How to prevent and treat dry chapped lips

If you get dry, chapped lips in the colder weather (as I do) I have a few tried and tested remedies for you.

Firstly, at night I use plain and simple Aveeno moisturizer around my lips to keep dryness at bay.

I replaced my Chapstick lip balm (which I was more or less addicted to 😁) with Aveeno years back and it gave me enough of an emollient feel, paired with calming oat extract, around my lips so I was able to finally break the habit.

Winter lip saviors

Firstly, even though the sun is low in the UK in winter so you don’t tend to get a lot of it on your face, I still wear a small amount of zinc-oxide-based sunscreen. I use one from Bluelene which doubles up as a moisturizer and is brilliant for my skin.

Just as zinc-oxide is used to prevent and heal nappy rash, it can also be great for protecting lips but we do need to be careful not to ingest too much – largely because of the unknowns of consuming any meaningful amount of it – so I tend to just apply it around my lips.

From there, when I’m going outside, I’ll usually apply one of the following two products depending on what I’m doing.

1. If I’m going for a walk I use the brilliant Remedy for dry lips created by dermatologist Dr Muneeb Shah, better known as one half of ‪@Doctorly‬ It’s an all-in-one peptide infuzed moisturizer and sealant and I keep it in my coat pocket all winter long. It’s also great for soothing and treating dry lips as well as preventing further problems. You can find it here https://go.shopmy.us/p-10092184

2. If I’m going ‘out out’ and wearing lipstick, I apply a little of Patchology’s very clever Lip Service Gloss-to-Balm on top which, as the name suggests, glides on and looks like a gloss, but moisturizes and protects at the same time with ingredients like aloe and glycerine. You can find it here https://go.shopmy.us/p-11069925

Other ways to keep lips moisturized

The American Acadamy of Dermatology Association shared a very helpful article with a list of the ingredients to avoid when your lips are chapped which includes lanolin.

Ironically, lanolin is included in a lot of lip balms so watch out for that one as you may find you end up constantly applying lip balm to tackle dry lips which are actually being irritated by the product you’re applying.

They also suggest drinking plenty of water to keep lips hydrated. Remember, central heating is a big culprit of causing skin dryness and staying hydrated can help with that.

Plus, it’s a good idea to avoid licking your lips. Firstly, you don’t want to be ingesting any products you’ve applied and, secondly, licking them will wash any emollient you’ve applied off, with the saliva tending to dry out lips further.

Skincare products I use regularly

Note the links I’ve shared are affiliate which means I receive a small commission with any purchases made using them. It’s important for me to tell you and for you to know : )