The Dos and Don'ts of Lip Care: Tips for Healthy and Hydrated Lips
There are hundreds of lip balms and chapped lip treatments out there. Some will leave your lips hydrated and healthy, others might worsen dryness and cause irritation. Here are some tips for keeping your lips happy and healthy.
Look at the ingredients.
Many products used to hydrate the lips contain compounds that cause the lips to become dryer, creating a maddening cycle of application after reapplication multiple times each day. Products containing CAMPHOR, MENTHOL, and SALICYLIC ACID might produce a soothing and tingling effect, but they can cause dehydration by sloughing off the protective top layers of the skin, leading to water loss.
Certain ingredients are allergenic and create irritation to the lips and surrounding skin. PHENOL, for instance, is often used to create a lip-plumping effect and acts as a preservative. Contrary to common belief, phenol is considered safe according the FDA and World Health Organization. It can, nonetheless, be irritating and allergenic.
FRAGRANCES can contain chemicals and flavorings that cause irritation and have skin-drying properties. Some fragrances can cause allergies in some individuals. Fruity flavorings can lead to lip licking, a habit perpetuates dryness of the lips and surrounding skin, causing an eczema-like rash with redness, scaling, itching, and irritation. The Food and Drug administration requires all scented products to include the word “fragrance” in the ingredients, so they are easy to look for and avoid.
Don’t Scrub!
Lip balms labeled as SCRUBS, POLISHES, or EXFOLIENTS are irritating by design. They contain compounds that strip the top layer of the skin, which protects against water loss and dehydration.
Lip picking and licking make it worse.
When using products that cause dryness, the lips can peel. I’ll admit, it’s hard to resist the urge to bite or pull as the lips get flaky. As hard as it is, ir’s important to let the skin come off on its own schedule. The dead skin on your lips serves a purpose—it protects the new skin cells below, giving them time to prepare for exposure to dry air and other irritants. Picking or biting off the dead skin prematurely can lead to further irritation, dryness and even bleeding and infection.
There is also some truth to the “lip balm addiction.” Excessive application of balms, especially those with irritating or allergenic ingredients, can lead to repeated application. This only makes chapped lips worse. To figure out if over application is the problem, pay attention to the following:
How frequently you are applying your lip balm or chapped lip sticks?
Do you keep a stash on in your pocket, purse, car, nightstand, bathroom…?
How much money you are spending on lip balms?
Here are some tips to maintaining hydrated and nourished lips.
Look for Petroleum based products. They are well tolerated and help the lips retain moisture without causing irritation.
Stay hydrated. Drinking water alone plumps and moisturizes the lips.
Avoid toothpastes with ingredients that can cause allergies and inflammation.
Use a humidifier. This can add some much-needed hydration to your lips and skin, especially during cold, dry seasons,
Avoid spicy foods when possible. They can be irritating to the delicate skin on your lips, causing them to peel and crack.
Avoid lip licking. It’s a natural impulse to lick your lips when dry, yet this only makes then dryer.
One final tip:
Lip balms with mineral-based SPF protect against the sun’s harmful UV rays. UV not only dries the lips, it can damage the skin cells, leading to wrinkling and discoloration. Sun damaged lips are also prone to skin cancer (yes, skin cancer can develop on lips!). If your lip balm does not contain SPF, make sure you to apply your facial sunscreen to your lips as well.
Our top picks:
For UV protection: Bee You Organics Zinc Oxide Lip Balm
For gentle hydration: Minois Paris Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm
For ultra-dry or damaged lips: SkinCeuticals Antioxidant Lip Repair