especially lips) from getting dried out. And Carmex before bed doesn't hurt either.
Keeping baby oil in a spray bottle in the shower really helps stick to a moisturizing regimen. I also mix my foundation with extra moisturizer during the winter months – or if I have time apply moisturizer under my foundation. As for lips, scrubbing and regular re-applications of Fresh Adanced balm does help. I also love the Caudalie Lip & Eye Cream.
For the body: 100% cold pressed argan oil mixed with Aveeno 24-hour body moisturizer. It works wonders and is surprisingly not greasy. For face: during the winter I splurge on La Merfor night time and I really like the Kiehls Rosa Arctica during the day. Also, I don’t stop getting pedicures just because I'm not wearing open toed shoes. It really helps keep feet from getting too dry.
I'll second drinking a lot of water.
In terms of products, I love Bigelow's Rose Salve. It's cheap, and it works. For a splurge, I love Fresh's Sugar Lip Treatment. I never thought I would be the type to spend $20+ on what's essentially a fancy tinted chapstick, but it's amazing. I like the rose tinted color.
The lip medex you showed is the ONLY THING I use on my lips anymore. It's ridiculously amazing.
I highly recommend the lip scrubs from Lush. There are several different flavors/scents and they all work extremely well. Plus, it's gentle enough to use everyday or every other day.
The only thing that helps me is Carmex in the little yellow pot. It's so wonderful.
I love the Sara Happ Lip Slip!
Wow – no one else uses just plain Vaseline? I put it on my lips just before bed at night and use Soft Lips lip balm under my lipstick or gloss during the day.
I'm with CynthiaW — Vaseline at night and Soft Lips during the day. Everything else feels like paste and gunks up my lips.
Be careful using products like Vaseline/Carmex/Burts Bee's at night….since many people sleep with their mouths open, your breath can melt the lip balm and cause chin acne. If you struggle with acne anywhere around your mouth, best to avoid!
These are products that will not make you feel pretty when you look at the bottles, unfortunately, but my current work is in a lab environment and
For hands/body: Aveeno original works well. (I buy a generic version of it, and just compare ingredient lists. I also use the +sunscreen version during the day. Lac-Hydrin (or another ammonium lactate lotion preparation) is great for very dry, flakey body skin.
For lips: medical grade lanolin nipple cream. (Lansinoh is the brand I use.I am sensitive to liquid lanolin preparations, for whatever reason, but Lansinoh doesn't bother me.) Works well as an (almost) flavorless gloss balm, but apply thinly. If you get the small sample-size tubes, you can warm the tube in your hands to dispense more easily.