Tips to Protect Your Lips from Cold, Dry Winter Weather

Tips to Protect Your Lips from Cold, Dry Winter Weather

Winter can really be a brutal time of the year for your lips.

It’s no surprise when you think about why. The cold air, the chilling wind and dry, heated air inside all conspire to make your lips dry and tight.

“The cold weather has a significant effect on our body, and that includes our lips,” dermatologist Melissa Piliang, MD, says. “Plus, keep in mind that when you go out into the cold you may take steps to cover the rest of your body. But too often, your mouth is one of the last things you cover. Sometimes you might not even do it at all, leaving your lips exposed to those harsher winter conditions.”





While it may seem that dry, cracked lips are something you must live with until spring comes, you can have soft, supple lips year-round. Here’s what dermatologists recommend.

Use non-irritating lip balm, lipstick, and other products that you apply to your lips. Many people mistake discomfort, such as burning, stinging, or tingling, as a sign that the active ingredients in a product are working. That’s not what’s happening. You’re actually irritating your lips, so you want to stop using any product that irritates your lips.

Add to that the fact that your lips aren’t the same skin type as the rest of your face and body.

“Lips are a special type of skin that is very thin and delicate — which means they really do require some extra TLC,” Dr. Piliang says. “Our lips dry out 10 times faster than the rest of the skin on our face, so it’s really important to use extra protection,” Dr. Piliang says.

So, here are six tips to keep your lips smooth and healthy all winter long:

Ingredients to avoid while your lips are chapped: To help chapped lips heal, stop applying lip products that contain any of the following:

Camphor
Eucalyptus



Flavoring: Cinnamon, citrus, mint, and peppermint flavors can be especially irritating to dry, chapped lips

Fragrance
Lanolin
Menthol
Octinoxate or oxybenzone
Phenol (or phenyl)
Propyl gallate
Salicylic acid



Ingredients that can help heal chapped lips: While some ingredients can irritate dry, cracked lips, others can help them heal. When looking for products to use on your chapped lips, dermatologists recommend ones that contain one or more of the following:

Castor seed oil
Ceramides
Dimethicone
Hemp seed oil
Mineral oil
Petrolatum
Shea butter
Sun-protective ingredients, such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide
White petroleum jelly



It also helps to use products that are fragrance free and hypoallergenic

Apply a non-irritating lip balm (or lip moisturizer) several times a day and before bed. If your lips are very dry and cracked, try a thick ointment, such as white petroleum jelly. Ointment seals in water longer than waxes or oils.

Slather on a non-irritating lip balm with SPF 30 or higher before going outdoors. Even in the winter, it’s important to protect your lips from the sun. The sun can burn dry, chapped lips more easily, which could trigger cold sores.





To protect dry, chapped lips from the sun, use lip balm that contains offers SPF 30 or higher and one (or both) of these sun-protective ingredients:

Titanium oxide
Zinc oxide



While outdoors, apply the lip balm every 2 hours.

Drink plenty of water. Chapped lips are dry lips, so you want to stay hydrated.

Stop licking, biting, and picking at your lips. When lips feel dry, it may feel natural to wet them by licking them, but this can worsen the problem. As saliva evaporates, your lips become drier.

Picking or biting your lips also irritates them, which can prevent healing.

Avoid holding items made of metal with your lips. Paperclips, jewelry, and other everyday products made of metal can irritate your already sensitive lips.

અહીંથી વાચો હેલ્થ ટિપ્સ ગુજરાતી રિપોર્ટ 1

અહીંથી વાચો હેલ્થ ટિપ્સ ગુજરાતી રિપોર્ટ 2

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Plug in a humidifier at home. A humidifier in your bedroom can be especially helpful, especially if you breathe through your mouth at night.

By following these dermatologists’ tips for chapped lips, you should have noticeable improvement in 2 to 3 weeks. To prevent your lips from chapping again, continue applying lip balm whenever it’s dry indoors or outside.
When to see a dermatologist?

Most of the time, the above self-care can heal dry, chapped lips in 2 to 3 weeks. If it doesn’t, see a board-certified dermatologist.

નોંધ:- અમારો હેતુ માત્ર આપને સારી માહિતી આપવાનો છે કોઇપણ સારવાર એક્ષ્પર્ટ ની દેખરેખ હેઠળ કે આપની તાસીર મુજબ કરવી.

Your chapped lips could be caused by something aside from dry weather. An allergic reaction, yeast infection, or something more serious can make your lips feel dry and uncomfortable. Actinic cheilitis is a precancerous condition that turns one or both lips dry and scaly. A board-certified dermatologist can diagnose the cause.